Texas Congressman: Add new federal judges

Federal district courts across the country are currently facing overwhelming caseloads and multi-year backlogs. This overload results in Americans, including Texans, being denied access to our justice system, compromising the constitutional guarantee of a speedy trial in criminal cases and making it difficult to resolve civil disputes. This situation is completely unacceptable and it is up to Congress to remedy the situation.

Our nation’s federal court system consists of three levels: district courts, district courts, and the Supreme Court of the United States. We have 94 district courts with 677 certified judgeships in the 50 states and U.S. territories. Texas has four federal district courts.

From 2000 to 2020, America’s population grew by approximately 50 million people. Despite dramatic population growth, the last time Congress authorized new district judgeships was in 2002, more than two decades ago, through the 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act, which added 11 new federal district judgeships.

As of June 30, 2024, there are 724,209 cases pending in our nation’s court system, including no misdemeanor criminal cases, according to data compiled by United States courts.

The Southern District of Texas alone, headquartered in Houston, had a backlog of 14,737 cases as of June 30, 2024. The Eastern District of Texas has a backlog of 6,470 cases. Currently, the average time between filing a civil lawsuit and resolving the case in the Southern District of Texas is 7.6 months. In criminal cases in the Southern District of Texas, the average time between the filing of charges and the resolution of the case is 5.1 months. In the Eastern District of Texas, the average time from filing a civil lawsuit to resolution is 7.6 months, and the average time for a criminal case is a whopping 23.9 months.

Given these increasingly persistent backlogs in our federal court system, the Judicial Conference, established by Congress in 1922 and the national policy-making body for the federal courts under the leadership of John Roberts, Chief Justice of the United States, submitted recommendations to Congress in March 2023 Create 66 new district judgeships to meet increased work demands and reduce the backlog in our justice system.

Ultimately, every American should be able to receive justice within a reasonable timeframe, which is exactly why I co-led the U.S. House of Representatives’ version of the Judicial Understaffing Delays Getting Emergencies Solved (JUDGES) Act of 2024 with Representative Darrell Issa. R-Calif., Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., and Hank Johnson, D-Ga.

Consistent with recommendations from the Judicial Conference of the United States, this bipartisan legislation would codify those recommendations into six phases spanning multiple presidential administrations from 2025 to 2035 so that no party has an appointment advantage.

This much-needed legislation would significantly reduce the case backlog in our federal district courts by creating 63 permanent judge positions and three temporary judge positions, while also authorizing additional federal case sites in several states, including Texas, to improve access for larger districts.

While I am pleased that the U.S. Senate unanimously passed the JUDGES Act on August 1, there is still much work to be done to get this important legislation across the finish line. When the House reconvenes, it is critical that our chamber take up and pass this important legislation to improve the efficiency of federal district courts across the country so that Americans, especially Texans, are not deprived of their constitutional right to a speedy trial or opportunity refused to do so will settle their disputes.

I encourage all of my colleagues, especially those who serve alongside me on the House Judiciary Committee, to support this legislation. Let’s get it done.

Troy E. Nehls, R-Richmond, represents Texas’ 22nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

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