Jerry-Building the Road to the Future: An Evaluation of the White Commission Report on Structural Alternatives for the Federal Courts of Appeals

For years, critics have argued that the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit should be divided because it has grown too large to manage its caseload effectively.' They blame the Ninth Circuit's size for alleged increases in intra-circuit conflicts, inefficiency, delay, and a lack of collegiality among its judges.! In recent years, conservative congressmen in the Pacific Northwest have criticized the San Francisco- based circuit for its "liberal" rulings on everything from the environment to the death penalty?