Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Reorganization Act of 2003

H.R. 1033, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Reorganization Act of 2003, proposed a major restructuring of the federal court system by splitting the existing Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals into three separate circuits. Under this plan, California and Nevada would remain in the Ninth Circuit, while several other Western states and territories would be moved into a newly created Twelfth Circuit or an expanded Tenth Circuit.

For citizens, this change would have shifted where federal appeals cases are heard and which groups of judges set legal precedents for their specific states. The bill aimed to address the large size and heavy caseload of the Ninth Circuit by redistributing judicial resources and establishing new locations for regular court sessions in cities like Portland, Seattle, and Denver. Although introduced in 2003, the bill did not advance past the committee stage and did not become law.