AP: House panel OKs 9th Circuit split

[question everything]

Saturday, October 29, 2005

House panel OKs 9th Circuit split

Opponents say Republicans opposed to some of its rulings are behind action.
By Erica Werner
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- Two circuit courts serving the western United States would be better than one, according to the House Judiciary Committee, which voted 22-12 in favor of dividing the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

(snip)

Opponents said the move was based partly on Republican opposition to some of the court's rulings, among them the 2002 opinion that declared the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional when recited in public schools.

(snip)

The legislation by Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., would create a 9th Circuit covering California, Hawaii and the Pacific Islands, and a new 12th Circuit covering Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Nevada and Arizona. A bill making the same division has been introduced in the Senate by Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and John Ensign, R-Nev. It got a hearing Wednesday before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee.

Unlike the Senate bill, the House bill also would create dozens of new judgeships throughout the country, something with wide support in Congress. Democrats contended supporters were jeopardizing the new judgeships by attaching them to the controversial 9th Circuit split that would be unlikely to make it through the Senate.


(snip)

Find this article at:
http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/regstate/articles/1827796.html

[pinto]

1. Republicans politicizing the judiciary? Who would a thunk it?... Agggh.

more from the article

The legislation by Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., would create a 9th Circuit covering California, Hawaii and the Pacific Islands, and a new 12th Circuit covering Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Nevada and Arizona.

A bill making the same division has been introduced in the Senate by Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and John Ensign, R-Nev. It got a hearing Wednesday before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee.

Unlike the Senate bill, the House bill also would create dozens of new judgeships throughout the country, something with wide support in Congress. Democrats contended supporters were jeopardizing the new judgeships by attaching them to the controversial 9th Circuit split that would be unlikely to make it through the Senate.

The GOP-led House passed a 9th Circuit split measure last year, also adding it to a bill creating more judgeships, but it didn't get a Senate vote. This time around, the House Judiciary Committee is trying to make the bill part of a budget-reduction package that would not be subject to Senate filibuster.

http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/regstate/articles/1827796.html

[Hawkeye-X]

2. Hopefully it'll be ripped up

and DENIED the split.

[never cry wolf]

3. Gosh, sounds to me like the pubes...

want to legislate from the bench, non? They smell a loss of power coming to their elected officials so they want to solidify their control over the judiciary before it goes. Makes me want to :puke:

They have no qualms about herr bunnypants appointing dozens of new judges. If there's one bill the Dems should filibuster, it's this one. Until we take control of at least one branch of governemnt anyway.

[Elidor]

4. Gee, this new 12th circuit will have a bunch of reliably red states

What a coincidence!

[BootinUp]

5. Won't this cost more money?

Everyone knows the repukes are against big government.

[hollyh1985]

6. I dont get it...

What's the motive? The 9th circuit will still exist and it'll probly be even MORE liberal than it is now.

What do you the Pukes gain from this?

[question everything]

8. Obviously, the red states of Alaska, Idaho

Montana, Nevada and Arizona are chafing under this court.

[newyawker99]

13. Hi hollyh1985!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Endangered Specie]

7. Seems like Republicans have mastered the art of gerrymandering

[depakid]

9. Will the Dems step up to the plate with a filibuster

or will the usual sell outs end up shaming the party (yet again) further harming the country?

I guess only time will tell.

[IndianaGreen]

10. This is a great tactic that we can adopt ourselves

Once we take control of Congress, we should take all jurisdiction away from the existing courts, which are all controlled by Federalist Society judges, and create a new court system with progressive judges.

The Constitution has no limits on the number of judges in SCOTUS, and the Court is overworked anyway, so we can expand SCOTUS to 21 judges and hence trump the RW cabal.

[Democat]

11. That would require democrats to be brave and strategic

Instead they are cowardly and have no strategy.

Hopefully by the time we do retake the Senate and Congress, the new elected democrats will be a lot better than the current cowards.

[DeepModem Mom]

12. kick