WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump has spent his first 18 months in office restocking, and reshaping, courts all across the federal judiciary. Now he has the chance to make his mark on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Once considered one of the most conservative courts in the country, the 4th Circuit was for years viewed as hostile to civil rights. It was stacked with judges approved by Senate lions Jesse Helms of North Carolina and Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, right-wing warriors who wielded heavy influence in the selection and confirmation process.
But over the past decade, because of six appointees from President Barack Obama, the 15-member 4th Circuit _ which hears cases in North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia _ has moved decidedly to the left.
