Why the D.C. Circuit Matters to All Americans
The D.C. Circuit is widely regarded as the second-most important court in the United States –
behind only the U.S. Supreme Court – because of the complexity and significance of the cases it
decides and its status as a stepping stone to the Supreme Court.
Although the D.C. Circuit has significant responsibility for deciding cases regarding the balance
of powers of the branches of government and actions by federal agencies that affect our health
and safety, three of the court’s eleven active seats are currently vacant. A fourth vacancy was
just filled in May 2013, making the eight active seats evenly split between Republican and
Democratic presidents’ appointees. In addition, five of the court’s six senior judges – who still
can and do decide cases – were appointed by Republican presidents.
While these seats have been sitting vacant, the D.C. Circuit’s Republican-appointed majority has
been siding with corporate and industry interests over individual workers and consumers –
blocking Wall Street reforms, undermining labor rights, and rolling back environmental
protections.
Regardless of where you live or the issues you care about, the D.C. Circuit makes decisions
that matter to you.
Under its Republican-appointed majority, the D.C. Circuit has become hostile to consumer,
worker, health, and environmental protections:

Environmental Protections: In 2012, the court struck down an Environmental Protection
Agency rule intended to control air pollution that crosses state lines. According to the
EPA, in 2014 alone this rule would have prevented 13,000 to 34,000 premature deaths,
15,000 heart attacks, and 1.8 million missed days of school and work.

Worker Rights and Consumer Protections: In 2013, the court invalidated the President’s
three recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board, under reasoning that
would also invalidate an appointment to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. This
decision was contrary to other courts’ rulings and 150 years of recess appointments –
including 141 such appointments during the presidencies of Barack Obama and George
W. Bush alone. The Court also ruled in 2013 that an NLRB rule requiring employers to
inform workers of their legal rights violates the employers’ First Amendment rights.

Wall Street Reform: In 2011, the court placed an unreasonably high standard on the
Securities and Exchange Commission and struck down a key Wall Street Reform
regulation that would have made it easier for shareholders to propose their own
nominees to corporate boards of directors.

Health Protections: In 2012, the court struck down an FDA cigarette warning label
regulation, citing the First Amendment rights of cigarette companies.
Updated 5/29/13

National Security: Since 2008, the court has blatantly disregarded a U.S. Supreme Court
ruling recognizing habeas corpus rights for Guantanamo Bay detainees and ignored the
requirement that the circuit conduct a fair and robust review of prisoners’ detainment.
The D.C. Circuit has jurisdiction over – and often the final say on – critical issues affecting all
Americans:

The D.C. Circuit is the federal appeals court with exclusive jurisdiction over certain
environmental regulations, national security issues, and voting rights cases, and it is the
court that most closely oversees the actions of federal agencies on consumer
protections, workers’ rights, and the environment.

Because the Supreme Court grants review of so few lower court decisions, the D.C.
Circuit is typically the final word on these crucially important issues.
By law, the D.C. Circuit currently has 11 active seats. Today, three of those judgeships are
vacant. The current makeup of the court is:



Of the eight active judges:
o Three were appointed by President George W. Bush;
o Three were appointed by President Clinton ;
o One was appointed by President George H.W. Bush; and
o One was appointed by President Obama. After twice filibustering his first highly
qualified nominee (Caitlin Halligan), Senate Republicans finally relented and
allowed a vote on his second nominee, Sri Srinivasan, in May 2013.
Fifteen of the last 19 D.C. Circuit judges were appointed by Republican presidents: 8 by
Ronald Reagan, 3 by George H.W. Bush, 3 by Bill Clinton, 4 by George W. Bush, and 1 by
Barack Obama.
The D.C. Circuit has six senior (or semi-retired) judges who still can and do sit on threejudge panels that decide major cases. Five of those six senior judges were appointed by
Republican presidents.
The judges on the D.C. Circuit hear extraordinarily complex cases:

As former Chief Judge Patricia Wald has written, “The D.C. Circuit hears the most
complex, time-consuming, labyrinthine disputes over regulations with the greatest
impact on ordinary Americans’ lives . . . . These cases can require thousands of hours of
preparation by the judges, often consuming days of argument, involving hundreds of
parties and interveners, and necessitating dozens of briefs and thousands of pages of
record – all of which culminates in lengthy, technically intricate legal opinions.”
The D.C. Circuit is a stepping stone to the Supreme Court:

Four of the nine current justices – Roberts, Ginsburg, Scalia and Thomas – served on the
D.C. Circuit.
Updated 5/29/13