"There's Gambling Going On Here"?

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I'm feeling pretty morose over the general political, economic, and legal climate we find ourselves in nowadays.

We may soon have Scott as our Governator and Rubio our Senator.

That's depressing enough.

Meanwhile the judicial vacancy crisis rages on, with real-life negative effects for litigants seeking justice:

Since March 2007, Middle Tennessee has been short one of its four U.S. District Court judges. Then, as now, Middle Tennessee should have four federal district court judges to share the responsibilities of adjudicating all of the civil actions and federal criminal matters filed in our 32-county region. With the fourth position vacant, more than 1,400 civil cases and more than 300 criminal cases involving over 550 criminal defendants must now be handled by the remaining three federal judges, taxing the judges and the federal court system.

Senior judges work part-time to assist in managing that caseload, and four magistrate judges conduct preliminary hearings on criminal matters and some of the civil trials by agreement of the parties. The vacancy of one of the four seats renders it difficult for the judges to handle the escalating caseload effectively. Placing this burden on the remaining judges can lead to a serious delay in the administration of justice in the Middle District of Tennessee.

President Barack Obama has had fewer judges confirmed to the bench than any president at this point in his tenure since Richard Nixon nearly 40 years ago.

With our do-nothing Congress, is there any reason to expect some confirmations before it adjourns?

Maybe we don't need courts anymore, depending on how the Supremes handle the arbitration issues raised in the important AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion case, due to be argued before the Wise Ones on November 9th.

Same with the widening question of preemption, also due to be argued before the Supremes this term.

Here's one reason vesting all power in the feds may not be a good idea:

The agency responded by releasing a detailed report last year that found that the agency’s scientific reviewers had repeatedly and unanimously over many years declared Menaflex unworthy of approval, but that they had been overruled by agency managers after political pressure from four Democrats from New Jersey — Senators Robert Menendez and Frank R. Lautenberg and Representatives Frank Pallone Jr. and Steven R. Rothman. The report also concluded that Dr. Andrew C. von Eschenbach, then the agency’s commissioner, had become inappropriately involved in the decision, and that agency procedures had been bypassed.

All four lawmakers made their inquiries about Menaflex after receiving significant campaign contributions from ReGen, which is based in Hackensack, N.J. Dr. von Eschenbach and the four lawmakers said they acted properly.

God I'm beginning to sound like an ass.

What to do, what to do......

Ok, I feel better now.