Trump faces obstacles in bid to re-shape key U.S. courtsWASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s effort to reshape influential U.S. courts by stocking them with conservative judges faces at least one significant impediment: some of the courts best placed to thwart his agenda have liberal majorities that are likely to stay in place in the short-term. Those courts, including an influential Washington appeals court and two appellate courts that ruled against Trump in cases involving his travel ban, all had an influx of fresh liberal blood under President Barack Obama.  “Trump is not going to be able to make any significant dents into the Democrats’ control of those three (appellate) circuits,” said Arthur Hellman, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. After eight years in office, Obama was able to make enough appointments to leave a strong liberal imprint on the federal courts. When he left the White House in January, nine of the 13 federal appeals courts had a majority of Democratic-appointed judges. The federal appeals courts, divided into 11 geographic regions plus two based in the District of Columbia, often have the final say in major legal disputes. The conservative-leaning U.S. Supreme Court, which now includes Trump appointee Neil Gorsuch, can overrule appeals court decisions, but hears only a small number of cases, which leaves lower court rulings in place most of the time.  The appeals courts can shape the interpretation of such issues as abortion, religious freedom, voting rights and race.  Appellate court judges serve lifetime terms, and so far Trump’s opportunities to appoint new ones have been mostly limited to courts that already lean conservative. Among the courts conservatives would most like to shift are the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, both of which ruled against Trump in cases challenging the Republican president’s executive orders temporarily banning travel to the United States by people from six predominantly Muslim countries. The Supreme Court partially revived the ban last month. The ideological balance of those courts has provided some hope to Trump’s legal opponents, including Democratic state attorneys general, who have already sued the administration over the travel ban and other issues. “Strategic attorneys general can likely chart a path through Democratic-leaning courts - making it harder on the Trump administration to pursue its agenda through executive action,” said Sarah Binder, a scholar the nonpartisan Brookings Institution think tank. Thanks in part to efforts by the Republican-led Senate in the final two years of Obama’s presidency to block the Democratic president’s judicial appointments, Trump has 21 appeals court slots to fill, according to the federal judiciary’s administrative office. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved two of Trump’s appeals court nominees on Thursday. In some of the key courts, new vacancies in the near term are more likely to be in slots currently filled by Republican appointees, so Trump’s early appointments will be unlikely to change the court balance. A case in point is the announcement this week by Republican appointee Janice Rogers Brown on the Washington appeals court that she plans to step down.  In Washington, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is often called the second-highest court in the land, in part because it hears a large number of cases concerning major government regulations on issues such as the environment and labor.  Democratic appointees hold a 7-4 advantage among the 11 active judges.  Of the Democratic appointees, Judge David Tatel is 75 and Judge Judith Rogers is 77. The next oldest is Merrick Garland at 64. Obama made four appointments to the court, the oldest of whom is 56. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is also stacked against Trump: out of 25 full-time judges, Democratic presidents appointed 18 and Republican presidents seven. The oldest Democratic appointee, liberal icon Stephen Reinhardt, is 86 years old. The 10 9th Circuit judges appointed by President Bill Clinton who still work full-time range in age from 63 to 72, and none have given any indication they plan to reduce their caseloads.  The court currently has four vacancies, but three of those seats are based in states - California, Oregon and Hawaii - with two Democratic senators who are likely to resist attempts to place extreme conservatives on the court. Those dynamics make it extremely unlikely that Trump will be able to significantly alter the 9th Circuit’s orientation, Hellman said.  The Virginia-based 4th Circuit has a 10-5 majority of Democratic appointees and no current vacancies. The oldest Democratic appointee is Judge Robert King, who is 77. Leonard Leo, executive vice president of the conservative Federalist Society, who has advised the White House on judicial nominations, is optimistic about Trump’s long-term prospects. “It takes time to recalibrate the federal courts,” he said.    In the meantime, Leo said, every slot matters, since conservative judges on liberal-majority courts can offer critical dissents in important cases and serve a kind of signaling function to the Supreme Court.  politicsNews
