In JIM YOVINO, FRESNO COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS v. AILEEN RIZO, No. 18-72, February 25, 2019 (U.S.S.C),

A judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the Honorable Stephen Reinhardt, died on March 29, 2018, but the Ninth Circuit counted his vote in cases decided after that date.

The Supreme Court of the United States noted that in “the present case, Judge Reinhardt was listed as the author of an en banc decision issued on April 9, 2018, 11 days after he passed away. By counting Judge Reinhardt’s vote, the court deemed Judge Reinhardt’s opinion to be a majority opinion, which means that it constitutes a precedent that all future Ninth Cir­cuit panels must follow”.

The Unites States Supreme Court concluded that “federal judge” are appointed for “life, not for eternity”:

Because Judge Reinhardt was no longer a judge at the time when the en banc decision in this case was filed, the Ninth Circuit erred in counting him as a member of the majority. That practice effectively allowed a deceased judge to exercise the judicial power of the United States after his death. But federal judges are appointed for life, not for eternity.

We therefore grant the petition for certiorari, vacate the judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and remand the case for further proceed­ings consistent with this opinion.