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SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. (AP) — A Vermont Law School professor says a push by some western governors and members of Congress to break up the federal appeals court based in San Francisco amounts to judicial gerrymandering.
Professor Patrick Parenteau says the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is a favorite target of conservatives.
There's a push under way in some western states to split away from the 9th Circuit and join the neighboring 10th Circuit out of displeasure over some of the court's environmental rulings. Alternatively, some officials in western states are pushing to create a new appeals court district.
Parenteau, who has appeared in cases before the 9th Circuit judges, says the court has had a reputation in the past as being a liberal bastion. But he says that's becoming less the case.
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