N E W S
| October 5, 2004 |
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| WASHINGTON, DC - Montana's Congressman, Denny Rehberg, today voted for and the House approved an amendment that would split the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals into three separate courts. The measure would put Montana into a new Circuit with three other states.
"This is something that Montana has been calling for since the early eighties,” Rehberg said. "The biggest problems that we have in the state of Montana are federal problems that need to be addressed as locally as possible." Based in San Francisco, the 9th Circuit’s population base comprises eight states, including Montana. Of the eleven Circuit Courts, the 9th represents 57 million Americans – one fifth of the nation’s population. "The state of California would love nothing more than to create the Supreme Court West. What social and economic ties does Montana have to California other than the fact they're coming up and buying our property?” Rehberg asked. “When we finally got an appointment to the 9th Circuit from Montana, we threw a party. We hadn't had one since the Kennedy era.” The amendment approved today would reduce the size of the 9th Circuit Court to include only California, Hawaii, Guam & the Northern Marianas, putting Montana, Idaho, Arizona and Nevada into a newly-created 12th Circuit. The bill would create a 13th Circuit Court to included Oregon, Washington & Alaska. "I'm not going to make the argument that I don't like the decisions they make. In fact, I don't have to make the argument – the U.S. Supreme Court made the argument when they overturned 24 of 25 9th Circuit cases in one year alone.”
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