An Act to establish a Commission on Structural Alternatives for the Courts of Appeals.

[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[S. 956 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 956

  To amend title 28, United States Code, to divide the ninth judicial
circuit of the United States into two circuits, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                June 22 (legislative day, June 19), 1995

  Mr. Gorton (for himself, Mr. Burns, Mr. Murkowski, Mr. Stevens, Mr.
 Kempthorne, Mr. Craig, Mr. Packwood, and Mr. Hatfield) introduced the
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
                             the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

  To amend title 28, United States Code, to divide the ninth judicial
circuit of the United States into two circuits, and for other purposes.
    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Reorganization Act of 1995''.

SEC. 2. NUMBER AND COMPOSITION OF CIRCUITS.

    Section 41 of title 28, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in the matter before the table, by striking out
        ``thirteen'' and inserting in lieu thereof ``fourteen'';
            (2) in the table, by striking out the item relating to the
        ninth circuit and inserting in lieu thereof the following new
        item:

    ``Ninth........................
                                        Arizona, California, Hawaii,
                                                Nevada, Guam, Northern
                                                Mariana Islands.'';
    and
            (3) between the last 2 items of the table, by inserting the
        following new item:

    ``Twelfth......................
                                        Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon,
                                                Washington.''.
SEC. 3. NUMBER OF CIRCUIT JUDGES.

    The table in section 44(a) of title 28, United States Code, is
amended--
            (1) by striking out the item relating to the ninth circuit
        and inserting in lieu thereof the following new item:

``Ninth.....................................................      19'';
    and
            (2) by inserting between the last 2 items at the end
        thereof the following new item:

``Twelfth...................................................       9''.
SEC. 4. PLACES OF CIRCUIT COURT.

    The table in section 48 of title 28, United States Code, is
amended--
            (1) by striking out the item relating to the ninth circuit
        and inserting in lieu thereof the following new item:

    ``Ninth........................
                                        San Francisco, Los Angeles.'';
    and
            (2) by inserting between the last 2 items at the end
        thereof the following new item:

    ``Twelfth......................
                                        Portland, Seattle.''.
SEC. 5. ASSIGNMENT OF CIRCUIT JUDGES.

    Each circuit judge in regular active service of the former ninth
circuit whose official station on the day before the effective date of
this Act--
            (1) is in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Guam, or the
        Northern Mariana Islands is assigned as a circuit judge of the
        new ninth circuit; and
            (2) is in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, or Washington is
        assigned as a circuit judge of the twelfth circuit.

SEC. 6. ELECTION OF ASSIGNMENT BY SENIOR JUDGES.

    Each judge who is a senior judge of the former ninth circuit on the
day before the effective date of this Act may elect to be assigned to
the new ninth circuit or to the twelfth circuit and shall notify the
Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts of
such election.

SEC. 7. SENIORITY OF JUDGES.

    The seniority of each judge--
            (1) who is assigned under section 5 of this Act; or
            (2) who elects to be assigned under section 6 of this Act;
shall run from the date of commission of such judge as a judge of the
former ninth circuit.

SEC. 8. APPLICATION TO CASES.

    The provisions of the following paragraphs of this section apply to
any case in which, on the day before the effective date of this Act, an
appeal or other proceeding has been filed with the former ninth
circuit:
            (1) If the matter has been submitted for decision, further
        proceedings in respect of the matter shall be had in the same
        manner and with the same effect as if this Act had not been
        enacted.
            (2) If the matter has not been submitted for decision, the
        appeal or proceeding, together with the original papers,
        printed records, and record entries duly certified, shall, by
        appropriate orders, be transferred to the court to which it
        would have gone had this Act been in full force and effect at
        the time such appeal was taken or other proceeding commenced,
        and further proceedings in respect of the case shall be had in
        the same manner and with the same effect as if the appeal or
        other proceeding had been filed in such court.
            (3) A petition for rehearing or a petition for rehearing en
        banc in a matter decided before the effective date of this Act,
        or submitted before the effective date of this Act and decided
        on or after the effective date as provided in paragraph (1) of
        this section, shall be treated in the same manner and with the
        same effect as though this Act had not been enacted. If a
        petition for rehearing en banc is granted, the matter shall be
        reheard by a court comprised as though this Act had not been
        enacted.

SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act, the term--
            (1) ``former ninth circuit'' means the ninth judicial
        circuit of the United States as in existence on the day before
        the effective date of this Act;
            (2) ``new ninth circuit'' means the ninth judicial circuit
        of the United States established by the amendment made by
        section 2(2) of this Act; and
            (3) ``twelfth circuit'' means the twelfth judicial circuit
        of the United States established by the amendment made by
        section 2(3) of this Act.

SEC. 10. ADMINISTRATION.

    The court of appeals for the ninth circuit as constituted on the
day before the effective date of this Act may take such administrative
action as may be required to carry out this Act. Such court shall cease
to exist for administrative purposes on July 1, 1997.

SEC. 11. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall become effective
on October 1, 1995.
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