Bill Text: AZ HM2002 | 2016 | Fifty-second Legislature 2nd Regular | Enrolled
Bill Title: Urging Congress; ninth circuit reform
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2016-05-09 - Transmitted to Secretary Of State [HM2002 Detail]
Download: Arizona-2016-HM2002-Enrolled.html
|
House Engrossed |
|
State of Arizona House of Representatives Fifty-second Legislature Second Regular Session 2016
|
|
HOUSE MEMORIAL 2002 |
|
|
|
|
A MEMORIAL
urging the Congress of the United States to reform the ninth circuit court of appeals.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
To the Congress of the United States of America:
Your memorialist respectfully represents:
Whereas, according to data compiled by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals had 13,714 cases pending as of March 31, 2015. This is nearly three times the number of pending cases as the second busiest court, the Fifth Circuit, which had 4,679 cases pending on the same date; and
Whereas, according to the Ninth Circuit's 2014 Annual Report, "[t]he Ninth Circuit had 21.9 percent of all new appeals nationally, the most of any circuit"; and
Whereas, the 2014 Annual Report indicates that the median time interval for processing a case in the Ninth Circuit, measured from the filing of a notice of appeal to the last opinion or final order, is 12.4 months. For federal circuit courts nationwide, the median time interval is 8.5 months; and
Whereas, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals consists of nine states and two federal territories, the largest number of such constituent jurisdictions compared to other federal circuits; and
Whereas, in recent decades, two commissions organized by Congress have recommended reforming the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals; and
Whereas, the Commission on Revision of the Federal Court Appellate System (P.L. 92-489), established in 1972 and led by then-Senator Roman Hruska, recommended that Congress divide both the Fifth and the Ninth Circuits. In response to this recommendation, Congress created the Eleventh Circuit from states formerly assigned to the Fifth Circuit but did not act on the Hruska Commission's recommendation to restructure the Ninth Circuit; and
Whereas, in 1998, the Commission on Structural Alternatives for the Federal Courts of Appeals (P.L. 105-119), chaired by former United States Supreme Court Justice Byron White, observed that, among other things, the Ninth Circuit's voluminous caseload, limited ability to use the en banc review process and inconsistency in decisions necessitated reform. The White Commission noted, "as courts reach 18 to 20 judgeships, the need for restructuring becomes especially compelling, in order to maintain consistency and coherence." The Ninth Circuit presently has a total of 44 judges, consisting of 28 active judges and 16 senior judges; and
Whereas, numerous federal judges support reforming the Ninth Circuit, including the option of dividing the court into two circuits. Ninth Circuit Judges Andrew Kleinfeld, Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain and Richard C. Tallman have testified before Congress in favor of a split. The late Judge John M. Roll of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona authored a heavily researched analysis of the merits of dividing the Ninth Circuit. He argued that the Ninth Circuit's disproportionate number of states, disproportionate number of judges and inability to use the en banc review process and the frequent reversals by the United States Supreme Court, when compared to other circuit courts, justify creating an additional circuit court of appeals from states within the Ninth Circuit; and
Whereas, writing to the White Commission in 1998, former United States Justice Sandra Day O'Connor urged Ninth Circuit reform, stating that "the circuit is simply too large" and suggesting that "Arizona could be placed in the Tenth Circuit." Justice Anthony Kennedy, who served as a judge on the Ninth Circuit prior to his appointment to the United States Supreme Court, also urged the White Commission to split the court. Justice Kennedy wrote, "[w]hat began as an experiment should not become the status quo when it has not yielded real success. In my view, the judicial system would be better served if the states of the present Ninth Circuit were to comprise more circuits than one"; and
Whereas, current and former members of Congress, including United States Senators Jon Kyl, John Ensign and Lisa Murkowski, have called for dividing the Ninth Circuit into two courts or for the enactment of other reforms; and
Whereas, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, United States Senator Jeff Flake and United States Congressman Matt Salmon are now calling on Congress to review options for reforming the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, including the option to divide the court into two circuit courts; and
Whereas, because of its disproportionate size, disproportionate number of judges, inability to effectively use the en banc review process, disproportionately lengthy review time and inordinately high reversal rate by the United States Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, as it presently exists, is unable to provide timely, consistent and reliable case resolution for the people of Arizona, including its citizens and businesses, those wrongfully accused and victims of crime; and
Whereas, Article III of the United States Constitution provides that Congress may "ordain and establish" the federal courts and Congress has, from time to time, established new circuit courts and judicial districts in response to the increased workload of existing federal courts.
Wherefore your memorialist, the House of Representatives of the State of Arizona, prays:
1. That the Congress of the United States of America enact reform measures for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, including dividing the court into two circuit courts of appeal.
2. That the Secretary of State of the State of Arizona transmit copies of this Memorial to each Member of the Congress of the United States of America.
PASSED BY THE HOUSE MAY 7, 2016.
FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE MAY 9, 2016.
