Sponsor
Andrew S. Biggs
Representative · R-AZ
Representative · R-AZ
Official title: To amend title 28, United States Code, to divide the ninth judicial circuit of the United States into 2 circuits, and for other purposes.
Introduced January 3, 2025 by Andrew S. Biggs · Last progress January 3, 2025
The bill reorganizes and adds appellate structure and judges to improve access and reduce caseloads, but does so at the cost of higher federal spending, reduced budgetary oversight, and short-term disruption and uncertainty for courts, staff, and litigants.
Litigants and courts in the affected region will face more balanced appellate jurisdictions and reduced caseload/backlog as the bill allows Congress to redefine circuit composition and create additional judgeships.
Federal judges (active and senior) keep their positions and gain clear choices about assignment, preserving continuity of casework and allowing judges in certain states to select a permanent circuit.
Court administrators and Ninth Circuit staff get a defined implementation path and statutory clarity (including an explicit timeline and updated listings), enabling early planning and reducing legal/administrative ambiguity.
Taxpayers will likely face higher federal costs for creating/reorganizing circuits, adding judgeships, establishing new locations, and related facilities and security.
Federal employees, court clerks, and contractors will face substantial short-term administrative burdens and operational disruptions as cases, personnel, and records are transferred and systems are updated.
Litigants and attorneys may experience venue, jurisdiction, and scheduling confusion or delays while pending cases are reassigned among circuits, causing uncertainty and extra costs.
Based on analysis of 13 sections of legislative text.
Reorganizes the Ninth Circuit into a reconstituted Ninth and a new Twelfth Circuit, reassigns judges by duty station, updates statutory circuit tables, and sets transitional rules for pending appeals.
Splits and reorganizes the current Ninth Circuit into a reconstituted "new Ninth Circuit" and a newly created Twelfth Circuit, reallocates active and senior judges by duty station (with options for some judges to elect assignment), adjusts statutory circuit and judgeship tables to increase the number of courts of appeals from thirteen to fourteen, and establishes transitional procedures for pending appeals. It authorizes unspecified funds to implement the changes, permits the existing Ninth Circuit to take preparatory administrative steps, and sets the Act to take effect one year after enactment (with a two-year administrative wind-down for the former Ninth Circuit).