with it by calling cases en banc and sometimes they don't get enough judges who agree to take it enbanc, and the intercircuit -- intracircuit conflict continues, but that would be a very important aspect. >> and one final question, professor fitzpatrick. there's been some discussion of this issue of dividing the ninth circuit driven by some of the recent decisions either by district courts of the ninth circuits that have ruled against the trump administration. the ninth circuit has for a long time had a well-deserved reputation of being far to the left and the most reversed circuit. indeed, i remember back in the mid-'90s when i was clerking at the supreme court there was a running joke that there was a macro in word perfect for drafting an opinion that would automatically populate the opinion with the words the decision below was issued by the ninth circuit. accordingly, we reverse. and the reason for that joke is the frequency with which that was in fact the case, and in fact the frequency with which the ninth circuit was reversed unanimously, and i would note one of the greater predi

we discern what number of judges the enbanc court should be. we had 11, 13 for a while and we came back to 11. >> mr. chairman. i see my time is has expired. can i have a couple more minutes. is that at your discretion at any moment that you can exercise on a case-by-case basis? or is that something that the circuit has chosen to do for every en banc case. >> once a case is selected to go en banc, will bring literally a bird cage to a sitting judge. and that judge will pick the names out of this cage. each judge has a little. >> like a ping pong ball or something? >> it's a little stick, really. that process goes on for each independent decision, each independent case. >> the difference there, other circuits, once you have an en banc argument, you've typically got all the judges reaching the conclusion as to that discrete issue. if a circuit is so large that you can't or don't sit as an entire court, you're more likely to have intracircuit ongoing conflicts? >> well what can happen is, and one of my colleagues pointed out she was selected in ni

and we discern what number of judges the enbanc court should be. at the moment it is 11. we had 13 for a while. and then we came back to 11. >> mr. chairman, i see my time has expired, can i have a couple more minutes to pursue this? so that is at your discretion, that any moment you can exercise on a case by case basis or is that something the circuit has chosen to do for every enbanc case? >> well, every, once a case has been selected to go enbanc, then the deputy clerk will bring literally a bird cage around to a sitting judge, and that judge will pick the names out of this cage. each judge has a little -- >> like a ping bong ball or something? >> it is not quite. it is just a little stick really. but those, that process goes on for each independent decision, each independent case. >> but the difference there is that in other circuits, once you have an enbanc argument, you typically got all of the judges -- >> that's true. >> -- reaching a conclusion as to that discrete issue. so if you have a circuit that is so large, that you can't, or as a practical matter, you don'