Review Journal: House panel votes to split 9th U.S. Circuit Court

House panel votes to split 9th U.S. Circuit Court

Controversial proposal would group Nevada with six other states in a new 12th Circuit

By TONY BATT
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON -- A House panel on Thursday voted to remove Nevada from the jurisdiction of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The legislation still must be approved by the full House and is expected to face stiff opposition in the Senate.

The measure would group Nevada with Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington in a new 12th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that would be headquartered in Phoenix.

California would remain in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals with Hawaii, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Reps. Jim Gibbons and Jon Porter, both R-Nev., approve of the split, while Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., opposes it.

"Clearly, this is an overworked, overstretched court," Gibbons said in a prepared statement.

"It is time to create an additional circuit to reduce the burden on the 9th Circuit and to provide a more efficient and effective judiciary to the citizens of the current 9th Circuit states."

Instead of splitting the 9th Circuit, Berkley said, Congress should provide additional resources for the court to handle its enormous workload. She noted that the court's justices oppose the split.

"There are three equal branches of government in America, and just because members of Congress may not agree with the court's rulings, that does not give us the right to try and dismantle our judicial system or to override our system of checks and balances," Berkley said.

Porter agreed with Gibbons that the 9th Circuit is overburdened.

"The citizens of Nevada and other Western states would greatly benefit from the creation of a new 12th Circuit Court, which would be smaller and much more efficient in serving the region," Porter said.

None of the Nevadans is on the House Budget Committee, which approved the court-splitting provision as part of a $53.9 billion deficit reduction bill that passed by a vote of 21-16

Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., inserted the provision, which according to Congress Daily surprised a number of panel members, including Republicans.

In the Senate, Republicans John Ensign of Nevada and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska last month introduced a bill that mirrors the House legislation.

On Oct. 26, Ensign told the Senate Judiciary Committee that the 9th Circuit must be split because the West will continue to be the fastest-growing part of the United States.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., a member of the committee, said she would oppose the split because her state would inherit 72 percent of the court's caseload without any guarantee of additional judgeships.