Judgeships Archives - Home Safety Tech Pros

Bill to create 66 new federal judgeships advances

homesafetytechpros — Fri, 21 Mar 2025 11:18:04 +0000

Judiciary

Bill to create 66 new federal judgeships advances

March 6, 2025, 1:56 pm CST

The House Judiciary Committee approved a bill Wednesday that would create 66 new federal judgeships. (Image from Shutterstock)

The House Judiciary Committee approved a bill Wednesday that would create 66 new federal judgeships.

The committee passed the Judicial Understaffing Delays Getting Emergencies Solved Act—also known as the JUDGES Act—“on a nearly party-line 16-11 vote,” Reuters reports.

The bill would stagger the new judgeships over more than a decade, Courthouse News Service reports. But President Donald Trump would get the first appointments.

The only Democrat supporting the bill was U.S. Rep. Lou Correa of California. The legislation would add 21 new federal judges in his state.

Former President Joe Biden vetoed a similar bill last year after Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives failed to approve the legislation until after Trump’s election.

The bill’s sponsor, Republican U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa of California, said Wednesday approval is needed to address a “staggering” backlog of cases, according to Reuters.

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Judiciary Seeks 71 Judgeships to Meet Growing Caseloads

homesafetytechpros — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 20:56:01 +0000

The Judicial Conference of the United States today agreed to recommend to Congress the creation of new district and court of appeals judgeships (pdf) as the Judiciary faces a worsening shortage of Article III judges and caseloads continue to mount.

Approved by the federal Judiciary’s national policy-making body at its biannual meeting in Washington, the Judiciary asked Congress to create two judgeships in the courts of appeals and 69 judgeships in district courts, where the need is greatest.

District court filings have grown by 30 percent since 1990, when the last comprehensive judgeship bill was enacted. Since 1991, the overall number of authorized district court judgeships increased by only four percent.

Burgeoning caseloads can lead to significant case delays. Delays result in increased costs for litigants and raise access to justice concerns, especially in civil cases that may take years to get to trial. Over the past 20 years, the number of civil cases pending more than three years rose 346 percent, from 18,280 on March 31, 2004, to 81,617 on March 31, 2024.

In developing judgeship recommendations, the Conference and its Committee on Judicial Resources use a formal survey process to study and evaluate Article III judgeship needs. Before a judgeship recommendation is transmitted to Congress, it undergoes several levels of careful consideration and review. The surveys are conducted every two years and the resulting recommendations are based on established criteria, including current workload factors and empirical standards.

In fiscal year 2024, weighted filings, which account for the different amounts of time district judges require to resolve various types of civil and criminal actions, were above 500 per judgeship in 20 of the 25 district courts where the Conference is recommending additional judgeships.

In 12 of these courts, weighted filings exceeded 600 per judgeship and in five courts filings were greater than 700 per judgeship. The Conference generally requires district courts to have over 430 weighted filings per judgeship to recommend additional judgeships. Weighted filings data for each district court are published in Federal Court Management Statistics.

Congress in 2024 approved a bipartisan bill to address the critical need for new judgeships throughout the federal courts, the first such comprehensive bill in more than three decades. However, President Biden vetoed the bill on Dec. 23, 2024.

The Conference today also received two new reports required by statute, the Annual Report of the Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO), which reports on the activities of the AO and the Judiciary during the previous year, and Judicial Business, the Judiciary’s comprehensive annual statistical workload report.

The 26-member Judicial Conference (pdf) is the policy-making body for the federal court system. By statute, the Chief Justice of the United States serves as its presiding officer and its members are the chief judges of the 13 courts of appeals, a district judge from each of the 12 geographic circuits, and the chief judge of the Court of International Trade.

The Conference convenes twice a year to consider administrative and policy issues affecting the court system, and to make recommendations to Congress concerning legislation involving the Judicial Branch.

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Courts Need More Judgeships, Judge Tells Congress

homesafetytechpros — Tue, 25 Feb 2025 16:44:45 +0000

With federal courts across the country contending with mounting caseloads, Judge Timothy M. Tymkovich, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, urged Congress today to create new district and court of appeals judgeships to meet growing workload demands.

A hearing on “Justice Delayed: The Crisis of Undermanned Federal Courts” was held by the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet. Tymkovich testified on behalf of the Judicial Conference (pdf), the federal Judiciary’s national policy-making body. He previously served as chair of the Conference’s Committee on Judicial Resources, which is responsible for evaluating judgeship needs.

“Substantial delays chip away at the public’s respect for the Judiciary and erode public confidence in the judicial process and the timely administration of justice,” Tymkovich wrote in his prepared testimony (pdf). “The problem is so severe that potential litigants may be avoiding federal court altogether, not having the resources or time to wait for their case to be heard or resolved. One cannot imagine the situation will improve on its own, without additional judges.”

In 2023, the Judicial Conference recommended to Congress adding two judgeships to the courts of appeals and 66 judgeships to the district courts. In addition, the Conference recommended converting seven temporary district court judgeships to permanent judgeships and extending two temporary district court judgeships for an additional five years.

Weighted filings data for each district court are published in Federal Court Management Statistics.

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The Need for Additional Judgeships: Litigants Suffer When Cases Linger

homesafetytechpros — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 15:38:59 +0000

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With a worsening shortage of Article III judges to resolve critical copyright, trademark, patent, and contract disputes, judges across the nation are faced with increasingly complex litigation and growing caseloads. For countless Americans seeking justice in federal civil matters, the wait can seem endless.

“Judges work tirelessly every day to meet growing demands and resolve cases as quickly as possible, but with the volume we have and the shortage of judges we have, it just makes it a very difficult proposition,” said Judge Timothy Corrigan, of the Middle District of Florida, whose court is in desperate need of additional Article III judges.

“The saying, ‘justice delayed is justice denied’ rings true here,’” he said.

Case backlogs affect more than just the litigants. For example, case delays can force businesses to halt production lines and leave employees out of work indefinitely. Federal district court rulings often have a significant impact on communities, businesses, and local economies.

Over the past 20 years, the number of civil cases pending more than three years rose 346 percent, from 18,280 on March 31, 2004 to 81,617 on March 31, 2024.

Nationally, the average time between filing a civil case and trial is a little over two years. In many of these overworked courts, the average time between filing and trial is much longer, often three to four years. The delays increase costs for civil litigants, who have to spend more on attorneys’ fees, expert witnesses, and depositions, often with no clear end in sight.

“I have been on the bench in a border court for 22 years and have seen our dockets swell dramatically during that time,” said Chief Judge Randy Crane, of the Southern District of Texas. “Our current caseload is crushing. I believe the addition of judgeships to our court will dramatically decrease the backlog of cases and better enable judges to manage their caseloads in the future.”