Federal Law News

Realignment Of Circuits Of A Mechanism For Obtaining A Consistent Body Of Federal Appellate Law

The major conclusion of the Commission is that the Ninth Circuit should not be split. The Commission made the following statements supporting that conclusion.

There is no persuasive evidence that the Ninth Circuit (or any other circuit, for that matter) is not working effectively, or that creating new circuits will improve the administration of justice in any circuit or overall. Furthermore, splitting the circuit would impose substantial costs of administrative disruption, not to mention the monetary costs of creating a new circuit. Accordingly, we do not recommend to Congress and the President that they consider legislation to split the circuit.

There is one principle that we regard as undebatable: It is wrong to realign circuits (or not realign them) and to restructure courts (or leave them alone) because of particular judicial decisions or particular judges. This rule must be faithfully honored, for the independence of the judiciary is of constitutional dimension and requires no less.

Maintaining the court of appeals for the Ninth Circuit as currently aligned respects the character of the West as a distinct region. Having a single court interpret and apply federal law in the western United States, particularly the federal commercial and maritime laws that govern relations with the other nations on the Pacific Rim, is a strength of the circuit that should be maintained.

Any realignment of circuits would deprive the west coast of a mechanism for obtaining a consistent body of federal appellate law, and of the practical advantages of the Ninth Circuit administrative structure.

The conclusion that the Ninth Circuit should not be split corresponds with the overwhelming opinion of the judges and lawyers in the Ninth Circuit, as well as statements of others concerned with this issue who submitted written statements or gave oral testimony before the Commission. Among those opposing the division of the Ninth Circuit were the following:

20 out of the 25 persons testifying at the Seattle Hearing of the Commission.
37 out of 38 of the persons testifying at the San Francisco Hearing of the Commission.
The Governors of the States of Washington, Oregon, California, and Nevada.
The American Bar Association.
The Federal Bar Association.
The United States Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorneys within the Ninth Circuit.
All of the Public Defenders within the Ninth Circuit.
Respected scholars: Charles Alan Wright, Arthur Hellman, Anthony Amsterdam, Erwin Chemerinsky, Judy Resnik, Jessie Choper, and Margaret Johns.
The past Director of the Federal Judicial Center, Judge William Schwartzer.
The chairman of Long-Range Planning for the U.S. Federal Courts, Judge Otto Skopil.
A great majority of the judges and lawyers in the Ninth Circuit.

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