CONGRESS NEEDS TO FIX 9TH CIRCUIT

There has been much hand-wringing in our nation's capitol lately over the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

Fueled by the ongoing backlash to the court's decision against the Pledge of
Allegiance, and the overwhelming reversal rate of 9th Circuit cases by the
U.S. Supreme Court, some in Congress are arguing that the appeals court is
too unwieldy and should be split up.

The San Francisco-based 9th Circuit is the country's largest court of
appeals, serving approximately 54 million people in nine Western states and
two territories (equaling more than 1.3 million square miles, or nearly 40
percent of the United States).

Last month, a House Judiciary subcommittee held a hearing on a bill
introduced by Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, that calls for Arizona, Nevada and
California to remain in the 9th Circuit, while Montana, Idaho, Washington,
Oregon, Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands would be
grouped together to form a new 12th Circuit.

"The enormous size of the court and magnitude of the growing caseload have
resulted in unreasonable delays in court decisions, and a disturbing lack of
judicial continuity in many of those decisions," Rep. Simpson argued.

Statistics released by Rep. Simpson reveal the 9th Circuit alone accounts
for 60 percent of all appeals that have been pending in the nation's circuit
courts for more than 12 months. In addition, the 9th Circuit is 53 percent
slower than the other circuits in deciding appeals.

Splitting the court might help from an efficiency standpoint, but when one
considers that in the last Supreme Court term the high court unanimously
reversed the 9th Circuit on seven separate occasions, there is clearly more
involved than an "overburdened" court. There is judicial activism at work.

Take for example the much-publicized medical marijuana case last year, in
which the Supreme Court voted 8-0 to reverse a 9th Circuit ruling allowing
an Oakland cannabis buyers' co-op to violate federal drug laws for "medical
necessity."

U.S. Census projections indicate that over the next 25 years, the 9th
Circuit's jurisdiction will grow by 50 percent to encompass a population of
more than 75 million. With an insurmountable docket and a regular list of
rogue three-judge panel decisions, the problems facing the 9th Circuit have
been apparent in legal circles but have been below the public's radar screen
for years. On June 26, the day the nation was told the Pledge of Allegiance
is unconstitutional, America woke up and is ready for action.

It's time for Congress to deal with the important issues involving the 9th
Circuit, and expedite the judicial confirmation process in order to put on
the bench competent judges who respect the rule of law and resist judicial
activism that is all too often apparent in our federal courts.