u/legalwriterutah

Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) has introduced a bill to restructure the circuit court of appeals in western states. The bill would have the Ninth Circuit retain jurisdiction only over California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, and select overseas territories. Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Alaska would move to the Eighth Circuit. Arizona and Nevada would move into the Tenth Circuit.

The Circuit Court of Appeals Reorganization Act of 2026 (S. 5347) was introduction on August 6, 2026. Several other Senators in western states have co-sponsored the bill. Previous proposals to break up the Ninth Circuit have failed and died in committee.

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I read an interesting article in People magazine about a young woman who gave up legal career to work as a bartender and restaurant server. What are your thoughts?

The article says "After graduating from the University of Miami School of Law in May 2024, Gregory passed the Virginia bar exam in April 2025."

Note: The bar exam is only offered in July and February. There is an individual named "Anna Claire Gregory" with the Virginia state bar who was admitted in April 2025. She probably passed the February 2025 bar exam and was sworn in as a lawyer in April 2025. That is some sloppy reporting, but it's People magazine so I give them a little slack.

The article also says, "Instead, in October 2025, she made the bold decision to walk away from the profession and pivot full-time to the hospitality industry." It sounds like she only worked as a lawyer for less than 6 months if she was admitted in April 2025 and quit the law in October 2025.

An attractive 20-something young woman who is flirtatious and wears tank tops can probably make more money as a server and bartender than an entry-level lawyer. But what happens when her looks fade in her 40s and 50s? What long-term career plans does she have? Is she going to keep up with her CLEs and bar dues?

Unless you go big law, starting salaries are pretty low for lawyers and it takes time to increase your salary if you start on the low end of the bimodal lawyer salary chart.

I made $38k per year with my first lawyer job after bar admission in a medium cost of living area area in 2002 (about $72k in 2026 dollars with inflation). I now make around $200k per year. But that has taken me 24 years to attain that level.

What has been your experiences with parties that cite hallucinations? I'm working on a case right now where opposing party acting pro se cites multiple authorities that are AI fabrications. What sanctions have you seen courts impose?

In Hardy v. Whitaker, No. 1:24-CV-11270, 2026 WL 575225, at *11 (E.D. Mich. Mar. 2, 2026), the court held that rather than imposing monetary sanctions for a plaintiff that appears in forma pauperis, the better options for sanctions against pro se plaintiffs who engage in bad faith by citing hallucinations include involuntary dismissal with prejudice, revoking the plaintiff’s in forma pauperis status, and enjoining the plaintiff from filing lawsuits in the district without leave of court.