Smart Judges Need Not Apply

"It is pretty much the dumber you are, the easier it is to get on the court,"

What may be behind long nominee battles

'Opposition senators of both parties have long emphasized ideology as their key concern - either excessive conservatism or excessive liberalism. Individuals with extreme views generally don't make good judges.'

What he fails to point out is that Democrats now define extreme as anyone who isn't a Democrat.

"It is extraordinary that these court-of-appeals appointments have generated this level of congressional deadlock," says Arthur Hellman of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

"It is not like somebody is replacing Justice O'Connor [on the US Supreme Court], where you can envision dramatic changes in the law," he says. "Yet the way it is being fought you would think it was for a seat on the Supreme Court."

When it is one party's last hold on any semblance of power, you can expect these kinds of battles. The article completely ignores the political aspects of the judicial debates, but otherwise is worth the 2 minutes it takes to read it.

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