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42-618: It is a soil fumigant formerly used in American agriculture . In mammals, it causes male sterility at high levels of exposure. After discovery of its deleterious health effects on humans, the compound was banned from use in 1979 by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The continuing presence of the chemical as a contaminant in ground water remains a problem for many communities for years after end of use. Human exposure to DBCP could result from

84-606: A House Appropriations subcommittee that the consensus among the justices of the Supreme Court of the United States was that the Ninth Circuit was too large and unwieldy and should be split. Congressional officials, legislative commissions, and interest groups have all submitted proposals to divide the Ninth Circuit such as: The more recent proposals have aimed to redefine the Ninth Circuit to cover California, Hawaii, Guam, and

126-441: A circuit judge. When the office was created in 1948, the chief judge was the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire, on what has since 1958 been known as senior status , or declined to serve as chief judge. After August 6, 1959, judges could not become or remain chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982. The court has 29 seats for active judges, numbered in

168-503: A special law that was passed specifically for DBCP litigation, the Nicaraguan courts ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and awarded them over US$ 600 million in damages. When plaintiff lawyers tried to enforce one of those judgments in the United States, the U.S. District Court in Florida held that "the credible and unrefuted medical testimony in this case is that it is factually impossible for what

210-452: A term of seven years, or until age 70, whichever occurs first. If no judge qualifies to be chief, the youngest judge over the age of 65 who has served on the court for at least one year shall act as chief until another judge qualifies. If no judge has served on the court for more than a year, the most senior judge shall act as chief. Judges can forfeit or resign their chief judgeship or acting chief judgeship while retaining their active status as

252-514: Is a method of pest control or the removal of harmful microorganisms by completely filling an area with gaseous pesticides , or fumigants , to suffocate or poison the pests within. It is used to control pests in buildings (structural fumigation), soil, grain, and produce. Fumigation is also used during the processing of goods for import or export to prevent the transfer of exotic organisms . Structural fumigation targets pests inside buildings (usually residences), including pests that inhabit

294-442: Is a non-toxic and low cost agent. For example, to fumigate a 1000   ft (~28.32   m ) area, a 20% solution (200   mL of solution in 1000   mL demineralized water) would be sprayed via fogger for 30 minutes. Fogging may be done at a rate of up to 130   mL/minute and the contact time should be at least one hour. At the heart of this technology is the use of chemicals. Ideally, these chemicals kill or passivate

336-523: Is a relatively rare occurrence in all circuits and Ninth Circuit rules provide for full en banc review in limited circumstances. All recently proposed splits would leave at least one circuit with 21 judges, only two fewer than the 23 that the Ninth Circuit had when the limited en banc procedure was first adopted. In other words, after a split at least one of the circuits would still be using limited en banc courts. In March 2007, Associate Justices Anthony Kennedy and Clarence Thomas testified before

378-524: Is not national in scope....It is easy to make a mistake construing these laws when unfamiliar with them, as we often are, or not interpreting them regularly, as we never do." From 1999 to 2008, of the Ninth Circuit Court rulings that were reviewed by the Supreme Court, 20% were affirmed, 19% were vacated, and 61% were reversed; the median reversal rate for all federal appellate courts was 68.29% for

420-468: Is represented in the Judgment to have occurred," and that due process "do[es] not permit awarding damages in the face of clear scientific evidence of the absence of causation," or, as in this case, "with proof that [the defendants] are not at fault." A group of workers then filed lawsuits in the United States, and on November 5, 2007, a Los Angeles jury awarded them US$ 3.2 million. On July 15, 2010, that judgment

462-464: Is required. Fumigation with formaldehyde vapor is the recognized and most commonly used method because it is a cost-effective procedure. However, alternative methods are sought due to safety and efficacy concerns. Vaporized hydrogen peroxide is a dry gaseous method that has been used as a reliable alternative for aseptic processing isolators, and more recently, for room/facility decontamination. Hydrogen peroxide and silver in solution and diluted in water

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504-572: The Alien Tort Claims Act , and claiming sterility, crimes against humanity, and genocide , sued (in Abagninin v. AMVAC Chemical Corp. [No. 07-56326]), these manufacturers of DBCP: Amvac Chemical , Dow Chemical , Shell Oil Company , as well as Dole Food Company , who used it on overseas crops, but never used it in Côte d'Ivoire. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled against

546-586: The Central Valley of California, DBCP was applied to crops in the 1970s. As late as 1989, DBCP persistence was reported in groundwater that was previously used for beneficial purposes, and numerous nearby wells had to be shut down at that time. Workers at the Dow Chemical plant producing DBCP were made sterile by exposure to DBCP. These male reproductive effects were consistent with animal experiments showing that DBCP sterilizes rabbits. One contract worker at

588-558: The Dole Food Company , which was using the chemical on its banana plantations in Latin America , threatened to sue Dow if it stopped DBCP shipments. Dow then shipped half a million gallons of DBCP to Dole, much of it reclaimed from other users. Plantation workers who became sterile or were stricken with other maladies subsequently sued Dow and Dole in Nicaraguan courts, alleging that their ailments were caused by DBCP exposure. Under

