NCJ Number
108594
Journal
Harvard Law Review Volume: 100 Issue: 6 Dated: (April 1987) Pages: 1417-1435
Date Published
1987
Length
19 pages
Annotation
Establishing a new national appellate court to deal with intercircuit conflicts now handled by the U.S. Supreme Court is not an appropriate solution to the problems of lack of uniformity in the application of national laws; instead, Congress should routinely and directly clarify laws that cause unnecessary confusion.
Abstract
Thus, Congress should elevate the functions of the existing House of Representatives Office of Law Revision Counsel to a more prominent position. Establishing a separate committee in each body of congress, a joint committee, or a joint subcommittee of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees would accomplish this purpose. Through these committees, Congress would use its own members, rather than a new set of judges, to hear and initiate action on pleas for clear statements of legislative intent. This legislative review would entail a step less drastic than the creation of a new tier in the judicial system. Creating a new tier through an Intercircuit Panel would undermine both its operation and that of the Supreme Court, both internally and in the two courts' relationships with the other branches of government. The Supreme Court is not required to resolve conflicts among courts of appeals and does not need a second court to help it do better what it already does quite well and often enough. The national court is a court and not a standing committee responsible for the rationalization and revision of Federal statutes. 100 footnotes.