>>> Who gets to make this order?
Yeah... anyone know who picks these areas out???
Roberts assigns. This was done to rebalance after the death of RGB and confirmation of ACB, not for the election.
Sotomayor was given RBG's prestigious 2nd Circuit, which includes NY, and the snake pit that is SDNY. She gave up her previous assignment of the 6th.
Then, they reshuffled a few circuits to allow ACB an assignment. The rest of the moves were among Conservative Justices, so the only D to R move was the 6th Circuit, which includes MI.