The Volokh Conspiracy has an
The Volokh Conspiracy has an interesting defense of the DC Circuit’s title as the 2nd most important court in the land. It makes some valid points that limits the effectiveness of the argument I cited last week. I’m still not completely sold; part of it depends on what one means by “important” or “powerful.” I agree that it has more impact on the minutiae of federal bureaucracy than the other circuits. But it’s also true that the numbered circuits all impact more people. For example, the Hopwood decision in the 5th Circuit that overturned race-based criteria in the states of Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
