Free Republic

A federal judge named Joe Biden as a possible “witness” along with his son Hunter in a criminal fraud case last year that ended in the convictions of two of Hunter’s business partners, according to little-noticed court documents. The Democratic presidential candidate’s appearance on a witness list casts new doubt on his claims he knew nothing about his son’s shady business dealings. Hunter Biden blamed one of his convicted partners — Devon Archer — for his father's name appearing on a list of potential witnesses in a juror questionnaire in the case, which was filed Jan. 11, 2019. In a...

Current Status of the U.S. Court of AppealsAppellate Courts: 13Judgeships: 179Active Judges: 164Vacancies: 15Pending Nominees: 6 History Link: The U.S. Court of Appeals and the Federal JudiciaryNote: The thirteen appellate courts today have a total of 179 judgeships. Note: There are currently 164 active judges on the thirteen appellate courts. Note: There are currently 15 open seats on the thirteen appellate courts. Note: Included as an open seat is the seat soon to be vacated by Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr. from the 3rd Circuit. Note: 2 of the 15 vacancies were created when previous Bush appointments were relocated: Judge...

House Judiciary chairman James Sensenbrenner urged Congress on Monday to create a government watchdog for the federal judiciary, but he also said lawmakers should ignore conservative calls to weaken courts because of federal judges' decisions during the Terri Schiavo case. The federal courts refused to order the reinsertion of Schiavo's feeding tube, and the brain-damaged Florida woman died March 31. That set off a firestorm of conservative criticism against the federal benches. The House Judiciary Committee is looking into setting up an inspector general's office to work with the federal appeals and trial judges to see how they are handling...

Tide runs against Specter Uproar continues over comments on federal judges By Alexander Bolton Conservative opposition to Sen. Arlen Specter’s (R-Pa.) becoming chairman of the Judiciary Committee has mushroomed, to the dismay of Senate leaders who hoped it would fade, The Hill has learned. Many conservatives were outraged by Specter’s comments after being reelected to a fifth term last week, when he said it is unlikely that the Senate would confirm judges who would overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion. Specter’s post-election statement that judicial nominees who oppose abortion rights may have a hard...