,i #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #ibij ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,june #aa1 #bjbf,mr4 ,morelle 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,williams of ,georgia1 ,mr4 ,mullin1 and ,mrs4 ,ramirez7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,a ,,bill ,to amend title #bh1 ,united ,states ,code1 to provide for the allotment of ,supreme ,court justices to circuits1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,supreme ,court ,justice ,circuit ,riding ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,the ,congress finds as follows3 7#a7 ,circuit riding1 the system of the ,supreme ,court justices traveling the country to serve as judges of the various ,federal circuit courts1 was an essential component of the ,supreme ,court's practice for the first #aba years of its history4 ,see ,david ,r4 ,stras1 ,why ,supreme ,court ,justices ,should ,ride ,circuit ,again1 #fea ,,minn4 ,l4 ,,rev4 #agaj1 #agaa 7#bjjg72 see also ,stuart v4 ,laird1 #e ,u4,s4 7#a ,cranch7 #bii 7#ahjc7 7rejecting constitutional objections to circuit riding74 ,that practice ended in #aiaa4 7#b7 ,for the justices1 the practice of circuit riding exposed the justices to life outside of ,washington and brought them closer to the ,american public4 7#c7 ,today's justices1 in contrast1 spend roughly #i months a year cloistered in the ,supreme ,court building in ,washington1 ,,dc1 rendering decisions and issuing opinions on some of the most consequential issues of the day4 ,see ,stras1 supra1 at #agaa4 7#d7 ,the principal historical arguments against circuit riding regarded burdensome travel and a burgeoning docket4 ,both concerns have dissipated4 ,modern-day travel is convenient and the ,supreme ,court's docket has shrunk considerably4 ,according to an analysis by ,adam ,feldman1 a lawyer and political scientist who publishes empirical work on the ,supreme ,court1 the ,supreme ,court's workload has steadily declined since the #aifjs4 ,indeed1 by the mid-#bjajs1 the ,supreme ,court was deciding fewer cases than it has since the ,civil ,war and ,reconstruction4 ,adam ,feldman1 ,looking ,back to ,make ,sense of the ,court's 7,relatively7 ,light ,workload1 ,,empirical ,,scotus 7,jan4 #i1 #bjah74 7#e7 ,today1 the public's confidence in the ,supreme ,court is near historic lows4 ,joseph ,copeland1 ,favorable views of ,supreme ,court remain near historic low1 ,,pew ,,rsch ,,ctr4 7,aug4 #h1 #bjbd74 ,most ,americans cannot even name a single ,supreme ,court justice4 ,see ,emily ,birnbaum1 ,poll3 ,more than half of ,americans can't name a single ,supreme ,court justice1 ,,roll ,,call 7,aug4 #bh1 #bjah74 7#f7 ,for these reasons1 restoring the practice of circuit riding would help to restore the public's trust in the justices1 bring them closer to the people1 and expose them to life outside of the secluded confines of ,washington1 ,,dc4 ,as then-professor 7now judge7 ,david ,stras observed1 a modern form of circuit riding would ensure that justices gain exposure to a wider array of legal issues1 the laws of various ,states1 and the difficulties faced by lower courts in implementing the ,court's sweeping 7and sometimes confounding7 rulings ,stras1 supra1 at #agaa4 #c4 ,allotment of ,supreme ,court justices to circuits 7a7 ,in general ,section #db of title #bh1 ,united ,states ,code is amended to read as follows3 #db4 ,allotment of ,supreme ,court justices to circuits 7a7 ,in general ,the ,chief ,justice of the ,united ,states and the associate justices of the ,supreme ,court shall from time to time be allotted as circuit justices among the circuits by order of the ,supreme ,court4 ,the ,chief ,justice shall make such allotments for any recess during the period beginning on ,july #a and ending on ,october #a1 or while the court is otherwise in vacation4 ,a justice may be assigned to more than one circuit1 and two or more justices may be assigned to the same circuit4 7b7 ,process ,a justice of the ,supreme ,court allotted as a circuit justice to a ,united ,states ,court of ,appeals shall serve consistent with the following3 7#a7 ,the justice shall sit on not less than #a panel of the ,court of ,appeals4 7#b7 ,the justice shall sit on one or more panels of the ,united ,states ,courts of ,appeals for not less than #aj days of oral argument during each year4 7#c7 ,to the greatest extent practicable1 a justice shall not sit with the same judge for more than #aj days of oral argument during any two-year period4 7#d7 ,the justice shall engage in such service during the time period specified in subsection 7a71 pursuant to the regulations provided in subsection 7d74 7#e7 ,no more than one justice may sit on a panel in order to fulfill the requirements of this section4 7#f7 ,the justice is ineligible to vote on or participate in an en banc rehearing of any matter4 7#g7 ,the justice is eligible to vote for panel rehearing to the extent that they were a member of the original panel4 7#h7 ,the justice may not render such service by video argument or teleconference4 7c7 ,scheduling ,the chief judge of each circuit shall schedule proceedings such that the justices may fulfill the requirements of this section4 7d7 ,reimbursement of necessary expenses ,provision shall be made for payment of reasonable travel1 lodging1 and other expenses incurred by the justices1 and any staff accompanying a justice1 in fulfilling the requirements of this section consistent with section #egjb of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code4 4 7b7 ,disqualification ,section #dee7;b7 of title #bh1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7#f7 ,for any consideration of a matter after the justice has participated as a circuit justice4 4 7c7 ,regulations ,not later than #ahj days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,chief ,justice1 in consultation with the ,judicial ,conference of the ,united ,states shall1 after appropriate public notice and opportunity for comment1 issue relevant regulations for the process of allotting circuit justices among the circuits in accordance with this ,act4