9th Cir.'s En Banc Cases: "a noteworthy flurry"

The National Law Journal reports 9th Circuit Steps Up En Banc Reviews, Nat'l L.J., Feb. 6, 2007. It has granted 25 requests for the full circuit to rehear cases decided by three-judge panels between between Dec. 21 and Jan. 23. (In that little more than a month there were three federal holidays, and you might think business would slow down.) Professor Arthur D. Hellman (U. Pittsburgh) says "This is a noteworthy flurry of activity."

Commentators in the article suggest that the Ninth Circuit might be trying to clear up conflicts within the circuit before cases can go to the Supreme Court.

Prof. Hellman is not a casual observer of the Ninth Circuit. He is the editor of Restructuring Justice: The Innovations of the Ninth Circuit and the Future of the Federal Courts (KF8700 .R47 1990 at Classified Stacks). He is the author of a casebook on federal courts and a couple of dozen law review articles on related issues. He has also testified about court organization.

• The View from the Trenches: A Report on the Breakout Sessions at the 2005 National Conference on Appellate Justice, J. App. Prac. & Process 141 (2006).
• Assessing Judgeship Needs in the Federal Courts of Appeals: Policy Choices and Process Concerns, J. App. Prac. & Process 239 (2003).
• Statement of
  Arthur D. Hellman, House Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property, Hearing on H.R. 2723, “The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judgeship and Reorganization Act of 2003”
  October 21, 2003.