Dean Johnson Comments for McClatchy News Service on Trump and Ninth Circuit Vacancies

Dean Kevin R. Johnson commented for a McClatchy News Service report on the potential for President Trump to dramatically reshape the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Trump has sometimes criticized rulings by the Ninth Circuit, arguably the nation’s most liberal appeals court. With five vacancies on the court, the president could significantly influence the direction of the Ninth Circuit by appointing the kind of young, ideologically conservative judges he has placed on other courts.

Dean Johnson said that he expects the White House to appoint “highly qualified people,” but they are likely to be significantly more conservative than their Ninth Circuit predecessors. “Trump will move the court to the right,” Johnson said. “Possibly quite a way.”

Kevin R. Johnson is Dean and Mabie-Apallas Professor of Public Interest Law and Chicana/o studies at UC Davis School of Law. He is an internationally recognized scholar in the fields of immigration law and policy, refugee law, and civil rights.