Breaking Up Ninth Circuit ‘Judicial Gerrymandering’

The effort to break up the San Francisco-based Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is an effort by conservatives to split up the traditionally left-leaning bloc of western states, says Vermont Law School professor Patrick Parenteau. Leaders in some states, like Arizona, have voiced support for joining the neighboring 10th Circuit Appeals Court, and some have suggested a new appeals court district be formed. Parenteau says the circuit is under attack for its reputation as a liberal bastion, but that breaking it up would be nothing more than “judicial gerrymandering.”