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Playing With Numbers: Determining The Majority Of Judges Required To Grant En Banc Sittings In The United States Court Of Appeals, James J. Wheaton

Faculty Publications

This note addresses the effects that these two interests -- majority control of circuit law and judicial integrity -- have on the appropriate definition of majority. Neither legislative history nor Supreme Court constructions of section 46(c) provide an unambiguous rule, and interpretation of the majority requirement remains within the authority of each circuit. The Judicial Conference of the United States, at its meeting in September 1984, recommended that each circuit clearly describe its en banc voting procedures. This note delineates considerations that may assist the circuit courts in their efforts to outline the method by which they should order en …