 Because there is no connection between the district in which a case arises and the judges who sit on the panel, there are some slight differences between the election districts (which are redrawn every 10 years to maintain approximate population equality) and the case filing districts (which only are to maximize convenience).Due to the enormous geographic size of the 4th District, the court will, on occasion, schedule a panel to hear cases in a northern Michigan city (such as Marquette, Petoskey, or Traverse City), for the convenience of the parties.The court originally had only nine judges, but this number was steadily increased by the Michigan Legislature to accommodate the court's growing caseload—to 12 in 1969, to 18 in 1974, to 24 in 1988, and to 28 in 1993.