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A new bipartisan bill to alleviate judicial shortages across the country was passed by the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.
The Judicial Understaffing Delays Getting Emergencies Solved (JUDGES) Act of 2024 is authored by Indiana Republican Senator Todd Young and Democratic Senator Chris Coons from Delaware.
The bill now moves to the full Senate for a vote.
The JUDGES Act would increase the number of federal district judges in the most overburdened areas of the country, including the Southern District of Indiana.
Young first introduced the bill in 2020 and again in 2021 and 2023 to address the issue. As of March 2023, there were more than 686,000 pending cases in federal district courts in the United States, an average of 491 filings per judgeship over a one-year period.
That same month, the Judicial Conference of the United States recommended Congress create 66 new district court judgeships.
The updated bill promises to create the recommended judgeships during future presidential elections. It would also update the structure and timing of judgeships, require more transparency and increase access to justice in high-need areas across the country.
“Too many Hoosiers and Americans are being denied access to our justice system due to an overload of cases and a shortage of judges,” said Young. “Our bipartisan bill will help alleviate this shortage and ensure all Americans have the opportunity to have their day in court.”
“Senator Young and I worked with members of the committee on both sides of the dais to amend this bill and make it stronger; that the bill garnered unanimous support is a testament to the legislative process working as it should and as Americans deserve,” said Coons.
The last comprehensive authorization of new judgeships was in 1990 and established 11 additional circuit court judgeships and 74 district court judgeships in the U.S.
Between 1999 and 2003, targeted legislation created 34 more district court judgeships.
Senators James Lankford (R-Oklahoma), Alex Padilla (D-California), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) and Ben Ray Luján (D-New Mexico) co-sponsored the bill.
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