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Does Three Do The Trick In The Ninth? The Liberal Ninth Circuit – Myth Or Fact: How The Three Judge Panel, And A System Of Published And Unpublished Opinions Interact With Political Appointments In The Ninth Circuit, Rachel N. Agress

Rachel N. Agress

This article examines the persistent view that the Ninth Circuit is “overly liberal,” and attempts to evaluate this outlook in light of data collected regarding two variables. The first variable is the composition of individual political orientations of judges on the Ninth Circuit as compared to the political composition of other circuit courts. To achieve this comparison, this paper looks at political appointments and classified judges as “liberal” or “conservative,” based on political appointment by a Democratic or Republican president. Further, this article delineates the current percentage of “liberal” versus “conservative” judges in each circuit, comparing the average circuit court …