630-642: The High Court of American Samoa in Fagatogo . The Ninth Circuit's large size is due to the dramatic increases in both the population of the western states and the court's geographic jurisdiction that have occurred since the U.S. Congress created the Ninth Circuit in 1891. The court was originally granted appellate jurisdiction over federal district courts in California , Idaho , Montana , Nevada , Oregon , and Washington . As new states and territories were added to

672-710: The James R. Browning U.S. Court of Appeals Building , and Pasadena at the Richard H. Chambers U.S. Court of Appeals . Panels of the court occasionally travel to hear cases in other locations within the circuit. Although the judges travel around the circuit, the court arranges its hearings so that cases from the northern region of the circuit are heard in Seattle or Portland, cases from southern California and Arizona are heard in Pasadena, and cases from northern California, Nevada , Hawaii , and

714-598: The United States Court for China during the existence of that court from 1906 through 1943. However, the Philippines was never under the Ninth Circuit's jurisdiction. Congress never created a federal district court in the Philippines from which the Ninth Circuit could hear appeals. Instead, appeals from the Supreme Court of the Philippines were taken directly to the Supreme Court of the United States . In 1979,

756-559: The Court of Appeals for the Hollywood Circuit." Judges from more remote parts of the circuit note the contrast between legal issues confronted by populous states such as California and those confronted by rural states such as Alaska, Idaho, Montana, and Nevada. Judge Andrew J. Kleinfeld , who maintains his judicial chambers in Fairbanks, Alaska , wrote in a letter in 1998: "Much federal law

798-670: The District of Hawaii for its federal cases. Headquartered in San Francisco, California , the Ninth Circuit is by far the largest of the 13 U.S. Courts of Appeals, covering a total of nine states and two territories and with 29 active judgeships. The court's regular meeting places are Seattle at the William Kenzo Nakamura United States Courthouse , Portland at the Pioneer Courthouse , San Francisco at

840-616: The Ninth Circuit (in case citations , 9th Cir. ) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts for the following federal judicial districts : The Ninth Circuit also has appellate jurisdiction over the territorial courts for the District of Guam and the District of the Northern Mariana Islands . Additionally, it sometimes handles appeals that originate from American Samoa , which has no district court and partially relies on

882-585: The Ninth Circuit became the first federal judicial circuit to set up a Bankruptcy Appellate Panel as authorized by the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978 . The cultural and political jurisdiction of the Ninth Circuit is just as varied as the land within its geographical borders. In a dissenting opinion in a rights of publicity case involving the Wheel of Fortune star Vanna White , Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski sardonically noted that "[f]or better or worse, we are

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924-410: The Ninth Circuit faces several adverse consequences of its large size, such as "unwieldly size, procedural inefficiencies, jurisprudential unpredictability, and unusual en banc process." Chief among these is the Ninth Circuit's unique rules concerning the composition of an en banc court. In other circuits, en banc courts are composed of all active circuit judges, plus (depending on the rules of

966-471: The Ninth Circuit's decisions were reversed at a rate of 2.50 cases per thousand, which was by far the highest rate in the country, with the Sixth Circuit second as 1.73 cases per thousand. Fitzpatrick also noted that the 9th Circuit was unanimously reversed more than three times as often as the least reversed circuits and over 20% more often than the next closest circuit. Many commentators have argued that

1008-409: The Northern Mariana Islands, and to create a new Twelfth Circuit to cover Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. As of November 15, 2023 : Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their circuits, and preside over any panel on which they serve, unless the circuit justice (the Supreme Court justice responsible for the circuit) is also on

1050-733: The Pacific territories are heard in San Francisco. Additionally, the court holds yearly sittings in Anchorage and Honolulu . For lawyers who must come and present their cases to the court in person, this administrative grouping of cases helps to reduce the time and cost of travel. Ninth Circuit judges are also appointed by the United States Secretary of the Interior to serve as temporary acting Associate Justices for non-federal appellate sessions at

1092-482: The area is a critical safety aspect of fumigation. It is important to distinguish between the pack or source of the fumigant gas and the environment which has been fumigated. While the fumigant pack may be safe and spent, the space will still hold the fumigant gas until it has been ventilated. United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for

1134-406: The area. Finally, the space is ventilated so that the poisonous gases are allowed to escape from the space, rendering it safe for humans to enter. If successful, the fumigated area is now safe and pest free. Structural fumigation techniques differ from building to building. In a residential setting, a "rubber" tent or tents, typically made of plastic/pvc coated canvas material, may be placed over

1176-464: The entire structure while the pesticides are being released into the vacant structure. This process is called tent fumigation, or "tenting". The sealed tent contains the poisonous gases and prevents them from escaping into the environment. This process is commonly used for the treatment of drywood termites and/or bedbugs, using sulfuryl fluoride as the pesticide (sulfuryl fluoride is a naturally occurring gas, used in much higher concentration than found in

