Ninth Circuit Court Retreats to Idaho

Legal insiders point everywhere but at themselves during a sun-filled non-examination

A A A Comments (3) By Cyrus Sanai Tuesday, Aug 5 2008

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If Justice Kennedy were looking for someone to lecture about judicial integrity, he could save himself some jet lag and forget about Africa and Asia. The most isolated, most hurried, most thinly stretched Circuit Court in the nation, the 9th, could almost certainly find opportunities for reform much closer to home.

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ESM 08/12/2008 12:53:00 AM

It is apparent this writer had an agenda prior to "reporting" on the 9th Circuit retreat. I happen to agree with the initial premise that the 9th Circuit (like most federal circuits) is influenced by and favors large corporate firms and corporations that plan their branded neo-conservative judicial activism at elitist affairs and institutions. However, this article's analysis is incoherent at best with its superficial "critique" of the 9th Circuit and leap of faith conclusion that all of 9th Circuit's problems are unique to it and result from the Circuit's wide geography. If the author had made a fraction of an attempt to write a cohesive and intelligently critical analysis instead of writing to support his obviously preconceived notions of the 9th Circuit, he would have done his readers, and his profession, a much needed service. Where's the beef?

Taxpaying Tourist 08/09/2008 12:46:00 AM

I was in Sun Valley when the self-important judges rolled into town. Suddenly, well-landscaped pathways were filled with a security detail that rivaled a presidential detail and for what? To protect "Judge" Kozinski from Cyrus' deadly pen and paper? Justice Kennedy eating lunch alone at the table next to us with no security. More importantly, who really pays for this boondoggle for these government workers?

eli 08/07/2008 12:03:00 AM

This analysis is off in several areas, and is searching for muckraking where none is apparent. 1) The article implies that the 9th cir. conference was somehow excluding people, or was composed entirely of insiders, which you call other lawyers? Who else should have been included? 2) The article seems to confuse the role of federal and state courts. Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction, and across the land there are many fewer federal than state judges. This makes sense, because state judges must handle many more types of disputes, from family to criminal, that are not part of the federal system. The article misleads by suggesting that the 9th cir. is somehow deficient in this regard, when it is actually a feature of how federal courts work. 3) "Federal courts have the power to enjoin or enter declaratory judgments against such lower-court misbehavior." This is mostly WRONG. Federal courts are very reluctant to enjoin state courts, because of something we call federalism. The article implies that the 9th cir. is failing its duty of enjoining lower courts in various states (which are discussed in the previous paragraph). The watchdog for state courts are states -- either through the court system or special commissions -- not federal courts, which are loath to invade on the prerogative of other state systems. 4) The docket. Yes, there are many unpublished decisions and cases decided on memos. This happens in all court systems. It is problematic, but basically a question of resources. There is a large discussion in the legal community about this, and it is a complex topic that is not well-treated by the author's breezy tone. These are complex issues, about which the public generally is uninformed. The author should strive to bring more light, and less heat, in future discussions of them.