trump faces obstacles bid key courtswashington reuters president donald trump effort shape influential courts stocking conservative judges faces least one significant impediment courts best placed thwart agenda liberal majorities likely stay place those courts including influential washington appeals court two appellate courts ruled trump cases involving travel ban influx fresh liberal blood president barack obama trump going able make significant cents democrats control three appellate circuits said arthur hallan professor university pittsburgh school law after eight years office obama able make enough appointments leave strong liberal imprint federal courts when left white house january nine federal appeals courts majority judges the federal appeals courts divided geographic regions plus two based district columbia often final say major legal disputes the supreme court includes trump appointee neil gorsuch overrule appeals court decisions hears small number cases leaves lower court rulings place time the appeals courts shape interpretation issues abortion religious freedom voting rights race appellate court judges serve lifetime terms far trump opportunities appoint new ones mostly limited courts already lean conservative among courts conservatives would like shift san circuit court appeals richmond circuit court appeals ruled trump cases challenging republican president executive orders temporarily banning travel united states people six predominantly muslim countries the supreme court partially revived ban last month the ideological balance courts provided hope trump legal opponents including democratic state attorneys general already sued administration travel ban issues strategic attorneys general likely chart path courts making harder trump administration pursue agenda executive action said sarah binder scholar nonpartisan bookings institution think tank thanks part efforts senate final two years obama presidency block democratic president judicial appointments trump appeals court slots fill according federal judiciary administrative office the senate judiciary committee approved two trump appeals court nominees thursday in key courts new vacancies near term likely slots currently filled republican appointees trump early appointments unlikely change court balance a case point announcement week republican appointee dance rogers brown washington appeals court plans step in washington court appeals district columbia circuit often called court land part hears large number cases concerning major government regulations issues environment labor democratic appointees hold advantage among active judges of democratic appointees judge david titel judge judith rogers the next oldest derrick garland obama made four appointments court oldest the san circuit court appeals also stacked trump judges democratic presidents appointed republican presidents seven the oldest democratic appointee liberal icon stephen reinhardt years old the circuit judges appointed president bill clinton still work range age none given indication plan reduce caseloads the court currently four vacancies three seats based states california oregon hawaii two democratic senators likely resist attempts place extreme conservatives court those dynamics make extremely unlikely trump able significantly alter circuit orientation hallan said the circuit majority democratic appointees current vacancies the oldest democratic appointee judge robert king leonard leo executive vice president conservative federalism society advised white house judicial nominations optimistic trump prospects it takes time recalibrate federal courts said in meantime leo said every slot matters since conservative judges courts offer critical dissent important cases serve kind signaling function supreme court politicsnews
Your task is to classify the provided input as real or fake news. Label 0 is meant for fake news, Label 1 is for real news. TEXT: Trump faces obstacles in bid to re-shape key U.S. courtsWASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s effort to reshape influential U.S. courts by stocking them with conservative judges faces at least one significant impediment: some of the courts best placed to thwart his agenda have liberal majorities that are likely to stay in place in the short-term. Those courts, including an influential Washington appeals court and two appellate courts that ruled against Trump in cases involving his travel ban, all had an influx of fresh liberal blood under President Barack Obama.  “Trump is not going to be able to make any significant dents into the Democrats’ control of those three (appellate) circuits,” said Arthur Hellman, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. After eight years in office, Obama was able to make enough appointments to leave a strong liberal imprint on the federal courts. When he left the White House in January, nine of the 13 federal appeals courts had a majority of Democratic-appointed judges. The federal appeals courts, divided into 11 geographic regions plus two based in the District of Columbia, often have the final say in major legal disputes. The conservative-leaning U.S. Supreme Court, which now includes Trump appointee Neil Gorsuch, can overrule appeals court decisions, but hears only a small number of cases, which leaves lower court rulings in place most of the time.  The appeals courts can shape the interpretation of such issues as abortion, religious freedom, voting rights and race.  Appellate court judges serve lifetime terms, and so far Trump’s opportunities to appoint new ones have been mostly limited to courts that already lean conservative. Among the courts conservatives would most like to shift are the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, both of which ruled against Trump in cases challenging the Republican president’s executive orders temporarily banning travel to the United States by people from six predominantly Muslim countries. The Supreme Court partially revived the ban last month. The ideological balance of those courts has provided some hope to Trump’s legal opponents, including Democratic state attorneys general, who have already sued the administration over the travel ban and other issues. “Strategic attorneys general can likely chart a path through Democratic-leaning courts - making it harder on the Trump administration to pursue its agenda through executive action,” said Sarah Binder, a scholar the nonpartisan Brookings Institution think tank. Thanks in part to efforts by the Republican-led Senate in the final two years of Obama’s presidency to block the Democratic president’s judicial appointments, Trump has 21 appeals court slots to fill, according to the federal judiciary’s administrative office. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved two of Trump’s appeals court nominees on Thursday. In some of the key courts, new vacancies in the near term are more likely to be in slots currently filled by Republican appointees, so Trump’s early appointments will be unlikely to change the court balance. A case in point is the announcement this week by Republican appointee Janice Rogers Brown on the Washington appeals court that she plans to step down.  