Freddie Mac (FMCC)

[obiterdictum]

...what is an en banc hearing?

To be specific to the case of concern for the GSEs, when the US Court of Appeals, DC Circuit sits en banc for a rehearing, all active judges of the Court and any senior judges of the Court who were members of the original panel deciding the case to be reheard can participate in a rehearing of that case.

Importance of it?

An en banc court decides issues of law that unites the decisions of previous Court panels with the legal case matter before them or to decide legal questions that have may have a serious ramifications throughout the legal system.

When it is typically had?

In the US Court of Appeals, DC Circuit an en banc rehearing is petitioned for by 1) parties to a suit or 2) by a Appeals Court judge and 3) an en banc hearing can be petitioned initially instead of a panel hearing by a party seeking to appeal a lower court hearing. The latter is not the case for the Perry appeal.

Is it common?

An en banc rehearing in the US Court of Appeals, DC Circuit is an infrequent occurrence though many petitions for rehearings are filed.