Senior judges keep 9th Circuit courthouses open

[usregimechange]

Judge Betty Fletcher, who will turn 88 this month, still works full time in the 9th Circuit. “I think I bring a set of values and viewpoints to the court, and there is little enough of that now,” she says. (Liz O. Baylen, Los Angeles Times / March 8, 2011)


The pile of unread magazines and novels on her bedside table is Judge Betty Fletcher's only regret in letting retirement elude her.

Fletcher, who turns 88 this month and relies on a walker to navigate airports and courthouse corridors, retired a dozen years ago yet still works full time, on what is known as senior status, for the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. She travels throughout the court's nine-state region for hearings and spends seven days a week poring over foot-high stacks of written filings.

As federal courts stagger under the weight of mounting caseloads and vacant judgeships go unfilled for years, senior judges like Fletcher have come to the rescue, especially in the 9th Circuit, where they shoulder a third of the legal load.

"It's kind of a double whammy," Fletcher said of the courts that have had no new judgeships added in 21 years and that have declining numbers of active judges because of partisan posturing in Congress. Nearly 11% of the nation's 875 lifetime positions are empty.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-senior-judges-20110314,0,1680937.story


As Republicans continue to block a vote on Goodwin Liu and stall and obstruct even nominees that pass unanimously...

[blondeatlast]

1. Oh, and I bet the RRRepubliKKKans can't stand her.

In a sea of red-statedness, the 9th circuit manages to restore some justice in this area.

Absolutely ridiculous to have so much understaffing--but it means cases the RRRs don't want heard likely don't get heard.

Whatta country, right? :eyes: