Sullivan Continues Effort To Bring Americans Equal Access To Justice, Split Ninth Circuit Court Of Appeals

Press Release

U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) is continuing his efforts to bring Alaskans and Americans equal access to justice by introducing legislation to provide the necessary judgeships and structural changes to our nation's Federal Judiciary. Senator Sullivan recently introduced S. 3259, the Judicial Efficiency Improvement Act -- alongside Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) -- to authorize all of the additional judgeships recommended by the Judicial Conference of the United States, split the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and create a new Twelfth Circuit Court of Appeals, headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

"The last time Congress passed a comprehensive Article III judgeship bill was in 1990--nearly three decades ago," Senator Sullivan said. "This is unacceptable. Our courts are clogged and dysfunctional, and the public is losing confidence in our judicial system. The Judicial Efficiency Improvement Act would codify the recommendations of the Judicial Conference by authorizing significantly more judges for District and Appellate courts across the country. It would also create a much-needed new circuit by spitting the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals--which has 65 million Americans under its jurisdiction, almost 30 million more than the next largest circuit. Currently, the Ninth Circuit has the highest caseload per judge by far of all circuits, four times the number of backlogged cases and on average it takes 30 percent longer for the Ninth Circuit to dispose of an appeal than the other circuits."

"In 1970, Chief Justice Warren Burger warned that "a sense of confidence in the courts is essential to maintain the fabric of ordered liberty for a free people,' and cautioned that inefficiency and delay in our courts of appeals could destroy that confidence. Unfortunately, as it is currently constituted, the Ninth Circuit Court is inefficient, it delays, and therefore denies justice for millions of Americans. We cannot allow the confidence in our system of justice to be undermined by continuing a court of appeals that is so large and so unwieldy."

Additionally, Senator Sullivan submitted testimony to the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight, Agency Action, Federal Rights and Federal Courts, which earlier today held a hearing on the structure of the federal courts. The hearing witnesses included Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain, a Senior Judge on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, who testified in support of splitting the Ninth Circuit.

Background on S. 3259, the Judicial Efficiency Improvement Act

The judicial Conference of the United States is the national policy-making body for the federal courts. It is comprised of the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, the Chief Judge from each Judicial Circuit, the Chief Judge of the Court of International Trade, and a district judge from each regional circuit. Every two years, the Judicial Conference makes recommendation on judgeships.

The Judicial Efficiency Improvement Act would implement the 2017 Judicial Conference recommendations by:

Authorizing five appellate Court Judgeships for the Ninth Circuit.
Authorizing 52 permanent District Court Judgeships around the county.
Converting eight temporary District Court Judgeships to permanent judgeships.
The Judicial Efficiency Improvement Act would create a Twelfth Circuit Court of Appeals:

Currently, the Western states are subjected to an overburdened, inconsistent, and slow judiciary. This stems from having the largest circuit court in the nation in terms of geography, population, and workload. Creating a new circuit would solve the inefficiencies associated with this size, and work toward restoring access to justice to restore many American's access to justice.

Twelfth Circuit:

Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington would create a new 12th Circuit. The new 12th Circuit would be headquartered in Seattle, Washington and served by 14 Appellate Court Judges.
Ninth Circuit:

California, Hawaii, Guam, and the Mariana Islands would remain in the 9th Circuit, headquartered in San Francisco, California and served by 20 Appellate Court Judges.

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