NLJ Quotes Aileen McGrath on Increasing Trend of En Banc Denial

The National Law Journal has quoted Akin Gump Supreme Court and appellate senior counsel Aileen McGrath in the article “Dissents in Denial of En Banc Reviews Fuel Concerns Judges Are Airing Partisan 'Dirty Laundry'.” The article discusses concerns surrounding the increase in dissents to en banc rehearing denials in federal appeals courts.

According to the publication, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit has seen a significant increase in these dissents, noting there were 10 published in the 1980s, and 32 during the 5½-year period in the early 2000s.

McGrath agreed, saying that the court “started this trend 15 or 20 years ago, as the Supreme Court became increasingly conservative, the conservative judges on the Ninth Circuit, who didn’t have enough votes to actually get cases heard en banc, started writing very passionate dissents from denial that were designed to attract attention from the Supreme Court. That has certainly increased over time and especially with the addition of the new Trump appointees.”

McGrath is a highly accomplished California litigator who has handled cases at all levels of federal and state courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, the 9th Circuit and California appellate courts. Prior to joining Akin Gump, McGrath served as co-chief of appellate litigation in the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office and previously served as the office’s Deputy City Attorney on the Complex and Affirmative Litigation team.