A 'Staggering' 20 of 48 Supreme Court Cases are from 9th Cir.

The Supreme Court is back in session, and a "staggering" amount of its caseload will be from the Ninth Circuit.

In total, the nation's highest court will be hearing around 48 cases.

About 42%, or 20 out of the 48 cases in the docket, comes from Ninth Circuit.

Why are so many of the cases coming out of the western states? Is it because the Pacific coast is rife with juicy disputes?

Maybe. The Ninth Circuit is considered in some circles as one of the most liberal courts. And it's also the nation's biggest circuit. The Ninth Circuit is routinely well-represented in the Supreme Court's docket. In fact, last February the Supreme Court went on a spree, overturning five consecutive cases out of the circuit.

Perhaps the Supreme Court is simply amused with all of the opinions and dissents penned by Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Alex Kozinski. Disagree or agree with his legal arguments, but some of his sayings are fairly quote-worthy:

• "The parties are advised to chill." (Mattel, Inc. v. MCA Records, Inc., 2002)
• "This is really a pretty good system you have here. What do you call it? 'Due process.' We're very proud of it." (United States v. Juan Ramirez-Lopez, 2003)
• "For better or worse, we are the Court of Appeals for the Hollywood Circuit." (White v. Samsung Elec. Am., Inc., 1993)

So maybe the Ninth Circuit's opinions just make for an interesting read sometimes.

But will the Supreme Court be agreeing - or disagreeing - with the appeals court? That much is unclear. But one thing is for sure, in the words of Judge Kozinski in The Facebook, Inc. v. Pacific Northwest Software, Inc. in 2011: "At some point, litigation must come to an end. That point has now been reached." When cases get to the Supreme Court, litigation really will come to a final end.

Related Resources:

• 9th Circuit Cases Make Up 'Staggering' Percentage of Supreme Court Docket (ABA Journal)
• Clarence Thomas Didn't Report $700K Paid to His Wife: House Dems (FindLaw's Strategist)
• Justice Elena Kagan Made Friends, Showed Sarcastic Side in 1st Year (FindLaw's Strategist)