Read on Twitter
As we start to see more and more judges announce that they are taking senior status, a quick reminder that these moves will have a significant impact on the courts of appeals, and not just in the ways that are obvious at first blush... (mini 
) https://twitter.com/ZoeTillman/status/1354111920543068160
) https://twitter.com/ZoeTillman/status/1354111920543068160
First, the way that is obvious - as judges take senior status, they create vacancies. And so we will be adding a number of D-appointed judges to the mix of these courts. Notice that how much of an impact that has depends in part on the behavior of the senior judges (2/x).
If I am a liberal judge who goes senior and I continue to hear a substantial # of cases (say 75% of an active judge's caseload), we have net added 3/4s of a liberal judge to the court. If as a senior judge I hear only 25% of an active judge's caseload, the net effect is lower. 3
Another important point concerns seniority. The judges who are eligible to go senior now are some of the most senior of the active judges on their court. This means they preside much of the time, and have a hand in opinion assignment, depending on the norms of the circuit. 4
The judges who will replace them will, of course, now be the most junior judges on the court. That reshuffling matters and has effects that are hard for the public to discern but will be relevant for things like opinion assignment for some time. 5
It also matters for things like the United States Judicial Conference. That is, who is now able to populate some of the most important committees (like the Executive Committee) where critical work is done for the judiciary as a whole. 6
In addition to these "trickle down effects," it is worth appreciating what these changes mean for collegiality. A Chief Judge once told me that every time a new judge comes onto his court, it becomes a new court. Replacing 4 judges on a 16-person court can be huge for the judges.
It is also worth appreciating that many of the courts have just gone through significant changes in the last four years. How do courts usually respond to such sea-changes in personnel? It is not uncommon for them to go on retreats, for judges to get to know each other...
...something that obviously cannot happen right now. So this is all to say that while it is easy to focus on the top number - how many judges are taking senior status - that number has important and complicated spillover effects for how the courts will function going forward. Fin
And if you are dying to know more about senior judges (because, really, who isn't), you can read my @NwULRev article here: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3768510
