Is the Sixth the New Ninth?
21st February 2011
The Cincinnati Enquirer reports on the string of cases in which the Supreme Court has reversed the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. As the Enquirer story notes, the Sixth Circuit has batted 0–15 over the past three Supreme Court terms. This is quite remarkable. No other Circuit has been reversed so consistently over this period. As I noted here, it’s also quite unusual to see a single Circuit reversed so consistently in a single area, such as criminal procedure and habeas rights, as the Sixth was last term.
One of the significant indicia of American decline is the fact that Federal Appellate Court judges are becoming figures of ridicule. Remember that nobody laughs at you if you aren’t funny.