Congressional Court Watcher: Circuit Splits from August 2024 (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Sept. 6, 2024 |
| Report Number |
LSB11222 |
| Report Type |
Legal Sidebar |
| Authors |
Michael John Garcia |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
The U.S. Courts of Appeals for the thirteen “circuits” issue thousands of precedential decisions each year.
Because relatively few of these decisions are ultimately reviewed by the Supreme Court, the U.S. Courts
of Appeals are often the last word on consequential legal questions. The federal appellate courts
sometimes reach different conclusions on the same issue of federal law, causing a “split” among the
circuits that leads to the non-uniform application of federal law among similarly situated litigants.
This Legal Sidebar discusses circuit splits that emerged or widened following decisions from last month
on matters relevant to Congress. The Sidebar does not address every circuit split that developed or
widened during this period. Selected cases typically involve judicial disagreement over the interpretation
or validity of federal statutes and regulations, or constitutional issues relevant to Congress’s lawmaking
and oversight functions. The Sidebar only includes cases where an appellate court’s controlling opinion
recognizes a split among the circuits on a key legal issue resolved in the opinion.
Some cases identified in this Sidebar, or the legal questions they address, are examined in other CRS
general distribution products. Members of Congress and congressional staff may click here to subscribe to
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