§297 Assignment of judges to courts of the freely associated compact states

Summary

The Chief Justice or the chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit can assign any circuit, district, magistrate, or territorial judge from the Ninth Circuit, with that judge’s agreement, to serve temporarily as a judge in the courts of the freely associated compact states when an official of that state asks and the assignment is needed to handle the court’s business. Congress allows those judges to accept and keep reimbursement from those countries for necessary travel (including transportation) and for subsistence or a reasonable per diem instead. The judge must report any money received to the Administrative Office of the United States Courts.