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Kiss of Death
Location: Perpetual wind and sorrow
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Long considered the federal court breeding ground for judicial activism, the 9th Circuit has been the federal appeals court most often overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in recent years. And, as shown by statistics compiled by the Center for Individual Freedom Foundation, the High Court’s recently completed October Term, 2002, proved to be no exception to the 9th Circuit’s disfavored place amongst the justices.
Of the 80 cases the Supreme Court decided this past term through opinions, 56 cases arose from the federal appellate courts, three from the federal district courts, and 21 from the state courts. The court reversed or vacated the judgment of the lower court in 59 of these cases. Specifically, the justices overturned 40 of the 56 judgments arising from the federal appellate courts (or 71%), two of the three judgments coming from the federal district courts (or 67%), and 17 of the 21 judgments issued by state courts (or 81%).
Notably, the 9th Circuit accounted for both 30 percent of the cases (24 of 80) and 30 percent of the reversals (18 of 59) the Supreme Court decided by full written opinions this term. In addition, the 9th Circuit was responsible for more than a third (35%, or 8 of 23) of the High Court’s unanimous reversals that were issued by published opinions. Thus, on the whole, the 9th Circuit’s rulings accounted for more reversals this past term than all the state courts across the country combined and represented nearly half of the overturned judgments (45%) of the federal appellate courts.
The federal courts of appeal decide roughly 30,000 cases per year, as reported in statistics compiled by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Of these, the 9th Circuit decides roughly 17%, making it by far the busiest and largest appellate court. But even more surprising than the frequency and number of cases before the 9th Circuit is the frequency with which the U.S. Supreme Court reviews decisions issued by that particular federal appellate court.
Many legal experts attribute the High Court’s frequent review of 9th Circuit decisions to that court’s staggering size — with a full complement of 28 judges, the 9th Circuit has more judges than any other federal appellate court and exercises jurisdiction over California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Montana, Idaho, Nevada, Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. But if the 9th Circuit’s gigantic caseload is to explain away its record in the U.S. Supreme Court, then the frequency of review and reversal should at least correspond to its size and the percentage of federal appellate cases it hears. Unfortunately, this is not the case.
Although the 9th Circuit’s caseload comprised approximately 17% of the federal appellate cases terminated in the year ending March 31, 2002, its decisions accounted for close to half (43%) of all the federal appellate decisions reviewed by the Supreme Court this past term. Comparatively, the 5th Circuit decided nearly 14% of federal appeals cases, but accounted for only 5.4% of the Supreme Court’s docket. The third largest federal appeals court, the 11th Circuit, accounted for nearly 13% of federal appellate caseload, but only 7.1% of the cases decided by the Supreme Court originated there.
This means that, on average, a case from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit was more than twice as likely to be reviewed and produce a written decision by the U.S. Supreme Court than was a case from the other federal appeals courts. By contrast, a case from the second busiest circuit, the 5th, was nearly a third less likely to be reviewed and decided by the High Court than the average federal appellate case.
It is true that the overall reversal rate of the 9th Circuit (75%) was lower than that of other federal appellate courts — most notably the 4th, 5th, 8th and 10th Circuits, which were all reversed 100% of the time this past term. Yet these “complete” reversal rates are likely due to much less frequent review of those circuits by the U.S. Supreme Court. Specifically, the High Court decided only eight cases from the 4th, 5th, 8th and 10th Circuits combined (three from the 4th, three from the 5th, one from the 8th, and one from the 10th), compared with the 24 cases the Supreme Court took up from the 9th. Thus, the 9th Circuit’s lower overall reversal rate does not demonstrate the justices’ greater agreement with the decisions of the 9th Circuit, but is likely attributable to that circuit’s much higher review rate. Such a conclusion is only reinforced by the fact that the more than half (57%, or 8 of 14) of the federal appellate decisions the Supreme Court unanimously overturned came from the 9th Circuit. This means that a full one-third (8 of 24) of the 9th Circuit cases decided by the High Court were unanimously overturned.
These continuing negative trends are certainly not reflective of the competency of the 9th Circuit’s entire bench, which includes some of the most respected appellate judges in the country. It is, however, indicative of a judicial philosophy to which some 9th Circuit judges adhere. Specifically, in pursuing political and policy preferences at the expense of established precedent and textual commands, some 9th Circuit judges seem to invite review and reversal by the U.S. Supreme Court. Until that changes, it is likely the justices will keep a watchful eye on the federal appeals court out West by continuing to review and reverse a disproportionately large number of 9th Circuit decisions.
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http://www.centerforindividualfreedo...th_circuit.htm
Sorry, 75% was from a something I read along time ago.
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It is true that the overall reversal rate of the 9th Circuit (75%) was lower than that of other federal appellate courts — most notably the 4th, 5th, 8th and 10th Circuits, which were all reversed 100% of the time this past term. Yet these “complete” reversal rates are likely due to much less frequent review of those circuits by the U.S. Supreme Court. Specifically, the High Court decided only eight cases from the 4th, 5th, 8th and 10th Circuits combined (three from the 4th, three from the 5th, one from the 8th, and one from the 10th), compared with the 24 cases the Supreme Court took up from the 9th. Thus, the 9th Circuit’s lower overall reversal rate does not demonstrate the justices’ greater agreement with the decisions of the 9th Circuit, but is likely attributable to that circuit’s much higher review rate. Such a conclusion is only reinforced by the fact that the more than half (57%, or 8 of 14) of the federal appellate decisions the Supreme Court unanimously overturned came from the 9th Circuit. This means that a full one-third (8 of 24) of the 9th Circuit cases decided by the High Court were unanimously overturned.
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Ninth Court Of Appeals
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit would easily become the laughingstock of the judicial world if it were not for the fact that its rulings affect so many people and institutions. Rulings by the 9th apply to the nine westernmost states.
In the last several years, the 9th has led other courts in the number of decisions overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. In the most recent session, the nation's highest court ruled on 80 cases. Twenty-five of those were from the 9th. The remaining 55 cases came from the other 12 circuits - including the Federal and D.C. circuits and state supreme courts. The ninth gets more than its fair share of high court scrutiny.
19 of the 25 cases from the 9th were overturned, twelve of them unanimously. Think of it. Decisions by the 9th Court of Appeals were so flawed that all of the justices on the Supreme Court, conservatives and liberals alike, voted unanimously twelve times to overturn them.
Just a few years ago, from 1996 to 1997, the Supreme Court reversed 27 of the 28 cases it considered from the 9th.
The problem with the 9th is that its judges instead of following the Constitution and applying judicial precedent - have been intent on legislating from the bench; that is, making up their own laws.
The 9th is largest of the appellate courts, representing about 20 percent of the nation's population, twice that of the other courts. Federal judges are appointed for life, so one way to rein in this rogue court is to split it into two smaller and more manageable courts, thereby evening its population representation and restricting its senseless and sometimes harmful decisions to smaller regions. Of course, appointing competent judges as vacancies occur would help mitigate the damage to the people living under the shadow of the 9th.
Two other circuits also distinguished themselves last year and not in a good way. Six of the eight decisions from the 6th circuit were overturned, four unanimously. And all four decisions from the 11th reviewed by the Supreme Court last session were overturned by all nine justices.
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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1320887/posts
So my bad on the original numbers.
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To win a war you must serve no master but your ambition.
Last edited by Mojo_PeiPei; 04-05-2005 at 12:28 PM..
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