The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals covers an enormous swath of the country — from California to Alaska to Hawaii — and this bill would split it in two. California, Guam, and Hawaii would remain in a smaller Ninth Circuit with 18 judges, while Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington would form a new Twelfth Circuit with 13 judges. The President would appoint two new judges to start, and existing judges would be reassigned based on where their duty station is located. Pending cases would transfer to whichever court has jurisdiction under the new map.
Congressional Summary
This bill establishes a new U.S. Court of Appeals.Specifically, the bill divides the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit into two judicial circuits: (1) the Ninth Circuit, and (2) a new Twelfth Circuit.The Ninth Circuit is composed of California, Guam, and Hawaii. The new Twelfth Circuit is composed of Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- Senate
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in Senate
- Action Date
- 2025-07-21
- Date Added
- 2026-03-30
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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