Fluke or Trend on Ninth Circuit En Banc Grants?

For a long time, it’s been impossible, or nearly so, for the conservative judges on the Ninth Circuit to win the support needed from their moderate or liberal colleagues to grant en banc review of panel decisions that reach liberal results. During the course of Donald Trump’s presidency, the number of appointees of Republican presidents on that court grew from 7 to 13, but the surviving majority of 16 appointees of Democratic presidents continued to leave conservative judges in dissent on en banc calls. But maybe the coalition of Democratic…