Alaska State Legislature

News From The House Majority

Ken Freeman, Press Secretary
State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801
Phone: (907) 465-3804
web site: http://www.akrepublicans.org
Actuality line: 1-800-478-6540

For Immediate Release: March 17, 1997 Contact: Rep. Joe Green (907) 465-4931

House Committee Seeks To Split Ninth Circuit Court

JUNEAU -- A legislative resolution in support of S.431, a US Senate bill that would allow Alaskans to challenge federal court decisions in Seattle instead of California was introduced in the Alaska State House of Representatives Monday.

The US Senate bill, introduced last week by Alaska Senators Ted Stevens and Frank Murkowski, along with a group of other western-state senators, would split the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which meets in San Francisco, and create a new Twelfth Circuit Court with headquarters in Seattle.

The Ninth Circuit encompasses a population between 40 and 50 million people in Washington, Montana, Oregon, Nevada, California, Arizona, Idaho, Alaska, and Hawaii, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. California cases alone represent over half of the Ninth Circuit's caseload.

"The Ninth Circuit is just too big. There are too many cases and too many issues before the court," said Representative Joe Green, (R) Anchorage, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which introduced HJR 30. "There are about 200 cases from Alaska before the Court now. And when our cases are heard, it takes far too long to get a decision."

The proposed Twelfth Circuit would consist of Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana.

"So many federal issues important to Alaska end up in court. It is critical for us to be able to plead our case before a judge who understands Alaska, and has the time to render a fair decision" said Green.

Speaker of the House Gail Phillips, a strong supporter of splitting the Ninth Circuit, noted that creating a Twelfth Circuit establishes a more responsive court system for Alaska.

"The original boundaries of the Ninth Circuit were established in the 1930's and since that time the population in the Western states has increased dramatically," said Speaker Phillips.

"HJR 30 sends a very clear message to Congress that Alaska strongly supports the idea of dividing the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and making the Court of Appeals much more workable for Alaska. It will make the decisions affecting our critical land issues heard in a much more timely manner," said Speaker Phillips.

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