Volume 48, Issue 2

With the nomination of John G. Roberts, Jr. to the U.S. Supreme Court, an uneasy equilibrium established by an unprecedented bipartisan agreement among fourteen rank and file senators was maintained…

Disaggregating the diversification of the prestigious U.S. Courts of Appeals, with a particular focus on the highly diverse Ninth Circuit in comparison to its sisters, is the primary purpose of…

The focus of this Article is to evaluate a central question in the debate over judicial selection, including nominations to the Ninth Circuit: Do judges make decisions that are consistent…

The author, who has worked at the Ninth Circuit since 1979, reflects on what changes she has seen and on what the challenges have been, continue to be, and may…

Commentators have often lamented the burgeoning caseload in the U.S. Courts of Appeals and the consequences thereof. Given that additional judgeships are not forthcoming from Congress, the circuits have established…

Alone among the circuit courts of appeals, the Ninth Circuit’s judges do not sit together as a full bench when rehearing a case en banc. Rather, the court’s en banc…

This Article will explore various facets of the decision to review a case en banc. Specifically, the Article addresses whether the votes of the entire circuit on whether to en…

The controversy over the Ninth Circuit’s reversal rate illustrates several features of interest in the functioning of appellate courts. This Article explores the arguments behind the possible sources of the…

There is a perception held by many politicians, legal commentators, and journalists that the country’s largest court of appeals is a bastion of liberalism run amok. This Essay suggests that…

This Note focuses on the second part of the protection that the Constitution offers private property holders: that the taking must be for a public use. This Note primarily posits…

Five years after graduating from law school, James Hamm filed for admission to the Arizona State Bar. As an applicant for admission, Hamm was rather unique---he had a conviction for…

The Arizona Supreme Court held that aggravating factors essential to imposing a capital sentence do not need to be alleged in the charging document and supported by evidence of probable…

The Arizona Supreme Court concluded that it had the constitutional authority to require active members of the state bar to serve as arbitrators pursuant to Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure…