As high court term begins, Trump reshapes federal judiciary from top to bottom

By Henry Gass October 2, 2017 Articles

Amul Thapar’s first opinion as a federal circuit court judge didn’t exactly make headlines when it was published in August.

An Ohio man sued an online retailer, claiming he’d been misled over the $27 price of portable speakers. Writing for a unanimous panel of three judges on the US Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Thapar disagreed, siding with the retailer.

Nonetheless, the long-term implications of Thapar’s ascension to the Sixth Circuit could be significant. He is the first of potentially hundreds of conservative judges President Trump is expected to place in lifetime appointments on federal courts. Eight months into a presidency so far short on legislative victories, it is the profile of nominees the president is nominating, and the pace with which the Republican-controlled Senate is confirming them, that has conservatives cheering the loudest.

Mr. Trump has nominated 58 people for federal judgeships, and, as of Sept. 28, the Senate had confirmed seven of them, far outpacing his immediate predecessors. While some of the nominees have raised concerns because of past controversies – including one who described transgender children as part of “Satan’s plan,” and another who called Justice Anthony Kennedy a “judicial prostitute” – what is winning Trump plaudits on the right is their conservative credentials. Specifically, an adherence to originalism, a largely conservative philosophy defined by interpreting the US Constitution as the Framers would have intended.

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