Majority of U.S. Appeals Courts Have GOP-Appointed Edge (2)

Judges appointed by Republican presidents outnumber their colleagues tapped by Democrats in a majority of federal appeals courts after President Donald Trump flipped a circuit for the third time.

Senate confirmation of Barbara Lagoa by a vote of 80 to 15 on Nov. 20 gives Republican appointees a 7 to 5 advantage on the Atlanta-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

Lagoa’s confirmation also raises the number of appeals courts with a majority of Republican appointees to seven. There are 13 circuits.

While a president’s political affiliation isn’t an indicator alone of how a judge might rule, it ...