Justice Delayed: The Crisis of Undermanned Federal Courts

Courts and Competition Policy

2025-02-25

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Source: Congress.gov

Summary

The meeting of the Subcommittee convened to discuss the critical need for expanding the federal court system and addressing the significant backlog of cases.[ 00:26:33 ]

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 Members deliberated on legislative efforts to authorize new judgeships and the challenges involved in ensuring the judiciary's capacity and independence.[ 00:27:34 ]

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 The Honorable Timothy Tymkovich, representing the Judicial Conference, provided expert testimony on the urgent requirements for additional judges.

Need for Additional Judgeships

The federal courts face an urgent and severe shortage of judges, with decades passing since any major additions to the bench.[ 00:29:30 ]

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 Judges are currently handling an overwhelming caseload, averaging about a thousand cases per year, which leads to significant backlogs, especially in civil matters.[ 00:29:39 ]

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 This situation often forces criminal cases to be prioritized, delaying civil cases and potentially leading to plea bargains due to insufficient court capacity.[ 00:29:46 ]

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 The Judicial Conference has identified an immediate need for 68 new judgeships, a number derived from a rigorous and objective process that considers the contributions of other judicial officers. These delays erode public trust in the judicial process and increase expenses for litigants, making it difficult for citizens to resolve disputes timely. Specific districts, such as the Middle District of Florida and the Eastern District of North Carolina, are particularly affected by these shortages and rising caseloads.

Bipartisan Judges Act and its Veto

A bipartisan and bicameral effort in the previous Congress resulted in the Judges Act, which aimed to address the severe judgeship shortage.[ 00:27:45 ]

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 The bill was designed to spread judicial appointments across multiple presidential administrations, ensuring a non-partisan approach to filling vacancies.[ 00:28:16 ]

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 However, the legislation was vetoed by the former administration, a decision that was criticized as short-sighted and politically motivated.[ 00:27:51 ]

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 Ranking Member Johnson contended that the veto occurred because House GOP leadership delayed the bill until after the election, injecting partisanship into a process that was initially agreed upon in good faith.[ 00:35:48 ]

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 The witness confirmed that the Judges Act was an appropriate solution and that the Judicial Conference disagreed with the characterization of the bill as "hastily drawn up."[ 01:49:30 ]

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Judicial Independence and Political Interference

A significant concern raised was the potential for political interference in the judiciary, with accusations of attempts to "capture" justice and stack the courts with loyal judges.[ 00:35:25 ]

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 Discussions touched upon historical efforts to concentrate power and the current administration's actions perceived as undermining the democratic system and the judiciary. Members debated the executive branch's compliance with court orders and the role of the U.S. Marshals Service in enforcing judicial decisions, with hypothetical scenarios discussed regarding presidential defiance. Calls were made to uphold judicial independence and prevent intimidation of judges, particularly through impeachment for rulings rather than misconduct.[ 01:25:44 ]

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 Concerns about the security of judges and suggestions for creating a more independent protection agency were also brought forward.[ 01:47:20 ]

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Specific Case Types Impacting Judiciary

The federal judiciary is significantly impacted by a surge in specific types of cases. Immigration appeals have seen a substantial increase, particularly in the Ninth Circuit, and often involve complex legal frameworks, adding to the workload. In the Eastern District of North Carolina, numerous "Camp Lejeune" cases, concerning veterans affected by toxic water contamination, are causing severe backlogs, highlighting the need for more judicial resources. Nationwide, over 210,000 civil cases have been pending for more than three years, demonstrating a widespread problem of limited access to timely justice.

Tone of the Meeting

The meeting exhibited a predominantly contentious and partisan tone, particularly during the opening statements and later exchanges between members.[ 00:27:51-00:27:54 ]

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 There was a strong undercurrent of urgency and seriousness regarding the federal judiciary's needs and the impact of case backlogs on the administration of justice.[ 00:27:29 ]

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 Despite the political tensions, the witness, Judge Tymkovich, was generally treated with respect and maintained a factual, objective stance, focusing on the Judicial Conference's assessment of judgeship needs.[ 00:50:14 ]

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 A recurring debate centered on the separation of powers and concerns about executive overreach and its potential to undermine judicial independence.

