Monday, December 4, 2017

A Court Transformed: The Ninth Circuit, the 1978 Judgeship Act, and the Carter Judge

[Via H-Law, we have word of the following conference.]

A Court Transformed: The Ninth Circuit, the 1978 Judgeship Act, and the Carter Judges

Pasadena, California, Saturday, February 17, 2018

The Omnibus Judgeship Act of 1978 was a transformative event for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Act created ten new judgeships for the court, all of which were filled by President Carter, who also appointed five judges to fill other vacancies. Additionally, the Act authorized the Ninth Circuit to create its unique “limited en banc court” of fewer than all active judges. The California Academy of Appellate Lawyers, the Appellate Courts Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, and the Department of Political Science of Loyola Marymount University are pleased to announce a conference to mark the 40th anniversary of the Act and the resulting transformation of the Ninth Circuit.

The conference will explore the institutional and procedural changes that followed the Act, particularly the infusion of so many judges into a court of appeals in a short period. It will be an opportunity for those involved – and those affected – to share recollections of the era and to provide contemporary perspectives on what the changes were, how they came about, and what they have meant for the Ninth Circuit, both in the immediate aftermath and in the longer term.

The central figures in the conference will be a number of the Carter judges, joined by judges who were there before the expansion of the court or who joined the court later. Confirmed speakers include seven Ninth Circuit judges: Hon. J. Clifford Wallace, Hon. Mary M. Schroeder, Hon. William C. Canby, Jr., Hon. Stephen Reinhardt, Hon. A. Wallace Tashima, Hon. Kim McLane Wardlaw, and Hon. Milan D. Smith, Jr. The principal moderator will be Professor Arthur D. Hellman of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

The one-day conference will consist of two morning sessions, a luncheon at which those attending can meet the participating judges, and two afternoon sessions.

More.