Equal Justice Under the Law

Floor Speech

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Mr. DAINES. I thank the junior Senator from Alaska, and I appreciate him joining me in this most important effort and also for the leadership he has demonstrated on this issue. As the junior Senator from Alaska knows, the Ninth Circuit Court is broken. It is overburdened and is unable to provide quality service and expeditious justice for the Americans it is supposed to serve.

When we offer the Pledge of Allegiance, we close with ``and justice for all.'' As I frequently tell my staff, we in public service are ultimately in the customer service business. As U.S. Senators, our No. 1 job is to represent and to serve the people in our States. Our courts should reflect the same serving mentality as they uphold their responsibility to justice, but when our courts are overburdened and overworked, it is the American people who are left underserved and waiting far too long for justice. Unfortunately, under the current structure, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is unable to provide Americans in the West the service they deserve.

Take a look at this chart behind me. At 64.4 million people served, the current Ninth Circuit is the largest circuit by population as well as the largest land area. As the junior Senator from Alaska will sometimes remind us, if they divide Alaska in two, Texas is the third largest State in the Nation. It is not just about the geographical size of the West. Look at the number of people who are served in the Ninth Circuit. It includes Montana, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, California, and Hawaii, not to mention several U.S. territories, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. That alone amounts to 20 percent of the Nation's population.

Let's put this in context. That is 85 percent larger than the next largest circuit which serves just 34.8 million people, and this chart illustrates that well. Needless to say, the Ninth Circuit's caseload is significantly greater than any other circuit, and that means backlogs and that means delays. Not only is it larger, it is disproportionately larger. On average, the Ninth Circuit has had more than 32 percent of all cases pending nationally. As the junior Senator from Alaska mentioned, it currently has over 14,000 cases pending. As you can see in this next chart behind me, that is three times more than the next closest circuit, the Fifth Circuit, which has around 4,700 cases pending. Processing all these cases takes time; in fact, on the average, over the last 5 years, nearly 15 months from appeal to determination.

It is time to take a serious look at how our court system can better serve the American people, and that is why Senator Sullivan and I have introduced two separate bills to address these challenges. Our bills would bring much needed reform, not just to the Ninth Circuit but also to the entire Federal circuit courts of appeals system. The Circuit Court of Appeals Restructuring and Modernization Act would split the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals into two circuits, providing a more manageable balance of population and geography for both circuits so western Americans can be better served by our courts.

The Federal Courts of Appeals Modernization Act would establish a commission to study the Federal circuit courts of appeals system and identify changes needed to promote an expeditious and effective disposition of the Ninth Circuit caseload. Keep this in mind. When we split the circuits into a new Ninth and the Twelfth Circuits, the Ninth Circuit would still have a larger caseload than any other circuit. In the new Ninth Circuit's jurisdiction, there would be 40.8 million people. It would continue to maintain its status as first in population. In the Twelfth Circuit's jurisdiction, this new circuit we would establish, there would be 24.3 million people, which makes it the seventh largest in population among the circuits. It is just a little bit below the average. Those numbers alone should make it clear reforms are needed.

It is worth remembering that the challenges facing the Ninth Circuit have been longstanding, and the efforts to find solutions are bipartisan. In fact, two prior Commissions--one in 1973 and the other in 1988, which, by the way, was championed by California Senator Dianne Feinstein--both determined that the Ninth Circuit had an overly burdensome size and scope and suggested that changes be made with the structure of the Federal courts of appeals.

It is time to move forward with concrete solutions to address this problem. The bills introduced by the junior Senator from Alaska and I will do so.

I was trained as an engineer. As an engineer, one identifies a problem and most importantly finds a solution. We have a capacity constraint which can be alleviated. In thinking about our communities, as our communities grow, we need to add more schools, add more teachers, and add more police officers.

We need to ensure that all Americans have access to the justice they deserve. It is time to split the Ninth Circuit.

I want to thank the junior Senator from Alaska for championing this important issue, and I look forward to working with him to find a resolution.

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Mr. DAINES. I remember as we were raising our four children, sometimes it would be late at night with a sick child, and I would turn on ``Sesame Street'' with the child. I remember there was that ``One of These Things (Is Not Like the Others)'' song. As I look at that chart, this could be a ``Sesame Street'' illustration. One of these circuits is not like the others. It is such a stark contrast to what we see with the Ninth Circuit.

With the disproportionate number of cases that are pending in the Ninth Circuit, this is not that complicated of a problem in terms of trying to identify where the problem lies. It is simply a factor of constraints, and it starts with the population chart my colleague from Alaska has, but then it results in a disproportionate share of cases coming out of that population. That is why something must be done.

These two prior Commissions that have studied this before, the one in 1973--which, by the way, in 1973, I was 11 years old. I was about ``Sesame Street'' age then. At that point they said the Ninth Circuit had an overly burdensome size in 1973. Yet again in 1998, I am grateful that California Senator Dianne Feinstein was championing that Commission. She looked at this same issue 18 years ago and determined that the Ninth Circuit was overly burdened and suggested changes be made to the structure of the Federal courts of appeal.

So I look forward to working with my colleague from Alaska as we have identified this problem and now move forward to a solution. If there is something we hear over and over again from the American people, it is this: You are not solving the problems facing this country.

We have a problem. We have a solution. I look forward to vigorous discussions and continuing to get more information, and I look forward to the alternatives. We think this is the best solution--to split the Ninth, add the Twelfth Circuit. Even after that is done--you take the Ninth and create the new Twelfth Circuit--the Ninth Circuit will still be the largest circuit by population in the United States.

I again thank the junior Senator from Alaska for taking the lead in this effort and look forward to continuing this discussion.

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