Title: Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judgeship and Reorganization Act of 2021
Policy area: Law

Summary:
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judgeship and Reorganization Act of 2021
This bill divides the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit into two judicial circuits: (1) the Ninth Circuit, and (2) a new Twelfth Circuit.
The Ninth Circuit is composed of California, Guam, Hawaii, and Northern Mariana Islands. The new Twelfth Circuit is composed of Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 320 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 320

 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 13, 2021

  Mr. Simpson (for himself and Mr. Fulcher) 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 divide 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 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 
Judgeship and Reorganization Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act--
            (1) the term ``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) 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 amended--
            (1) in the matter preceding the table, by striking 
        ``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, Nevada, Oregon,
                                            Washington.''.
 

SEC. 4. JUDGESHIPS.

    (a) New Judgeships.--
            (1) For former ninth circuit.--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 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 circuit. The judges authorized by this 
        paragraph shall not be appointed before January 21, 2021.
    (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 appointed under this paragraph shall be in 
        Arizona, California, or Nevada.
            (2) Effect of vacancies.--The first 2 vacancies occurring 
        on the new ninth circuit 10 years or more after judges are 
        first confirmed to fill both temporary circuit judgeships 
        created by this subsection shall not be filled.
    (c) Effective Date.--This section shall take effect on the date of 
the enactment of this Act.

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--
            (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, Nevada, Oregon, 
        or Washington shall be a circuit judge of the twelfth circuit 
        as of such effective date.
    (b) Special Rule To Ensure Statutory Distribution 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
            (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 decision, 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 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 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 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 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 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. 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 subsections:
    ``(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 circuit 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.''.

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 subsections:
    ``(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 division thereof whenever the business 
        of that court so requires; and
            ``(2) designate and assign temporarily any district 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 district judges within the 
        Twelfth Circuit to sit upon the Court of Appeals of the Ninth 
        Circuit or a division thereof whenever the business of that 
        court so requires; and
            ``(2) designate and assign temporarily any district 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 circuit 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 subsection:
    ``(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 coordination 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 
administrative purposes upon the expiration of the 2-year period 
beginning on the effective date of this Act.

SEC. 15. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    Except as provided in section 4(c), this Act and the amendments 
made by this Act shall take effect on the first day of the first fiscal 
year that begins after the expiration of the 9-month period beginning 
on the first date on which 5 of the judges authorized to be appointed 
under section 4 have been confirmed by the United States Senate.

SEC. 16. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out this Act, including funds for additional court 
facilities.
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