I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 166 
To amend title 28, United States Code, to provide for the appointment 
of additional Federal circuit judges, to divide the Ninth Judicial Circuit 
of the United States into two judicial circuits, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 6, 2015 
Mr. SIMPSON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To amend title 28, United States Code, to provide for the 
appointment of additional Federal circuit judges, to di-
vide the Ninth Judicial Circuit of the United States 
into two judicial circuits, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives 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 Judgeship and Reorganization Act of 2015’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act— 
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(1) the term ‘‘former ninth circuit’’ means the 
ninth judicial circuit of the United States as in ex-
istence on the day before the effective date of this 
Act; 
(2) the term ‘‘new ninth circuit’’ means the 
ninth judicial circuit of the United States established 
by the amendment made by section 3(2)(A); and 
(3) the term ‘‘twelfth circuit’’ means the twelfth 
judicial circuit of the United States established by 
the amendment made by section 3(2)(B). 
SEC. 3. NUMBER AND COMPOSITION OF CIRCUITS. 
Section 41 of title 28, United States Code, is amend-
ed— 
(1) in the matter preceding the table, by strik-
ing ‘‘thirteen’’ and inserting ‘‘fourteen’’; and 
(2) in the table— 
(A) by striking the item relating to the 
ninth circuit and inserting the following: 
‘‘Ninth ..................................................
California, Guam, Hawaii, Northern 
Mariana Islands.’’; 
and 
(B) by inserting after the item relating to 
the eleventh circuit the following: 
‘‘Twelfth ...............................................
Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Ne-
vada, Oregon, Washington.’’. 
SEC. 4. JUDGESHIPS. 
(a) NEW JUDGESHIPS.— 
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(1) FOR FORMER NINTH CIRCUIT.—The Presi-
dent shall appoint, by and with the advice and con-
sent of the Senate, 2 additional circuit judges for 
the former ninth circuit. The official duty station of 
a judge appointed under this paragraph shall be in 
Arizona, California, or Nevada. 
(2) FOR NEW NINTH CIRCUIT.—The President 
shall appoint, by and with the advice and consent of 
the Senate, 3 circuit judges for the new ninth cir-
cuit. The judges authorized by this paragraph shall 
not be appointed before January 21, 2016. 
(b) TEMPORARY JUDGESHIPS.— 
(1) APPOINTMENT OF JUDGES.—The President 
shall appoint, by and with the advice and consent of 
the Senate, 2 additional circuit judges for the former 
ninth circuit. The official duty station of a judge ap-
pointed under this paragraph shall be in Arizona, 
California, or Nevada. 
(2) EFFECT OF VACANCIES.—The first 2 vacan-
cies occurring on the new ninth circuit 10 years or 
more after judges are first confirmed to fill both 
temporary circuit judgeships created by this sub-
section shall not be filled. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect 
on the date of the enactment of this Act. 
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SEC. 5. NUMBER OF CIRCUIT JUDGES. 
The table contained 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: 
‘‘Ninth ..................................................
25’’; 
and 
(2) by inserting after the item relating to the 
eleventh circuit the following: 
‘‘Twelfth ...............................................
9’’. 
SEC. 6. PLACES OF CIRCUIT COURT. 
The table contained in section 48(a) of title 28, 
United States Code, is amended— 
(1) by striking the item relating to the ninth 
circuit and inserting the following: 
‘‘Ninth ..................................................
Honolulu, San Francisco, Pasadena.’’; 
and 
(2) by inserting after the item relating to the 
eleventh circuit the following: 
‘‘Twelfth ...............................................
Phoenix, Seattle.’’. 
SEC. 7. ASSIGNMENT OF CIRCUIT JUDGES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 
(b), each circuit judge of the former ninth circuit who is 
in regular active service and whose official duty station 
on the day before the effective date of this Act— 
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(1) is in California, Guam, Hawaii, or the 
Northern Mariana Islands shall be a circuit judge of 
the new ninth circuit as of such effective date; and 
(2) is in Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Ne-
vada, Oregon, or Washington shall be a circuit judge 
of the twelfth circuit as of such effective date. 
