US Courts of Appeals

• Assessing changes in state representation on the U.S. Courts of Appeals.

Amid continuing political controversy and renewed scholarly interest, presidential appointments to the lower federal courts, particularly the courts o...

• Presidential Studies Quarterly
• Vol. 41 Nbr. 4, December 2011

• Neither Gone nor Forgotten: Evaluating the Potential Impact of Senior Status Judges On the U.S. Courts of Appeals

In early 2011, when judges had been leaving the active bench at a rate of one per week, workload pressures and reliance on senior judges were apparent on courts in Arizona and central Illinois.4 The critical importance of senior judges to the operation of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit was also highlighted after the recent deaths of senior judges on that court.5 In Kansas, U.S. District Court Judge Wesley Brown was still hearing a full docket well after his 100th birthday and continued to work a reduced caseload until his death in January of 2012 at the age of 104.6 Roberts' comments, coupled with these anecdotes related to specific courts, are reminders that senior status judges serve an important, albeit often overlooked, role on the federal bench. "16 Over the past ...

• Judicature
• Vol. 95 Nbr. 5, March 2012

• Courting Multiple Audiences: The Strategic Selection of Legal Groundings by Judges On the U.S. Courts of Appeals

This study considers whether judges on the U.S. Courts of Appeals select legal groundings based on the expected responses of multiple audiences. It is hypothesized that judges use reasoning-process review when their policies depart from the preferences of higher-court judges and other actors who have the power to overturn their decisions, but use substantive groundings when they wish to broadcast their policies to judges in different circuits. The study uses the Judicial Common Space scores to compare panel ideologies with the preferences of Supreme Court justices, judges in other circuits, judges from the same circuit, and Congress. The results indicate that the choice of legal grounding does vary depending on a panel's level of agreement with different actors, providing further empiri...

• Justice System Journal
• Vol. 30 Nbr. 1, January 2009

• Congressional Power to Regulate Noncommercial Activity Overseas: Interstate Commerce Clause Precedent Indicates Constitutional Limitations On Foreign Commerce Clause Authority

Although the US Supreme Court has not yet ruled any statutes criminalizing the conduct of Americans overseas unconstitutional under the Foreign Commerce Clause, three US Courts of Appeals decisions use the concept of enumerated powers-important in US Supreme Court decisions that invalidate statutes grounded in the Interstate Commerce Clause - to suggest limitations on Congress's Foreign Commerce Clause power. In two decisions, the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Ninth Circuits employed the US Supreme Court's Interstate Commerce Clause framework when analyzing statutes under the Foreign Commerce Clause. In so doing, these courts suggest that Foreign Commerce Clause power is not plenary-the constitutional concerns driving the US Supreme Court to recognize limitations on Congress'...

• Washington Law Review
• Vol. 81 Nbr. 3, August 2006

• Presidential decision making and minority nominations to the U.S. Courts of Appeals.

Institutions whose members fail to reflect the diversity of the population are often taken to be unrepresentative of citizens' policy preferences and ...

• Presidential Studies Quarterly
• Vol. 38 Nbr. 2, June 2008

• Judge Cudahy and the Deference Tension in United States Energy Law

Among the judges on the U.S. courts of appeals, Judge Richard Cudahy stands out for his experience in and writings on energy law. In this Essay, we argue that Judge Cudahy's energy opinions elaborate on two recurring themes in U.S. energy law: judicial humility and deference for subnational innovation. At the same time, these themes present a deference tension: where federal regulators disapprove of state regulatory policies, courts may confront a conflict between deferring to federal regulators and encouraging subnational energy policy innovations. We argue that in such cases, Judge Cudahy's decisions point towards a principle of favoring the outcome that best supports the system-wide welfare of the electric grid. This principle has important implications for contemporary energy issues...

• Yale Journal on Regulation
• Vol. 29 Nbr. 2, July 2012

• Promotion of District Court Judges to the U.S. Courts of Appeals: Explaining President Reagan's Promotions of His Own Appointees

Promotions through the ranks of the federal courts account for many of the president's nominees to the U.S. Courts of Appeals. Features of the district court judge that influence whether the president will promote the judge or rule out consideration of the judge include the judge's party, race, and gender. The judge's age, ABA rating at the time of appointment to the district court, length of tenure on the district court bench, the judge's voting record (the ideological direction of the judge's decisions), and support for the federal government are also hypothesized to influence the president's promotion decision. The records of district judges appointed by President Reagan whom he later nominated to a vacant court of appeals position are compared with Reagan-appointed judges whom he di...

• Justice System Journal
• Vol. 27 Nbr. 2, May 2006

• US Third Circuit Court of Appeals Further Defines Bankruptcy Courts' Ability to Enjoin Actions Between Non-Debtor Affiliates and Third Parties.

Originally published March 11, 2010 Keywords: Third Circuit, bankruptcy, non-debtor affiliates, third party actions, W.R. Grace & Co., Chakarian, Ba...

• Mondaq Business Briefing
• Nbr. 2010, January 2010

• Why 'go public'? Presidential use of nominees to the U.S. Courts of Appeals.

The process by which judges are appointed to the U.S. Courts of Appeals has changed dramatically in recent years. Confirmation obstruction and delay o...

• Presidential Studies Quarterly
• Vol. 38 Nbr. 1, March 2008

• U.S. Courts of Appeals

The U.S. Courts of Appeals are intermediate federal appellate courts. Created in 1891 pursuant to Article III of the U.S. Constituti...

• West's Encyclopedia of American Law
• Ter–Z