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Circuit Personalities, Allison Orr Larsen, Neal Devins
Circuit Personalities, Allison Orr Larsen, Neal Devins
Faculty Publications
The U.S. Courts of Appeals do not behave as one; they have developed circuit-specific practices that are passed down from one generation of judges to the next. These different norms and traditions (some written down, others not) exist on a variety of levels: rules governing oral argument and the publishing of opinions, en banc practices, social customs, case discussion norms, law clerk dynamics, and even selfimposed circuit nicknames. In this Article, we describe these varying “circuit personalities” and then argue that they are necessary to the very survival of the federal courts of appeals. Circuit-specific norms and traditions foster collegiality …
Playing With Numbers: Determining The Majority Of Judges Required To Grant En Banc Sittings In The United States Court Of Appeals, James J. Wheaton
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 …