9th Circuit (incl. bankruptcy)

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, is the largest, with 29 judgeships presently hearing cases on the Bench. The Circuit was created out of the  Evarts Act of 1891, which initially established nine circuit court of appeals. Situated in the Western United States, the United States Court of Appeals is located in San Francisco, CA, at the James R. Browning US Court of Appeals Building.

There are nine states in the Ninth Circuit, and the District of Guam and District of Northern Mariana Islands also fall into the District’s jurisdiction. The Court of Appeals is in San Francisco. The District of Alaska courthouse is in Anchorage. The District of Arizona courthouse is in Phoenix. The Central District of California is in LA, Eastern District in Sacramento, and Southern District in San Diego, CA. The District of Guam courthouse is in Agana, and District of Hawaii is in Honolulu. The District of Idaho courthouse is in Boise, and District of Montana courthouse is in Billings. The District of Nevada courthouse is in Las Vegas, and District of Northern Mariana Islands courthouse in Saipan. The District of Oregon courthouse is in Portland. In the District of Washington, the Eastern District is in Spokane and Western District in Seattle, WA.

Being that it is the largest of the 13-circuits, the Ninth Circuit has 29 appointed judgeships currently sitting on the bench. This is alongside the 16 judges who are senior appointed judges. The Chief Judge for the circuit is Sidney Runyan Thomas, and the Circuit Justice is Anthony Kennedy, who is currently a US Supreme Court Justice.

Being the largest circuit in the country, several important decisions have come out of the Ninth Circuit. Mendez et. al v Westminister School District of Orange County, et al. (1947) is one of those cases. With the court sitting, en banc, the holding that Mexican-American students being placed in separate schools from those attended by a majority of the population was unconstitutional. In GlaxoSmithKline v Abbot Laboratories (2014) the court held that dismissal of jurors over sexual orientation would be barred in future cases.

The National Law Review covers similar cases as those detailed above and other types of case law. With Marijuana legalization being a hot-ticket item, several decisions have recently come in through the Ninth Circuit. Additionally, NLRB cases, employment rights, government elections and legislation, bankruptcy proceedings, and cases involving Major Corporations, have come through the Circuit. The National Law Review offers a wide range of cases in these categories, as well as news, appointments, and general information about the Ninth Circuit court system.