The Washington Post gives the federal appellate courts front-page treatment today. The primary story, by R. Jeffrey Smith, discusses how President Bush’s judicial nominations have altered the make-up of the federal bench, and highlights the ideoogical (and personal) divisions on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Somewhat strikingly, it quotes an unnamed member of hte Sixth Circuit accusing his or her colleagues of abusing the en banc process to overturn decisions they don’t like. There’s a companion piece on the likely effect Obama’s appointments (a matter I discussed in this NRO column) and sidebars here and here. I discuss the article a bit more on Volokh here.