DES MOINES—Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird today co-led a bipartisan coalition of states in urging Congress to pass the Judicial Understaffing Delays Getting Emergencies Solved (JUDGES) Act, a bill that will add federal district judges to keep up with increasing national demand.
Small and large states alike have a stake in creating new judicial seats to prevent a backlog of cases. The bill will add 63 permanent district judges and three temporary district judges—the first addition of district judges since 2003. The new judicial seats will be created over the course ten years in staggered batches to ensure a fair and orderly process.
“For too long, our judges have been stretched thin,” said Attorney General Bird. “As population and caseloads increase, so must the size of the team we have to hear these cases. I am co-leading a bipartisan group of States in urging Congress to add federal district judges to eliminate backlogs, shorten wait times, and ensure an effective judicial system.”
The JUDGES Act unanimously passed the Senate in August. Now, the States are calling on the House to also pass the bill.
Iowa and New York led the letter. They were joined by Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, and Washington, and the District of Columbia.
Read the full letter here.
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For More Information:
Alyssa Brouillet | Communications Director
515-823-9112