As noted in today's News Scan, the Ninth Circuit en banc has thrown over the side the circuit's previous decision in Farrakhan v. Gregoire regarding felon disenfranchisement laws and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  The surprisingly brief majority opinion is here.  It is officially "per curiam," but the contractions mark it as a Kozinski product.  The court notes that since the original opinion three other circuits have rejected it.  Is it possible a majority of the Ninth Circuit now actually does not like being regarded as the extreme outlier of the federal judiciary?  Some of the judges, I am quite sure, take the attitude of "We are sane; the rest of the world is crazy" and consider outlier status to be a badge of honor (like reversal by the Supreme Court).

Anyhow, there is no circuit split on the issue any longer.  Simmons v. Galvin, No. 09-920, is on the conference list for October 15, and it should be an easy denial now.