SEN. CRUZ APPLAUDS SENATE’S UNANIMOUS PASSAGE OF THE JUDGES ACT

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined Sens. Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) in applauding the Senate’s unanimous passage of the Judicial Understaffing Delays Getting Emergencies Solved (JUDGES) Act of 2024. The JUDGES Act would address judicial emergencies and shortages across the country by increasing the number of federal district judges in the most overworked regions of the country.

The bipartisan legislation will now head to the House of Representatives for consideration.

Upon passage, Sen. Cruz said, “Congress has failed in its responsibility to authorize sufficient judgeships and resources for the judicial branch, particularly in America’s fastest-growing communities like Texas. As a result, federal judges in Texas have been disproportionately burdened with crushing caseloads and excessive backlogs, hindering the efficiency and effectiveness of our judicial system. It’s our constitutional duty to ensure that these judicial shortages no longer restrict any American’s access to justice. I am proud that my colleagues in the Senate have unanimously recognized the severity of these consequences, and I urge my colleagues in the House to do the same by passing this legislation.”

Sen. Cruz was joined by Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), and Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.) in co-sponsoring the legislation.

BACKGROUND

Courts across the country are overburdened and facing a shortage of federal judges. As of March 31, 2023, there were 686,797 pending cases in federal district courts across the country, averaging 491 filings per judgeship over a 12-month period. In March of 2023, the Judicial Conference of the United States, a nonpartisan policy-making body for federal courts, recommended that Congress create 66 new district court judgeships to help alleviate this crisis.

The JUDGES Act would install 13 new district judges in Texas, in all four judicial districts over the next 12 years. It would also allow federal judges to hear cases in College Station, improving judicial access in the College Station/Bryan area.