GOP Seeks More Curbs On Courts

"For us to be trying to get back at the judiciary in this kind of way, I think, is going to be a very serious weakening of the constitutional basis for the democracy, and that needs to be resisted," Conyers said.

But Democrats are outnumbered 23 to 17 on the committee.

A variety of legal scholars said the Republican blueprint looks overtly political. Harvard law professor Alan M. Dershowitz said he does not necessarily disagree with the proposals, but he noted that the scandal-scarred Republican leaders "are the wrong people and this is the wrong political context in which to make changes to improve the judiciary."

"You can't take them seriously, considering their source and timing," he said.

The Constitution specifies that Congress will set the jurisdiction and budgets of the courts, and Republican lawmakers began agitating to exercise that power after Schiavo's death. DeLay drew wide attention to the issue by declaring that the judges involved in that case would have to "answer for their behavior." As a guide to his views on the subject, DeLay has been urging reporters to read "Men in Black: How the Supreme Court Is Destroying America," by Mark R. Levin.

One of the more controversial parts of Sensenbrenner's plan is exploring the creation of an office of inspector general for the federal judiciary, like those that now serve as watchdogs of executive-branch agencies, to take complaints, prepare reports, and audit and investigate the administration of the courts.

Republican congressional aides said the inspector general would find ways money could be saved, and could help lawmakers rebut appropriations requests from the judiciary. Critics contend that having such an official, who would likely have an independent office within the court system but would prepare periodic reports for Congress and answer its inquiries, would violate the separation-of-powers doctrine.

Sensenbrenner also said that he will insist that the 9th Circuit be split into three, with a new circuit based in Seattle to cover Alaska, Washington and Oregon, and another one based in Phoenix to cover four mountain states.

"The Ninth is too big in so many ways," he said Monday night at Stanford, his undergraduate alma mater. "The question is not if the Ninth will be split, but when."