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Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Reorganization Act of 1980 Statement on Signing H.R. 7665 Into Law.

October 15, 1980

I am pleased to sign into law H.R. 7665, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Reorganization Act of 1980. This legislation splits the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, our largest Federal appellate court, into two new circuits: the Fifth Circuit, composed of the Canal Zone, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, and the Eleventh Circuit, composed of Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. There is a limit to the number of judgeships an appellate court can accommodate and still function effectively.

Some time ago it became clear that if the rapid growth in the caseload of the Fifth Circuit continued, necessitating the addition of more and more judges, an unwieldy bench would result. When the size of this court reached 26 active judges, the practical problems of haying all the judges take part in a single case became unmanageable. At the same time, it became increasingly difficult to preserve consistency and predictability among the decisions of three-judge panels. The active judges of the circuit early this year unanimously petitioned the Congress requesting that the circuit be split into 2 autonomous circuits to enhance the court's ability to deliver consistent, fair, and expeditious justice.

I cannot sign this bill without noting the impact the old Fifth Circuit has had on this Nation. The Fifth Circuit has a distinguished history of judicial responsibility. This court played a key role in the long-neglected reapportionment of congressional and legislative districts, and in ending the county unit system that had denied urban Georgians equal participation in the political process.

During the dramatic and often difficult years of the 1950's and 1960's, the Fifth Circuit was charged with the actual dismantling of the system of segregation that had stood since the Civil War. In negotiating the thorny pathway that led to end of legal racial discrimination in schools, public accommodations, and other areas, many of the judges of the circuit endured personal condemnation and threats to their lives and to their families. As our Nation declared its intent to end all forms of legal discrimination based on race and color the Fifth Circuit bore the heavy burden of applying the principles laid down by the Supreme Court in a long series of landmark cases that changed the face of the Deep South.

Under the leadership of Chief Judges Richard Rives, Elbert Tuttle, and John Brown, to name just three of the chief judges known to every constitutional lawyer or student of that era, the Fifth Circuit played a crucial role in a critical period in the life of our region, holding us to the highest principles of justice on which our Nation was founded and supervising their practical application.

The enactment of this legislation represents the work and cooperation of many individuals, especially the judges of the present Fifth Circuit and the senatorial and congressional delegations from the six affected States. I commend the Congress for having acted so promptly in response to the needs of our Federal courts.

Note: As enacted, H.R. 7665 is Public Law 96-452, approved October 14.

Jimmy Carter, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Reorganization Act of 1980 Statement on Signing H.R. 7665 Into Law. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/251111

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