Barack Obama carried Virginia and North Carolina in the presidential election — and he may be about to win the federal appellate circuit that covers those states as well.
With four vacancies on the 15-judge 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Obama has the chance to almost instantly move the number of Democratic appointees on the court from five to nine. And in doing so he may transform a court known as one of the most conservative in the country — one that hasn’t had a majority appointed by Democratic presidents in more than 25 years. “This could be a very different 4th Circuit,” said Carter Phillips, managing partner of Sidley Austin’s office in D.C. and a veteran appellate advocate.
