Free Republic

President Bush Friday nominated former Idaho Republican Chairman N. Randy Smith, now a state trial judge, to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. If confirmed by the Senate, Smith, 56, would fill the vacancy created when Judge Stephen Trott took senior status. Idaho is currently the only state in the circuit without an active judge, as Trott took senior status at the end of last year and Judge Thomas Nelson did the same in November 2003. Bush has nominated Boise attorney William G. Myers III to succeed Nelson, but Democrats have thus far prevented him from winning confirmation. His...

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is an edgy place these days. Conservatives -- including a majority in the House of Representatives -- are offended by its rulings, Republicans in Washington, D.C., want to split it up, and the media can't cover it properly. So now, with split opponents lobbying feverishly to defeat a budget-bill rider that would divide the court, there's a new source of agitation for those who want to keep the court intact: N. Randy Smith, an Idaho state court judge, is a potential nominee for a seat that some say should stay in California. Opponents...