The “Limited” En Banc: Half Full, or Half Empty?

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 function is performed by eleven of its twenty-eight active judges in what is called a “limited en banc.” How unfull can a bench be and still behave as if it were really full? This Article argues that a full bench, comprising all active members of the court, serves important collegiality, efficiency, and accountability functions that a limited en banc, consisting of judges randomly selected on a case-by-case basis, cannot possibly perform.