Judges list binds conservatives to Trump

President Trump would likely not be in the Oval Office today if not for his pledge to appoint conservative judges to federal courts, particularly the Supreme Court.

Supreme Court appointments were the single most important factor for 27 percent of Trump voters, exit polls showed. This was the top issue for less than 20 percent of Hillary Clinton voters. Many conservatives bet warily on Trump's repeated pledges to nominate judges like the late Antonin Scalia. Even doubters were impressed with his superb pick of Justice Neil Gorsuch for Scalia's old seat.

But the Supreme Court takes only a few dozen cases out of hundreds of thousands that appear before federal courts each year. This is why conservatives should care just as much or more about nominees for district courts, appellate courts and other federal courts.

Trump has now nominated 10 more senior federal judges, who at first glance appear to be excellent. As conservative legal scholar Jonathan Adler put it, "Those of us who doubted Trump would take judicial nominations seriously may have some crow to eat."

The lower courts' importance must not be understated or undersold. It's true that some major issues, such as abortion, depend entirely on the Supreme Court because its precedents are so hardened by time and have filtered down to lower courts. But most crucial issues are shaped in lower courts by their case load.