US Supreme Court vacates opinion of deceased Ninth Circuit judge

In a per curiam decision Monday, the US Supreme Court ruled that a Ninth Circuit judge, who died before the court’s opinion in the case was filed, would be precluded from counting toward a member of the majority opinion.

The respondent argued that Judge Stephen Reinhardt, had “fully participated in this case and authored this opinion, [t]he majority opinion and all concurrences were final, and voting was completed by the en banc court prior to his death.”

The Supreme Court said that it is generally understood a judge may change his or position right up until the very moment a decision is released, making judges’ votes and opinions unsettled until their public release.

“[T]he Ninth Circuit erred in counting him as a member of the majority. That practice effectively allowed a deceased judge to exercise the judicial power of the United States after his death. [F]ederal judges are appointed for life, not for eternity,” the Court said, remanding the case back for a judgment without Reinhardt’s vote or opinion.

Source: Jurist