From Circuits to SCOTUS: John Elwood's Insights Featured in The National Law Journal and Law360

Appellate & Supreme Court practice head John Elwood was quoted in The National Law Journal and Law360 regarding seminal rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court's latest term.

According to Elwood, former President Donald Trump has "kind of remade [the Ninth Circuit]," which now includes 13 Republican- and 16 Democrat-appointed judges. He noted, "It's much more possible to have panels that would look more like the Supreme Court in their composition."

In Grants Pass v. Johnson, the Supreme Court overturned a panel decision that ruled unconstitutional an Oregon city's ordinances aimed at homeless individuals sleeping in public spaces. Last year, dissenting Republican-appointed judges criticized their colleagues for not reviewing the panel decision en banc.

"One of the things that gets the most attention in reviewing cases is when judges dissent from failure to rehear en banc. They're something that definitely gets the court's attention," Elwood said.

Discussing how the Eleventh Circuit had 75% of its decisions upheld by the Supreme Court in its latest term, Elwood said that the circuit is "kind of a center-right court, and the Supreme Court is kind of a center-right court. So, it may be simpatico, but it may just be the law of small numbers."

Read The National Law Journal article, "9th Circuit's Unusually Low Reversal Rate This Supreme Court Term Doesn't Tell Full Story" (subscription required).

Read the Law360 article, "How Reshaped Circuit Courts Are Faring At The High Court" (subscription required).