Short circuited

National | CALIFORNIA: Last week's recall ruling is merely the latest in the string of surprises unleashed by the nation's most activist federal appeals court | Bob Jones

If Gray Davis seemed unflappable throughout his long and humiliating recall ordeal, it may have been because of the California governor's famously bland personality—or it may have been because of his ace in the hole. After a dozen lawsuits in state and district courts failed to stop the recall roller coaster, Mr. Davis and his allies knew they'd eventually get the hearing they'd been waiting for. Their day in court finally came on Sept. 15, and they weren't disappointed (see sidebar).

Going before a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, they must have felt pretty good about their chances. The 9th Circuit, after all, has a well-deserved reputation as the most liberal federal court in the land. Its far-left judicial philosophy puts it in constant conflict with the other 12 appellate districts, forcing the Supreme Court to step in again and again to provide a uniform, nationwide interpretation of the law. Indeed, one-third of all cases before the Supreme Court are appealed from the 9th Circuit, and the justices reverse their Western colleagues in more than 80 percent of the cases they agree to hear.