Republicans are trying to split 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals

[ck4829]

CONCERNED about the possibility of Democrats gaining control of the U.S. Senate in the November elections, Republicans are engaged in a frantic effort to split the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals into two circuits. They claim the current circuit is too cumbersome and the caseloads too large, but the real motive is to punish the court for being too liberal.

The judges who sit on the circuit bench know better, and they overwhelmingly oppose the division. Judge Richard Clifton, a George W. Bush nominee from Honolulu, was among seven 9th Circuit judges who appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week in opposition to the change.

Timber, mining and irrigation interests have been angry about the court's enforcement of environmental laws. Social conservatives are upset about rulings striking down death sentences and an absurd ruling that it was unconstitutional to require that schoolchildren say "under God" when reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. The Justice Department has opposed the split in past administrations, but the Bush administration has joined the critics in calling for it.

This is not the first time that politics has been used to split an appeals court. The halving of the nation's most southeastern circuit took effect in 1980, after Congress fought for 18 years over the issue. The split was advocated by powerful Southern senators who were angered by the court's civil rights decisions.

http://starbulletin.com/2006/09/24/editorial/editorial01.html

[Nikki Stone 1]

1. K & R

:kick:

[DeepModem Mom]

2. Another kick!

[Joanne98]

3. The Dems can stop them by a filibuster.

But....