Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Reorganization Act of 1997

Summary: Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Reorganization Act of 1997 - Divides the current U.S. Court of Appeals for the ninth circuit into the following two circuits:  (1) the ninth circuit composed of Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands, consisting of 19 judges, and holding regular sessions in San Francisco and Los Angeles; and (2) the twelfth circuit, composed of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington, consisting of seven judges, and holding regular sessions in Portland and Seattle. 
Assigns circuit judges of the former ninth circuit to either of the two new circuits based upon their official station, with senior judges permitted election of assignment.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals 
Reorganization Act of 1997''.

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 
        ``thirteen'' and inserting ``fourteen'';
            (2) in the table, by striking the item relating to the 
        ninth circuit and inserting 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 the item relating to the ninth circuit and 
        inserting the following new item:

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

``Twelfth...................................................       7''.

SEC. 4. PLACES OF CIRCUIT COURT.

    The table in section 48 of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) by striking the item relating to the ninth circuit and 
        inserting 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, 1999.

SEC. 11. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall become effective 
on October 1, 1997.