In Washington, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is often called the second-highest court in the land, in part because it hears a large number of cases concerning major government regulations on issues such as the environment and labor.  Democratic appointees hold a 7-4 advantage among the 11 active judges.  Of the Democratic appointees, Judge David Tatel is 75 and Judge Judith Rogers is 77. The next oldest is Merrick Garland at 64. Obama made four appointments to the court, the oldest of whom is 56. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is also stacked against Trump: out of 25 full-time judges, Democratic presidents appointed 18 and Republican presidents seven. The oldest Democratic appointee, liberal icon Stephen Reinhardt, is 86 years old. The 10 9th Circuit judges appointed by President Bill Clinton who still work full-time range in age from 63 to 72, and none have given any indication they plan to reduce their caseloads.  The court currently has four vacancies, but three of those seats are based in states - California, Oregon and Hawaii - with two Democratic senators who are likely to resist attempts to place extreme conservatives on the court. Those dynamics make it extremely unlikely that Trump will be able to significantly alter the 9th Circuit’s orientation, Hellman said.  The Virginia-based 4th Circuit has a 10-5 majority of Democratic appointees and no current vacancies. The oldest Democratic appointee is Judge Robert King, who is 77. Leonard Leo, executive vice president of the conservative Federalist Society, who has advised the White House on judicial nominations, is optimistic about Trump’s long-term prospects. “It takes time to recalibrate the federal courts,” he said.    In the meantime, Leo said, every slot matters, since conservative judges on liberal-majority courts can offer critical dissents in important cases and serve a kind of signaling function to the Supreme Court.  politicsNews
Your task is to classify the provided input as real or fake news. Label 0 is meant for fake news, Label 1 is for real news. TEXT: trump faces obstacles bid key courtswashington reuters president donald trump effort shape influential courts stocking conservative judges faces least one significant impediment courts best placed thwart agenda liberal majorities likely stay place those courts including influential washington appeals court two appellate courts ruled trump cases involving travel ban influx fresh liberal blood president barack obama trump going able make significant cents democrats control three appellate circuits said arthur hallan professor university pittsburgh school law after eight years office obama able make enough appointments leave strong liberal imprint federal courts when left white house january nine federal appeals courts majority judges the federal appeals courts divided geographic regions plus two based district columbia often final say major legal disputes the supreme court includes trump appointee neil gorsuch overrule appeals court decisions hears small number cases leaves lower court rulings place time the appeals courts shape interpretation issues abortion religious freedom voting rights race appellate court judges serve lifetime terms far trump opportunities appoint new ones mostly limited courts already lean conservative among courts conservatives would like shift san circuit court appeals richmond circuit court appeals ruled trump cases challenging republican president executive orders temporarily banning travel united states people six predominantly muslim countries the supreme court partially revived ban last month the ideological balance courts provided hope trump legal opponents including democratic state attorneys general already sued administration travel ban issues strategic attorneys general likely chart path courts making harder trump administration pursue agenda executive action said sarah binder scholar nonpartisan bookings institution think tank thanks part efforts senate final two years obama presidency block democratic president judicial appointments trump appeals court slots fill according federal judiciary administrative office the senate judiciary committee approved two trump appeals court nominees thursday in key courts new vacancies near term likely slots currently filled republican appointees trump early appointments unlikely change court balance a case point announcement week republican appointee dance rogers brown washington appeals court plans step in washington court appeals district columbia circuit often called court land part hears large number cases concerning major government regulations issues environment labor democratic appointees hold advantage among active judges of democratic appointees judge david titel judge judith rogers the next oldest derrick garland obama made four appointments court oldest the san circuit court appeals also stacked trump judges democratic presidents appointed republican presidents seven the oldest democratic appointee liberal icon stephen reinhardt years old the circuit judges appointed president bill clinton still work range age none given indication plan reduce caseloads the court currently four vacancies three seats based states california oregon hawaii two democratic senators likely resist attempts place extreme conservatives court those dynamics make extremely unlikely trump able significantly alter circuit orientation hallan said the circuit majority democratic appointees current vacancies the oldest democratic appointee judge robert king leonard leo executive vice president conservative federalism society advised white house judicial nominations optimistic trump prospects it takes time recalibrate federal courts said in meantime leo said every slot matters since conservative judges courts offer critical dissent important cases serve kind signaling function supreme court politicsnews