President Obama has submitted eight nominations to fill 20 current appeals court vacancies and 10 nominees for 75 district court vacancies, a much slower pace than President George W. Bush, the AP/New York Times reports. According to figures compiled by the Alliance for Justice, Bush had put forward nominees for 23 of 34 appeals court vacancies and 32 nominations for 81 district court vacancies within the first full eight months of his tenure. However, unlike Obama, Bush did not have to contend with a Supreme Court nomination early in his term. To date, the Senate has confirmed three of Obama's judicial picks, including Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Judge Gerard Lynch to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York, and Judge Jeffrey Viken to the U.S. District Court in South Dakota.

The AP/Times reports that the "stakes are particularly evident" on the Richmond, Va.-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, which was "once a bastion of conservative judges" but now has five Republicans, five Democrats and five vacant seats. Obama has selected nominees for two of the vacant seats, but the Senate has not acted on either. Several decisions by the 4th Circuit -- which covers Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia -- could be reversed in new challenges with a different balance on the bench. Among the cases is the court's 6-5 decision in June upholding Virginia's Partial Birth Infanticide Act. The court announced the decision two weeks before its chief judge, Republican-appointed Karen Williams, announced her retirement. Some abortion-rights advocates believe the decision may have been different if the court had waited to make its ruling.

Democratic appointees could gain majorities in several other key districts through Obama's nominations, the AP/Times reports. There are two vacancies on the Philadelphia-based 3rd Circuit, which is split with six judges nominated by presidents from each political party. Obama has put forward nominations for both vacancies. Obama's nominations also could create a Democrat-nominated majority on the 2nd Circuit and lead to an even split on the 1st Circuit, which covers Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. In addition, Obama's nominations could bring Democrats within one seat of reversing a Republican majority on the District of Columbia Circuit, which rules on most major challenges to decisions by government agencies. The District of Columbia Circuit has six Republicans, three Democrats and two vacancies (Margasak, AP/New York Times, 10/3).

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