My gut read: CA3 Dems and at least a couple of its Republicans want to avoid the circuit split on state assault weapons bans that Kavanaugh so desires, and so are rushing to go en banc before Bove gets his commission.
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Interesting idea, but I don’t think it’s correct that they’re rushing to go en banc before Bove joins the court. If he’s on the court before the en banc OA, he’d get to participate. And confirming him doesn’t change the number of votes needed to grant en banc (majority of actives, 7/12 or 7/13).
aug 24, 2025, 9:30 pm • 1 0 • view
Were any of the assigned Dems on the panel senior? If there’s no panel opinion, do senior judges get to participate in the en banc rehearing?
aug 24, 2025, 9:36 pm • 1 0 • view
Yes to the latter, and the en banc order notes Smith (an R appointee) will participate.
aug 24, 2025, 9:48 pm • 1 0 • view
Also, sua sponte (which autocorrect really thinks should be sub sponge) en banc probably sounds more dramatic than it may be for CA3. En banc is rare here, but when it occurs it’s often sua sponte. It is a signal that a majority wanted to consider whether to overrule a prior panel op, maybe no more.
aug 24, 2025, 9:53 pm • 2 0 • view
This is an interesting theory, but is it not basically guaranteed there will be a circuit split within the next couple years anyway? Do none of the conservative-dominated circuits contain any states with gun laws worth challenging?
aug 22, 2025, 4:01 pm • 1 0 • view
CA1, CA2, CA3, CA4, CA7, CA9 CA3's Trump's only flippable circuit with live challenges to state assault weapons bans. Only CA7 has a Republican majority, and it has already upheld Illinois's assault weapons bans, and SCOTUS denied cert in those cases. everytownresearch.org/rankings/law...
aug 22, 2025, 4:08 pm • 2 0 • view
Correction: the IL challenge remains live, and CA7 will hear oral args next month. So far, however, the all-Republican panel has shown no appetite for striking down the ban: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
aug 22, 2025, 4:35 pm • 2 0 • view