Ninth Circuit Court Modernization and Twelfth Circuit Court Creation Act of 2017
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet.
Ninth Circuit Court Modernization and Twelfth Circuit Court Creation Act of 2017
This bill divides the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit into: (1) a new Ninth Circuit that consists of only California; and (2) a newly established Twelfth Circuit to be composed of Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Guam, and Hawaii.
The Twelfth Circuit must hold regular sessions in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Anchorage, Missoula, Portland, and Seattle.
Each circuit judge of the former Ninth Circuit who is in regular active service and whose official duty station is currently in Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Guam, Hawaii, the Northern Mariana Islands, or Nevada shall be a circuit judge of the new Ninth Circuit.
The President shall appoint, with the advice of the Senate, 17 circuit judges for the new Twelfth Circuit, selected from the states assigned to that circuit.
Senior circuit judges of the former Ninth Circuit currently stationed in Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada, or the Northern Mariana Islands may elect their circuit assignment.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on March 17, 2017. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on March 31, 2017: Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 115th Congress (2017-18), 442 of the 11,421 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Louie Gohmert (R-TX) introduced it on March 17, 2017, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Republican.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 17, 2017, 3464 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3450 days ago, on March 31, 2017.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 115th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2019 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers