The Ninth Circuit Curse
Here's a little riddle: What do these three senators have in common?
Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho)Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska)
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska)
First, they're all Republican senators from underpopulated sparsely populated states.
Second, they've all run into ethical, legal, or political problems. You know all about Senator Craig -- in fact, more than you ever wanted to. As for Senator Stevens, see here and here. As for Senator Murkowski, see here.
What's the third thing they have in common? Find out, after the jump.
Here's the third thing shared in common by this trio:
They were all big proponents of splitting the Ninth Circuit.
These senators are all victims of the fabled Ninth Circuit Curse: anyone who tries to mess with the Mighty Ninth eventually finds himself (or herself) in deep doo-doo.
There are legitimate arguments to be made in favor of splitting the circuit. See, e.g., here and here (testimony of our former boss).
But over the years, there has been lots of talk but no action on proposals to split the circuit. Is it because of the Ninth Circuit Curse?
Disorder in the court [Los Angeles Times]
Improving the Administration of Justice: A Proposal to Split the Ninth Circuit [Senate Judiciary Committee]
(25) Comments
FIRSTTTTTT
What is an "underpopulated" state? Does that mean the state has a lower population than it SHOULD have? If so, who decides what a state's population should be?
Sen. Craig flexin' dat wide stance?
WHAAAAAAAA-OOWWWWWWWW
You, 2:43, are an asshole. That is all.
lat, your hammer's ringing but these nails ain't going down.
Next!
HEY LAT, WHERE'S THAT BONUS INFORMATION YOU PROMISED US MONTHS BACK?!
Seems like bonuses are the differentiating factor between firms' compensation more than ever before. Any insight?
Circuit splitting would have a real tough tmie gonig through. Its just a court packing scenario for the president. Imagine getting to appoint that many CoA judges. Not likely.
I think "underpopulated" is meant to be "low population density."
Perhaps Lat would rather we talk about contract lawyers as being "undersalaried," or white folks as "undermelanined."
I seem to recall reading that the SCOTUS dockets for the last few years are comprised of a ton of 9th cir. cases. True? Why does this circuit appear to get it wrong so often?
underpopulated = not important and only interesting thing that comes out of it is political scandals? Wait, why am I talking when I come from Oregon? I take it back. Geez.
I haven't read your boss's testimony to know if this part of the argument against the split, but in Idaho the big fear (of many, not me) is that if the 9th was split you would get even more far-left holdings from the California judges because they wouldn't be tempered by the more conservative Idaho/Ariz./Alaska judges
I can't believe no one has mentioned the obvious Article IV reasons for splitting the Ninth Circuit. This lack of attention to detail is really disgusting. The Circuit MUST be split!
OUR COUNTRY IS GOVERNED BY A HIPPIE CABAL!
Underpopulated = more voting representation per capita in the Senate than populous states.
Suck it states with people.
Feel free to make fun of me, but what are the "obvious" Art. IV reasons for splitting the 9th Circuit?
Underpopulated also = more voting representation per capita in the House for all states with less than about 650K people (i.e., Alaska and Wyoming). Also, because each house and senate seat garners one electoral vote, more say per capita in presidential elections.
Suck it two more times, states with people.
4:16 - didn't you sleep at all in class?
3:09:
True -- SCOTUS hears a lot of Ninth Circuit. Then again, the Ninth Circuit hears far more cases than any other Circuit (roughly the amount the next two largest circuits adjudicate). Further, the Ninth's reversal rate is not out of line with that of other circuits. Simply put, SCOTUS does not generally grant cert to affirm. Furthermore, studies confirm that, when it resolves a circuit split, SCOTUS almost never grants cert to a Ninth Circuit case for affirmance. Rather, it grants cert to another's circuit's case for reversal. Thus, the true affirm/reverse statistics tend to be skewed. While true that the Ninth Circuit gets reversed by SCOTUS, the same is true of every other circuit. The only real difference is the number of cases, dictated in large part by the Ninth's vast docket and the headline-grabbing nature of the Ninth's cases (Seattle schools; bong hits for JC; "under G-d," etc.).
what does SCOTUS stand for? I love anonymity here... I can ask the dumb Qs I'd love to ask in real life.
3:42
Seriously, what are you talking about?
Supreme Court Of The United States
Ann On:
What does "Supreme Court" mean?
Who are three people who have never been in my kitchen?
The whole Ninth Circuit needs a good tazering.
Nothing in Article IV even comes close to demanding a split in the 9th, 3:42 is either facetious or wrong
Don't taze me, Bro!