With Two Competing Proposals, Congress Assesses Need for New District Court Judges

While the House Democrats bill has support among progressives, the bipartisan bill is considered by some to be the real chance for agreement.

Landwebs Landwebs
Aug 10, 2021 - 07:00
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With Two Competing Proposals, Congress Assesses Need for New District Court Judges

Two competing congressional proposals to add federal judgeships could give the judiciary a chance for its first comprehensive slate of trial court seats since then-Sen. Joe Biden spearheaded the last change decades ago, reports Bloomberg News. The bipartisan JUDGES Act introduced in both chambers would give the judiciary the 77 new judgeships it requested over two presidential administrations and seems the more likely to win passage. The District Court Judgeships Act of 2021 introduced by House Democrats offers 203 seats immediately, arguing the third branch needs more help than it’s letting on.

The last time Congress gave the judiciary a comprehensive allotment of new seats was in 1990, when it added 72 permanent district and appeals court seats and 13 temporary trial court seats. Since that 1990 measure, the judiciary reported district court caseloads have risen by 47 percent. The judiciary has 179 appellate and 677 district judgeships, including those in territorial courts. The JUDGES Act would cost taxpayers at least $76.2 million and the District Court Judgeships Act at least $201 million based on an estimate of how much each new judgeship costs. While the House Democrats’ bill has support from progressives, who have wanted a large expansion of the lower courts since the November election when Biden won the presidency and Democrats reclaimed the Senate, the bipartisan bill that would give the courts 77 judgeships is based on the most recent request from the Judicial Conference and supporters argue it’s a real chance to get an agreement.

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