The 9th Is Not A Symphony Of Justice

WASHINGTON — How big is the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals? The San-Francisco-based circuit is so big that it represents nine states, including Nevada, 20 percent of the U.S. population and 40 percent of the nation’s land mass. It’s so big that Congress has looked at bills to split the circuit since 1941, and it’s so big that none of those measures have succeeded.

The 9th is the most reversed appellate court in the land. No other court has had so many of its decisions reversed by the US Supreme Court and no other court has had their decisions reversed where there was no minority opinion by the Supremes; where all nine Justices agreed that the 9th was full of crap.

Scholars have different views over which city should serve as a 12th Circuit headquarters. Some mention Seattle, others Phoenix.

Hellman recalls a late law professor who argued in favor of Las Vegas, with its central location and good airline service. More to the point, because the 9th Circuit has so many judges, which makes it harder to predict outcomes, the scholar joked, the circuit’s headquarters should be in Las Vegas because it’s such a gamble.

Story here.

Yeah, I’m kinda reaching with this post’s title.