Grassley, Sessions Express Concern Over Cost of 9th Circuit Judicial Conference in Maui
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, released a letter today to Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge Alex Kozinski concerning a planned judicial conference in Maui, Hawaii. In their letter, the senators note that the taxpayer-funded conference, scheduled for Aug. 13 to Aug. 16, features opportunities for numerous recreational activities not related to any official judicial business, and that the expense of travel and accommodations will be significant. Grassley and Sessions requested a full reply to their questions no later than June 15.
To view the senators’ letter, please click here. Statements from Grassley and Sessions follow:
“Technology is so advanced that people are earning college degrees online and soldiers serving halfway across the world use Skype with their families at home,” Grassley said. “Likewise, a judicial circuit court should be capable of using technology to share information without requiring a trip to an island paradise. It’s especially tone-deaf to plan a pricey conference after the GSA debacle. The taxpayers can’t sustain this kind of spending, and they shouldn’t have to. The court should re-examine whether this is the best use of tax dollars.”
“This conference is further evidence the federal government is in a state of financial chaos,” Sessions said. “How can anyone in Washington ask for more taxes when this culture of excess continues? Americans struggling to pay their bills are tired of watching the government throw lavish events on the taxpayer dime. They are tired of watching entire sectors of government behave in a fashion totally disconnected from the reality of our perilous financial state. At this time of fiscal crisis, America needs leadership that will restore accountability and ensure a disciplined budget is adopted at last.”
NOTE: As detailed in the senators’ letter, a previous Ninth Circuit conference, also held in Maui, cost taxpayers more than $1.1 million in travel and accommodation expenses alone. To view information about activities scheduled at this year’s conference, including yoga, surfing lessons, and a Catamaran snorkel trip, please click here.
Next, from the Ninth Circuit comes this curious text from Chief Judge Alex Kozinski especially given the info above from Sessions and Grassley. If you’re so inclined send the judge a note on this.
Welcome to the Internet portal of the United States Courts for the Ninth Circuit. This new website provides access to a wealth of information about the federal courts serving nine western states and two Pacific Island jurisdictions. By default, you have landed on the home page for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Click on the tabs above for information about district and bankruptcy courts in the circuit; the Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit, the courts’ governing body, and the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference, an annual educational program for judges, court staff and others; and the Ninth Circuit Library. We encourage you to bookmark this page on your web browser and use it whenever you need information about the federal courts of the West.
We count on your suggestions for further resources we should add to the website, and how we can improve it to better serve the public. Let us know what you think of the changes: Click to send us an email with your feedback and ideas.
Alex Kozinski
Chief Judge
from the Daily Caller:
Other circuits are holding conferences in less luxurious places, or canceling their annual conferences entirely. The Eighth Circuit will convene for a three-day conference in Kansas City, the Seventh Circuit will go to Chicago and the Sixth Circuit will hold its event in Lexington, Ky. Districts covering New England, the Rocky Mountains and the mid-Atlantic have cancelled their conferences.
Click on the Daily Caller link above to read the rest of their report. Don’t miss the links in the info from Sessions and Grassley.
Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com