Court Opinion

ID: 9468852
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 02:25:24.379478+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:41:05.258178
License: Public Domain

COFFEY, Circuit Judge,
dissenting:
I dissent from the order denying the petition for rehearing because, procedural questions aside, I do not believe that it is reasonable or proper for the vote of a former (deceased) member of the court to be used to prevent a majority of the remaining active members from rehearing this case which raises significant legal questions of potentially wide-spread impact. This is especially true where Judge Sprecher’s initial vote was issued in anticipation of a request that the remainder of the active members vote on the suggestion for rehearing “en banc.” Circuit Judge Sprecher voted to deny rehearing and rehearing en banc on March 3, 1982. A vote was not requested until May 7, 1982. Thus, obviously Judge Sprecher cast his vote nine weeks prior to *1193the date on which the vote of the other court members was requested. Judge Sprecher died just eight days after this request. The final vote on the rehearing was not completed until May 20, 1982. I analogize the acceptance of Judge Sprecher’s vote to a trial court’s granting of a Motion to Dismiss before argument was scheduled, heard or requested.