“Justice delayed is justice denied.”

Legislation is pending in the Senate and House to help reduce backlogs in the nation’s district and circuit courts by authorizing additional judgeships.

The Federal Judgeship Act of 2009 (S. 1653 and H.R. 3662) would create new federal judgeships based upon non-partisan recommendations by the Judicial Conference of the United States, the federal courts’ policy making body.

On September 30, 2009, a Senate Judiciary subcommittee held a hearing that included testimony by Judge George Singal, Chair of the Judicial Conference Committee on Judicial Resources, and by Judge Lawrence O’Neill

In 2008, prominent Republican Senators cosponsored a very similar bill, and the Judiciary Committee’s approval included the votes of two-thirds of the Committee’s Republicans.

In 1990, when President George H.W. Bush signed the last comprehensive judges bill, he thanked then-Senate Judiciary Chairman Biden for giving him 85 new judgeships to fill.

See Statements by Members of Congress, published Commentary, and the positions of the Federal Bar Association, American Bar Association, and other organizations about this important bill.