In a strategic move, U.S. Circuit Judge James Wynn, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, has chosen to step away from active service on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. This decision, announced by the federal judiciary on Tuesday, opens up a coveted fourth seat for President Joe Biden to influence the Richmond, Virginia-based federal appeals court.
Wynn, 69, who is set to assume senior status, a form of semi-retirement for judges over the age of 65 with a minimum of 15 years on the federal bench, did not provide an immediate response to inquiries.
This development offers President Biden an opportunity to fortify a liberal majority on a court with jurisdiction over appeals from Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia.
The current composition of the court features eight active judges appointed by Democratic presidents, including Wynn and Biden’s two confirmed appointees, U.S. Circuit Judges Toby Heytens and DeAndrea Benjamin. On the flip side, six active judges owe their appointments to Republican presidents. Biden is actively working to fill another vacancy, nominating Nicole Berner, general counsel of the Service Employees International Union, pending Senate approval.
Wynn’s judicial journey began on the North Carolina Court of Appeals and the state’s Supreme Court from 1990 to 2010. In 2010, the U.S. Senate confirmed his position on the 4th Circuit.
This seasoned judge, who is Black, faced political hurdles in 1999 when nominated by former President Bill Clinton. North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms, a Republican, declined to return a crucial “blue slip,” delaying Wynn’s confirmation until 2010.
Among Wynn’s notable decisions is a 2018 majority opinion that declared North Carolina’s Republican-drawn congressional map unconstitutional, citing partisan gerrymandering that violated the U.S. Constitution’s First and Fourteenth Amendments. However, the U.S. Supreme Court, with a conservative majority, overturned this decision in 2019, establishing the precedent that federal judges lack the authority to intervene in partisan gerrymandering.
Wynn, openly critical of the Supreme Court’s ruling, characterized it as a form of “judicial activism” in a lecture at New York University School of Law in 2020.
As the judicial landscape undergoes a transformation, President Biden’s ability to shape the federal judiciary takes center stage, with the 4th Circuit now emerging as a focal point for legal and political maneuvers.