(b) SPECIAL RULE TO ENSURE STATUTORY DIS-
TRIBUTION
OF JUDGES.—If the assignment of judges 
under subsection (a) would result in a number of judges 
in either the new ninth circuit or the twelfth circuit that 
exceeds the number provided for that circuit in the table 
contained in section 44(a) of title 28, United States Code, 
as amended by section 5 of this Act, then a number of 
judges accounting for such excess who are the least senior 
in commission shall be assigned to the other circuit. 
SEC. 8. ELECTION OF ASSIGNMENT BY SENIOR JUDGES. 
Each judge who is a senior circuit 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 as of such effective date, and shall 
notify the Director of the Administrative Office of the 
United States Courts of such election. 
SEC. 9. SENIORITY OF JUDGES. 
The seniority of each judge— 
(1) who is assigned under section 7, or 
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(2) who elects to be assigned under section 8, 
shall run from the date of commission of such judge as 
a judge of the former ninth circuit. 
SEC. 10. APPLICATION TO CASES. 
The following 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 deci-
sion, further proceedings with respect to 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 de-
cision, the appeal or proceeding, together with the 
original papers, printed records, and record entries 
duly certified, shall, by appropriate orders, be trans-
ferred to the court to which the matter would have 
been submitted had this Act been in full force and 
effect at the time such appeal was taken or other 
proceeding commenced, and further proceedings with 
respect to 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 re-
hearing en banc in a matter decided before the effec-
tive date of this Act, or submitted before the effec-
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tive date of this Act and decided on or after such 
effective date as provided in paragraph (1), shall be 
treated in the same manner and with the same effect 
as though this Act had not been enacted. If a peti-
tion for rehearing en banc is granted, the matter 
shall be reheard by a court comprised as though this 
Act had not been enacted. 
SEC. 11. TEMPORARY ASSIGNMENT OF CIRCUIT JUDGES 
BETWEEN CIRCUITS. 
Section 291 of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new sub-
sections: 
‘‘(c) The chief judge of the Ninth Circuit may, in the 
public interest and upon request by the chief judge of the 
Twelfth Circuit, designate and assign temporarily any cir-
cuit judge of the Ninth Circuit to act as circuit judge in 
the Twelfth Circuit. 
‘‘(d) The chief judge of the Twelfth Circuit may, in 
the public interest and upon request by the chief judge 
of the Ninth Circuit, designate and assign temporarily any 
circuit judge of the Twelfth Circuit to act as circuit judge 
in the Ninth Circuit.’’. 
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SEC. 12. TEMPORARY ASSIGNMENT OF DISTRICT JUDGES 
BETWEEN CIRCUITS. 
Section 292 of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new sub-
sections: 
‘‘(f) The chief judge of the Ninth Circuit may in the 
public interest— 
‘‘(1) upon request by the chief judge of the 
Twelfth Circuit, designate and assign one or more 
district judges within the Ninth Circuit to sit upon 
the Court of Appeals of the Twelfth Circuit or a di-
vision thereof whenever the business of that court so 
requires; and 
‘‘(2) designate and assign temporarily any dis-
trict judge of the Ninth Circuit to hold a district 
court in any district within the Twelfth Circuit. 
‘‘(g) The chief judge of the Twelfth Circuit may in 
the public interest— 
‘‘(1) upon request by the chief judge of the 
Ninth Circuit, designate and assign one or more dis-
trict judges within the Twelfth Circuit to sit upon 
the Court of Appeals of the Ninth Circuit or a divi-
sion thereof whenever the business of that court so 
requires; and 
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‘‘(2) designate and assign temporarily any dis-
trict judge of the Twelfth Circuit to hold a district 
court in any district within the Ninth Circuit. 
‘‘(h) Any designation and assignment of a judge 
under subsection (f)(1) or (g)(1) shall be in conformity 
with the rules or orders of the court of appeals of the cir-
cuit to which the judge is designated and assigned.’’. 
SEC. 13. ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATION. 
Section 332 of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(i) Any 2 contiguous circuits may jointly carry out 
such administrative functions and activities as the judicial 
councils of the 2 circuits determine may benefit from co-
ordination or consolidation.’’. 
SEC. 14. ADMINISTRATION. 
The United States 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 and the amendments 
made by this Act. Such court shall cease to exist for ad-
ministrative purposes upon the expiration of the 2-year pe-
riod beginning on the effective date of this Act. 
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