I.O.P. 16.2: Panel Assignments
Local Appellate Rules and Internal Operating Procedures of the Third Circuit — I.O.P. Chapter 16. Death Penalty Cases
The clerk will use a computer program to randomly select a panel from a pool of all possible three-judge combinations consisting of circuit judges in active service and those judges who have taken senior status and have indicated their willingness to hear death penalty cases. The computer program will be designed to use all possible three-judge combinations and to minimize the possibility of assignment of any judge to successive panels. The clerk will be responsible for maintaining the program and for making any adjustments necessitated by vacancies and appointments. Ordinarily, a case will be assigned to a single panel for all proceedings to final order. Separate appeals concerning the same petitioner that are filed in close proximity may be assigned to the same panel. In the event of the unavailability or disqualification of a member of a special panel, a new member will be randomly selected. Any unused panel will be returned to the pool for future reassignment. The chief judge periodically may address any imbalance in the caseload.