U.S. Representative Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, proposed legislation to add a third Idaho federal district court judge a few weeks after President Joe Biden vetoed a plan to expand the number of federal judges.
On Thursday, Simpson’s office declared that he had presented a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives to authorize the appointment of a second federal judge from Idaho.
Senators from Idaho.According to Crapo’s office, Republican Senators Jim Risch and Mike Crapo also sponsored similar legislation.
In 1954, with a population of about 600,000, Congress authorized Idaho’s second federal district judgeship. With more than 2 million residents, Idaho is one of the states with the greatest rates of growth in recent years.
Idaho had the fewest federal judges of any state in 2021, according to the Associated Press.
The JUDGES Act, which would have established 63 permanent judgeships nationwide through 2025 and appointed a third Idaho federal district court judge, was vetoed by Biden in December. According to Biden, the House and Senate did not thoroughly examine how the work of magistrate and senior status judges influences the demand for new judgeships.
The outgoing president noted that the law will establish new judgeships in states where senators have attempted to fill judicial vacancies. These attempts to keep vacancies open imply that the real driving force behind the current approval of this bill is not worries about the judicial economy and caseload.
Biden’s veto was described in a statement by Simpson, a co-sponsor of that bill, as a “slap in the face” to Americans who have been waiting far too long for their day in court.
It’s long overdue for our state to have another district judge, Simpson said in a statement. My bill will relieve overworked judges, clear the backlog of cases, and deliver justice quickly. I’ll keep fighting to see that this important piece of legislation is passed.
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In 2024, a bill to establish another Idaho federal judgeship was proposed by U.S. Representative Russ Fulcher, a Republican from Idaho. Fulcher stated in a statement that a third judgeship is required, pointing out that Idaho’s population has almost tripled since it was granted its second.
In addition to ensuring that residents, particularly those in rural Idaho areas, have quicker and better access to the court system, doing so will save taxpayer money by avoiding the expensive burden of having to hire outside judges to handle backlogged cases, Fulcher said in a statement. My main goal for this Congress is to see this legislation through to completion.
In a statement, Crapo stated that Idaho has long needed a third federal district judge.
According to a statement from Crapo, Idaho’s legal system is at a serious disadvantage due to a lack of adequate judicial resources. A workable way to handle the growing workload and maintain effective justice is to appoint a third district judge.
According to a statement from Risch, Idaho has been dealing with a judicial emergency for years, which has severely hampered our state and legal system. This bill is a significant step in expanding Idahoans’ access to the legal system as the state grows.
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