Senate Panel Advances Bipartisan Bill to Add Dozens of Federal Judges

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted on June 13 to advance a bill that would incrementally add dozens of federal judges to the court system over 10 years. If passed and signed by the president, the bill would make many temporary judgeships permanent while setting up a series of additions every two years until 2035. In total, 66 federal judgeships would supplement the 677 authorized district court seats in the United States. A bipartisan group of lawmakers sponsored the bill after a March 2023 request for 66 judges by the Judicial Conference of the United States, which makes policy for the federal court system. Dubbed the Judicial Understaffing Delays Getting Emergencies Solved Act (JUDGES) of 2024, the bill passed the committee with a 20–0 vote after changes that made the additions more incremental over time....