Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals & Appellate Lawyer Representatives
Post Pandemic Procedures

In order to assist the Judges and Clerk's Office in reconstituting Court post-pandemic operations, we appreciate your help in responding to the following questions.

Question Title

* 1. Please select the category that best describes your practice

Private attorney - law firm

Private attorney - solo practitioner

Prosecutor

Public defender

Government agency counsel

Public interest/non-governmental organization

Law school clinic/academia

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 2. Where do you live?

Alaska

Arizona

California

Guam

Hawaii

Idaho

Montana

Nevada

Northern Mariana Islands

Oregon

Washington

Outside the Ninth Circuit (please specify)

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* 3. Do you live within driving distance of the Ninth Circuit courthouse where you most often appear for oral argument?

Yes

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* 4. Please indicate when you believe you would be comfortable resuming in-person arguments in Ninth Circuit courthouses

I am ready now

I will be ready in the next six months

I will be ready within the next year

I will be ready more than a year from now

Other (please specify)

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* 5. Please rank the factors that have the most substantial effect on your attitude regarding resuming in-person arguments in Ninth Circuit courthouses (please rank your responses from 1 to 6, assigning 1 to the factor that has the most substantial effect)

Whether you, members of your household, or others with whom you regularly come into contact are fully vaccinated
Whether you, members of your household, or others with whom you regularly come into contact are especially vulnerable
The percent of the United States population that has been fully vaccinated
The infection rate in the United States or in the city in which the courthouse is located
Whether you need to travel by air to attend argument in person
Whether the Court adopts effective protocols to minimize the risk of infection in the courthouse (e.g. masking and social distancing requirements, sanitizing)

Question Title

* 6. When in-person arguments resume in Ninth Circuit courthouses, do you believe the court should preclude the following individuals from being physically present in the courtroom (check all that apply)

Non-arguing co-counsel

Clients

Spectators

Unspecified but with a cap on the total number of people who may be present for each party

Unspecified, but with a cap on the total number of people who may be present in the courtroom based on its size, to allow for social distancing

No one need be precluded from being physically present in the courtroom

Other (please specify)

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* 7. When in-person arguments resume in Ninth Circuit courthouses, do you believe that remote arguments via videoconference should remain available as an option?

Yes

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* 8. When in-person arguments resume in Ninth Circuit courthouses, if the Court were to leave remote arguments via videoconference available as an option, would you feel an obligation to present argument in person even if you felt that your in-person presence would present some risk of infection?

Yes

Question Title

* 9. If you answered YES to question 8, which of the following factors causes you to feel that you would have an obligation to present argument in person (please check all that apply)

Ethical obligations

Client expectations

Judges' expectations

Supervising attorney's expectations

Other (please specify)

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* 10. As the Court transitions to in-person arguments, and assuming remote arguments via videoconference remain available as an option for some time, what should the default rule be?

Default to in-person arguments, with the option for parties to request leave to argue remotely via videoconference

Default to remote arguments via videoconference, with the option for parties to request leave to present argument in person

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* 11. Assuming the Court transitions to a protocol in which in-person argument is the default but counsel may request leave to present arguments remotely, under what circumstances should the Court grant such a request? (please check all that apply)

Any time the request is timely made

Only when all parties consent

Only when the requesting party shows good cause

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 12. Assuming the Court transitions to a protocol in which in-person argument is the default but counsel may request leave to present argument remotely, what should the effect of the Court's grant of such a request be?

The other attorneys in the appeal may be present in-person OR remotely by videoconference, at their discretion (i.e., one attorney may argue in person while others argue remotely)

The Court should transition the complete argument to occur remotely via videoconference, such that counsel for ALL parties in the appeal will present argument remotely via videoconference if the Court is hearing ANY portion of the argument remotely via videoconference.

Other (please specify)

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* 13. Finally, please share anything else that the Court should take into consideration as it moves forward, including any suggestions to improve the video arguments themselves.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals & Appellate Lawyer Representatives Post Pandemic Procedures

Question Title

* 1. Please select the category that best describes your practice

Question Title

* 2. Where do you live?

Question Title

* 3. Do you live within driving distance of the Ninth Circuit courthouse where you most often appear for oral argument?

Question Title

* 4. Please indicate when you believe you would be comfortable resuming in-person arguments in Ninth Circuit courthouses

Question Title

* 5. Please rank the factors that have the most substantial effect on your attitude regarding resuming in-person arguments in Ninth Circuit courthouses (please rank your responses from 1 to 6, assigning 1 to the factor that has the most substantial effect)

Question Title

* 6. When in-person arguments resume in Ninth Circuit courthouses, do you believe the court should preclude the following individuals from being physically present in the courtroom (check all that apply)

Question Title

* 7. When in-person arguments resume in Ninth Circuit courthouses, do you believe that remote arguments via videoconference should remain available as an option?

Question Title

* 8. When in-person arguments resume in Ninth Circuit courthouses, if the Court were to leave remote arguments via videoconference available as an option, would you feel an obligation to present argument in person even if you felt that your in-person presence would present some risk of infection?

Question Title

* 9. If you answered YES to question 8, which of the following factors causes you to feel that you would have an obligation to present argument in person (please check all that apply)

Question Title

* 10. As the Court transitions to in-person arguments, and assuming remote arguments via videoconference remain available as an option for some time, what should the default rule be?

Question Title

* 11. Assuming the Court transitions to a protocol in which in-person argument is the default but counsel may request leave to present arguments remotely, under what circumstances should the Court grant such a request? (please check all that apply)

Question Title

* 12. Assuming the Court transitions to a protocol in which in-person argument is the default but counsel may request leave to present argument remotely, what should the effect of the Court's grant of such a request be?

Question Title

* 13. Finally, please share anything else that the Court should take into consideration as it moves forward, including any suggestions to improve the video arguments themselves.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals & Appellate Lawyer Representatives
Post Pandemic Procedures