Plan to split up U.S. 9th Circuit court dropped – for now

Plan to split up U.S. 9th Circuit court dropped – for now

By Jennifer A. Dlouh
HEARST NEWSPAPERS

December 20, 2005

WASHINGTON – Congressional leaders yesterday abandoned a plan to carve up the sprawling U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, delivering a blow to conservatives who have tried for decades to dilute the influence of the court that they complain is too liberal.

The nation's biggest appeals court, both in terms of the number of people under its jurisdiction and its caseload, the 9th Circuit hears cases arising from nine Western states and two U.S. territories, a region that in 2004 included more than 58 million people.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who has long opposed efforts to split up the 9th Circuit, called the move a "victory for judicial independence, for the legislative process, and for California and the other Western states that make up the 9th Circuit."

Advocates of breaking up the circuit – including Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and John Ensign, R-Nevada – vowed to keep fighting for changes.

(snip)

Find this article at:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20051220/news_1n20court.html

Any possibility of them being in jail soon?