Abstract
After a discussion of the court's basic organization, the general stages of consideration of a case will be briefly described. Then attention will be focused on communication between the judges about cases. Cases before screening panels will be discussed first. Then cases set for argument before three-judge panels will be examined beginning with pre-argument communication, extending through exchanges at argument, the postargument conference, and the post-conference period. This will be followed by discussion of communication leading to the call for an en banc court. Communication among judges chosen for an en banc court will be considered next along with intracircuit inconsistency, often discussed in the post-disposition/pre-en banc period and a principal reason for the court's going en banc. Judges' communication with district judges with whom they sit will be noted, and judges' communication with each other through law clerks and staff attorneys will also be discussed. The article will end with an examination of some factors thought to have possible effects on intracircuit communication-norms of behavior, the number of judges on the court, its geographic size, judges' locations throughout the circuit-and with the judges' views as to their satisfaction with intracourt communication.
Recommended Citation
Stephen L. Wasby, Communication in the Ninth Circuit: A Concern for Collegiality, 11 SEATTLE U. L. REV. 73 (1987).
