Clinton, Obama Circuit Judges Shun Retirement as Election Looms

Most Democratic-appointed appellate judges eligible for a form of semi-retirement are hanging onto their seats as the election year tests President Joe Biden’s goal of reshaping the federal circuit courts.

Only three of 17 judges who’ve been eligible in the past year have given Biden pathways to appoint their successors.

Judge James Wynn Jr., an appointee of President Barack Obama, announced plans this week to step down from the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and take senior status, a form of semi-retirement.

He follows Judge Joseph Greenaway of the Third Circuit, who left the bench to join ...