Participants

Transcript

The Subcommittee will come to order.  Without objection, the Chair is authorized to declare a recess at any time.  We welcome everyone here today to this hearing on the Federal Courts.  I'll now recognize myself for an opening statement.  Some opening statements are read from the notes.  Some are read from memory.  And some are read from the events of the last six months.   Today's hearing, although it will cover legislative agendas beyond specifically the expansion of the federal court to deal with the necessary with the amazing backlog and the necessary expansion of the court.  I think it's important that the opening statement set a tone for what we want to accomplish.  In the last Congress under the Judges Act, a bipartisan bicameral effort was made and it succeeded.   In my 24 plus years here in Washington, it was the first time I ever saw a bipartisan bicameral bill vetoed by a president.  I believe it was a short sighted decision primarily made by staff or perhaps by a sense that one had to do it because so much had been said in the past.  But it didn't have to happen and it shouldn't happen.   The carefully crafted legislation before us today that will be undoubtedly marked up and voted on the House floor in the first few days of this Congress was acceptable to all sides because the principle that over in the House version eight years and in the final version in concert with the Senate 10 years, that at least three administrations   two to three presidents would have an impact on it.
That in fact, the order of the judges was determined by the Judicial Conference's need in order of priority and by the availability of facilities to house those judges.  Those kinds of decisions do not change overnight.  And although I expect a small change potentially in March,   Uh, when the judicial conference gives us an update, it might increase by a few.  I doubt that it'll decrease, but we will, we will adjust that if the bill has not yet been signed into law.  It has been decades since we made a major addition to the court and the case loads have grown.  They've grown to more or less for the common person, a thousand cases a year per judge.   Now, the federal court prioritizes criminal ahead of civil.   But there's no question at all that criminal cases are being pled out because there simply isn't enough capacity in the court.  And civil cases are being delayed or forced to endlessly go through what we used to call a do loop of we'll go negotiate again, go try to settle, because in fact, the judge doesn't have the two weeks it would take for a complicated civil case.   This and more are the reason that we came to an understanding between chairman and ranking member of both parties of both houses in the last Congress.  Now, having said that, you will hear today, I suspect that in fact, my colleagues are no longer interested in that.  And there is one thing that has changed for the first couple   of appointments, clearly President Trump would have the lead.  But I want to make a point here today.  I'm a Californian.
In California, the district court decisions are not made by the president alone.  The two senators under the longstanding and not overturned decisions on the blue slip have real impact.  And I have watched under Republican administrations for years   the careful negotiation to find an acceptable conservative leaning   but acceptable to one or both of my senators in order to lift the blue slip.  That process that requires my judges, judge candidates, and U.S.  attorneys for that matter, to spend a lot of time meeting with the home state senators has worked, and it isn't expected to change.  So even in the first two or four years of this legislation,   there would be not one side or the other.  This is not like a Supreme Court justice or the expansion of the Supreme Court.  It doesn't reflect a massive change, just the opposite.  Unless the Senate and the White House remains in one party's hands for a decade, which hasn't happened in any modern time, this will in fact be a piece of legislation that will reflect   uh... judges of both parties i just want to contrast that uh... the bill that was unanimously supported in the senate and even after the election received twenty nine votes by democrats   including many of my Californians, when it came up after the election.  I believe those 29 Democrats voted based on the court's needs, putting country ahead of party, putting the court ahead of party.  In contrast, I sit here with my ranking member.  He's a friend.   and at times we can work together.  But I do remember that during his time in the majority and another president, his alternative was not to reintroduce a bipartisan bill that spread over 10 years and answered the needs requested by the Judicial Conference and not one more, but rather his bill did exclusively district court judgeships, 203 of them, not 60 some,

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