Standing for Change in the Courts? Good Luck.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) made it clear this week that he's just itching to get into the Oval Office to end "the common and systematic abuse of our federal courts" by out-of-control, wackadoodle, ACLU-loving judges.

But that mission's going to be harder than he thinks. When he (or Sen. Barack Obama, his soon-to-be opponent) takes office in January, a very small number of judicial opportunities will be awaiting. According to the U.S. Federal Judicial Center, there are only 13 vacancies on the 179-member federal courts of appeal and only 35 openings among the 674 district or trial judges.

The number of openings may increase by Inauguration Day -- a few seats are vacated each month -- but they could be offset if the Democratic-controlled Senate is persuaded to fill a few appellate seats and perhaps as many as 10 district court seats. Hard to imagine they're going to do more, given the constant bitterness between the parties over judges.

Contrast those paltry numbers with what the Republican-controlled Senate left for President Bush. Shortly after he took the oath in 2001, there were about 30 appeals court vacancies and about 55 district court seats to fill.

The next president will find the federal bench solidly controlled by the GOP, with about 100 Republicans in appeals court seats, compared with approximately 66 Democrats. Republicans have a 56 percent majority at the trial court level.

At least for the first couple of years, McCain would probably find the number of Republican retirees far outnumbering Democrats. Forty-six of the 53 longest-serving appeals judges are GOP appointees. In contrast, were Obama to win, he would have a golden opportunity to replace them with liberal court-abusers. McCain, at least for a chunk of his first term, would only be treading water.

But his prospects for immediate impact would improve dramatically under a bill just proposed by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) that would create 12 appeals court seats and 38 district court seats.

But there would be a huge silver lining for President McCain. He might have the chance to solidify GOP control of the big prize, the Supreme Court, for many years to come. The senior liberal, Justice John Paul Stevens, just turned 88, although he's still golfing and, we hear, maybe playing a little tennis.

A second liberal opening might come from Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who is 75. McCain also might be able to replace conservative justices Antonin Scalia, 72, and Anthony Kennedy, 71, with younger Republicans. If everything worked out, McCain could create a court with a seven-member conservative majority whose oldest member would be Clarence Thomas, who turns 60 next month.

That would take care of the abusers.

[Quick Loop Quiz! Who is the lone remaining district court judge appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson? Ahhh, you guessed it. He is trial Judge Manuel L. Real, 84, of Los Angeles, a controversial jurist who took the bench on Nov. 3, 1966.]

Lawbreakers in Robes

Speaking of the Senate Judiciary Committee, some members are going that extra mile to make sure the black-robed crowd is upstanding and law-abiding. The committee held a nominations hearing Wednesday for a three-seat compromise package of judges: Detroit U.S. Attorney Stephen J. Murphy for a district court seat; Republican lawyer Raymond Kethledge for a 6th Circuit U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals seat; and Helene White, a former Clinton nominee and Michigan state court judge, for a second seat on that appeals court.