One of the most frequent questions posed in response to articles regarding decisions by federal judges is: Who appointed him/her? In theory, that shouldn't matter — blindfolded Lady Justice and all that. In practice, all too often, it seems that it does.

But...maybe not quite as much as people assume. I decided it might be interesting to take a closer look at some of the statistics regarding the federal judiciary. Some of those stats will come as no surprise. Others, though, well, see what you think. //

While many assume the court typically rules in partisan fashion, the bulk of the decisions in each term are unanimous (accounting for roughly 47 percent of the decisions over the most recent three terms).
In contrast, the 6-3 decisions (what one would expect if the decisions were strictly party-line) account for only 22 percent of the decisions. //

Next, we'll take a look at the makeup of the federal judiciary, beginning with the District Courts.

Number of district courts - 94
Number of district judges - 677 (does not include those who have taken senior status). //

Alright, but what about the Circuit Courts of Appeal? Well, we have that breakdown as well.

Number of circuit-level judgeships - 179 (not including those who have taken senior status)