1218-767: The federal judicial hierarchy in the twentieth century, many of those in the West were placed in the Ninth Circuit: the newly acquired Territory of Hawaii in 1900, Arizona upon its admission to the Union in 1912, the Territory of Alaska in 1948, Guam in 1951, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in 1977. The Ninth Circuit also had jurisdiction over certain American interests in China , in that it had jurisdiction over appeals from

1260-524: The ingestion of contaminated drinking water and food. Exposure could also result from inhalation and/or skin contact with a product containing DBCP. In the past, release of DBCP to the environment occurred primarily from its fumigant and nematocide uses; because of the cancellation of all DBCP uses, environmental exposure is expected to decline with time. DBCP residues have persisted in contaminated soil and groundwater long after applications have ceased. For example, in agricultural areas around Turlock in

1302-508: The natural atmosphere, and which leaves no physical residue). The fumigated structure can be re-occupied after the tent has been removed and the pesticide has dissipated to a safe level, with no need for physical cleaning. Fumigation of hospital rooms with high concentrations of toxic chemicals has been proposed to reduce microbial agents on hospital surfaces and to control surgical site infections. Formaldehyde fumigation has long been an accepted method for areas where microbiological cleanliness

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1344-418: The other circuits. This results in the Supreme Court reviewing a smaller proportion of its cases, letting stand the vast majority of its cases. However, a detailed study in 2018 reported by Brian T. Fitzpatrick , a law professor at Vanderbilt University , looked at how often a federal circuit court was reversed for every thousand cases it terminated on the merits between 1994 and 2015. The study found that

1386-500: The panel. Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the circuit judges. To be chief, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge. A vacancy is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges, with seniority determined first by commission date, then by age. The chief judge serves for

1428-469: The particular court) any senior judges who took part in the original panel decision. By contrast, in the Ninth Circuit it is impractical for 29 or more judges to take part in a single oral argument and deliberate on a decision en masse. The court thus provides for a limited en banc review by the Chief Judge and a panel of 10 randomly selected judges. This means that en banc reviews may not actually reflect

1470-430: The pesticides, or fumigants, only the pests around are eradicated. Fumigation generally involves the following phases: first, humans are evacuated from the area intended for fumigation and the area covered to create a sealed environment. Next, the fumigant is released into the space to be fumigated. The space is held for a set period while the fumigant gas percolates through the space and acts on/kills any infestation in

1512-418: The physical structure itself, such as woodborers and drywood termites . Commodity fumigation, on the other hand, is also to be conducted inside a physical structure, such as a storage unit, but it aims to eliminate pests from infesting physical goods, usually food products, by killing pests within the container which will house them. Each fumigation lasts for a certain duration. This is because after spraying

1554-577: The production plant successfully sued the company. Most workers remained with the company and in a company sponsored medical program until the facility was sold in 1987. At that time, some of the workers did file suit against the company. However, the suit was denied due to statute of limitations issues. Most uses of the chemical in the United States were banned in 1977. Amid growing concerns over DBCP's effects on male workers, Dow ceased production and reclaimed DBCP that had been shipped to its users. However, despite warnings from Dow about its health effects,

1596-416: The same period. From 2010 to 2015, of the cases it accepted to review, the Supreme Court reversed around 79% of the cases from the Ninth Circuit, ranking its reversal rate third among the circuits; the median reversal rate for all federal circuits for the same time period was around 70 percent. Some argue the court's high percentage of reversals is illusory, resulting from the circuit hearing more cases than

1638-496: The targeted creatures without harming others. Usually such a feat is impossible, so fumigation is conducted in the absence of humans. Many chemicals have been discontinued owing to safety issues. Fumigation is a hazardous operation. Generally it is a legal requirement that the operator who carries out the fumigation operation holds official certification to perform the fumigation, as the chemicals used are toxic to most forms of life, including humans. Post operation ventilation of

1680-417: The views of the majority of the court and indeed may not include any of the three judges involved in the decision being reviewed in the first place. The result, according to detractors, is a high risk of intracircuit conflicts of law where different groupings of judges end up delivering contradictory opinions. That is said to cause uncertainty in the district courts and within the bar. However, en banc review

1722-495: The workers in September 2008, stating that the plaintiffs did not show that the defendants had "specific intent" to intend harm against the workers and the citizens of the country. To be found guilty of genocide the defendant must have knowingly set out to commit the offense. DBCP causes a dramatic decrease in male fertility, ranging from oligospermia (low sperm count) to azoospermia (lack of sperm). Fumigant Fumigation

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1764-564: Was thrown out after the Court presiding over the case found that the claims were part of "a massive fraud perpetrated on the court". On April 23, 2009, a Los Angeles judge also threw out two similar cases against Dole and Dow Chemical due to fraud and extortion by lawyers in Nicaragua recruiting fraudulent plaintiffs to make claims against the company. The ruling casts doubt on US$ 2 billion in judgments in similar lawsuits. Workers in Côte d'Ivoire , using

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