I DUNNO, IT SEEMS LIKE A GOOD IDEA TO ME: Judges warn lawmakers against splitting 9th Circuit.

Three judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit warned a House Judiciary subcommittee Thursday that their jurisdiction should not be split in two.

“Circuit division would have a devastating effect on the administration of justice in the western United States,” Chief Circuit Judge Sidney Thomas said in prepared remarks to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet. He said a split would “increase delay, reduce access to justice and waste taxpayer dollars.”

There have been attempts in both the House and Senate to split the 9th Circuit and create a new 12th Circuit.

Also, I think we need to add a substantial number of new judges to the Courts of Appeals. They’ve been the same size for decades, even as the nation has grown. . . .