Title 28 — Judiciary and Judicial ProcedureRelease 119-73not60
§297 Assignment of Judges to Courts of the Freely Associated Compact States
Title 28 › Part I— ORGANIZATION OF COURTS › Chapter 13— ASSIGNMENT OF JUDGES TO OTHER COURTS › § 297
Summary
Chief Justice or Ninth Circuit chief judge may temporarily assign a Ninth Circuit judge to a court in a freely associated compact state if the judge agrees and an authorized state official asks and the assignment is needed. Congress allows judges to accept travel and subsistence reimbursements or reasonable per diem and requires them to report amounts to the Administrative Office of the United States Courts.
Full Legal Text
Title 28, §297
Judiciary and Judicial Procedure — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)The Chief Justice or the chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit may assign any circuit, district, magistrate, or territorial judge of a court of the Ninth Circuit, with the consent of the judge so assigned, to serve temporarily as a judge of any duly constituted court of the freely associated compact states whenever an official duly authorized by the laws of the respective compact state requests such assignment and such assignment is necessary for the proper dispatch of the business of the respective court.
(b)The Congress consents to the acceptance and retention by any judge so authorized of reimbursement from the countries referred to in subsection (a) of all necessary travel expenses, including transportation, and of subsistence, or of a reasonable per diem allowance in lieu of subsistence. The judge shall report to the Administrative Office of the United States Courts any amount received pursuant to this subsection.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2012—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 112–149 substituted “circuit, district, magistrate, or territorial judge of a court” for “circuit or district judge”.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
28 U.S.C. § 297
Title 28 — Judiciary and Judicial Procedure
Last Updated
Apr 5, 2026
Release point: 119-73not60