A District Court Judge from DC suggests this cure for the political bickering over court of appeals nominees: get rid of Court of Appeals Judges.

It is time for Congress to consider amending the Judiciary Act to provide once more for just a single category of judges below the Supreme Court. Call all these jurists simply "Article III judges" or U.S. judges. Most of the time they would sit as trial judges, but for, say, three months a year they would be assigned to appellate panels.

He reckons this will remove politics from the appointment process, or at least disperse the political fire enough to make the process work.
I'm skeptical. This plan would simply move the political bickering to District Court nominees. In large part, this has already happened, despite the Judge's claim that Estrada and Owen would have sailed through as District Court nominees. True, the Democrats haven't filibustered a District Court nominee yet, but there are a fair number who have been blue slipped. North Carolina's two District Court nominees only just got past John Edwards, who held them up more than a year. Giving these judges more "law making" power would only increase the political fights over their nominations.
I find it suprising that the Judge doesn't mention this problem. That oversight makes me think that he may have revealed too much when he explained another reason his plan is a good one: Trial judges . . . chafe at instructions given by appellate judges who have no trial experience. Could it be that is what's really driving him here?
- posted by Tom Sawyer @ 9:21 AM