Bonus 33: The "Good Ship Fifth Circuit"

With two decision days to go, the nation's most conservative federal appeals court has the worst record at the Supreme Court—a sign of a growing disconnect between lower courts and the median Justices

Welcome back to the weekly bonus content for “One First.” Although Monday’s regular newsletter will remain free for as long as I’m able to do this, much of Thursday’s content is behind a paywall to help incentivize those who are willing and able to support the work that goes into putting this newsletter together every week. I’m grateful to those of you who are already paid subscribers, and hope that those of you who aren’t yet will consider a paid subscription if your circumstances permit:

One of the central distinctions between the substance of Monday’s free issues and that of Thursday’s bonus content is the personalization of the latter. To that end, today’s bonus content offers a slightly … spicier … take on a pattern in the Supreme Court’s decisions this Term: the woeful track record of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. More than a fluky data point, the piece that follows explains how the Fifth Circuit’s rough Term reflects a growing disconnect between the nation’s most conservative court of appeals and, at least, the median Justices on the current Supreme Court—a disconnect that ought to put pressure on the court of appeals to rein itself in.

For those who are not paid subscribers, the next free installment of the newsletter, which will include coverage of the Court’s decisions that are expected both later today and tomorrow, will drop Monday morning. For those who are, read on.