Vacancies Add To Swamped Appeals Courts' Problems

By Christine Caulfield

Law360, New York (October 12, 2009, 3:13 PM ET) -- Much has been made of the Obama administration's slow progress in filling the 21 currently vacant circuit court seats, but the empty posts only compound the problems of an already overextended federal appeals court system, litigators say.

The fuss made over the long delays in nominating and confirming judges to the nation's appellate courts obscures the larger issues of an ever-mounting caseload and the scarcity of available judgeships, they say.

“The problem is still there even when the courts are fully staffed because the dockets have...
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