S4199-118

Reported

To authorize additional district judges for the district courts and convert temporary judgeships.

118th Congress Introduced Apr 19, 2024

At a Glance

Read full bill text

Legislative Progress

Reported
Introduced Committee Passed
Jun 18, 2024

Reported by Mr. Coons (for Mr. Durbin) with an amendment

Jun 18, 2024

Reported by Mr. Coons (for Mr. Durbin) with an amendment

Jun 18, 2024

Reported by Mr. Coons (for Mr. Durbin) with an amendment

Jun 18, 2024

Reported by Mr. Coons (for Mr. Durbin) with an amendment

Jun 18, 2024

Reported by Mr. Coons (for Mr. Durbin) with an amendment

Jun 18, 2024

Reported by Mr. Coons (for Mr. Durbin) with an amendment

Jun 18, 2024

Reported by Mr. Coons (for Mr. Durbin) with an amendment

Jun 18, 2024

Reported by Mr. Coons (for Mr. Durbin) with an amendment

Apr 19, 2024

Mr. Young (for himself, Mr. Coons, Mr. Lankford, Mr. Padilla, …

Apr 19, 2024

Mr. Young (for himself, Mr. Coons, Mr. Lankford, Mr. Padilla, …

Summary

What This Bill Does

Creates new permanent district court judgeships across the country in response to a 30% increase in case filings since the last comprehensive judgeship legislation in 1990, the longest gap since federal courts were established in 1789.

Who Benefits and How

Litigants benefit from faster case resolution. Existing judges gain reduced caseloads. The judicial system improves efficiency with more judges to handle 686,797 pending cases.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Federal budget bears costs of new judges, staff, and chambers. Senate must confirm all new appointees. Federal buildings may need expansion for additional courtrooms.

Key Provisions

  • Implements Judicial Conference 2023 request for 66 new judgeships
  • Appointments begin January 21, 2025
  • Converts temporary judgeships to permanent
  • Addresses 491 weighted filings per judgeship average
Model: claude-opus-4
Generated: Jan 10, 2026 17:50

Evidence Chain:

This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.

Primary Purpose

Authorizes 66 new federal district court judgeships to address judicial understaffing

Policy Domains

Judiciary Federal Courts Judicial Administration

Legislative Strategy

"Address federal court backlog through expanded judicial capacity"

Bill Structure & Actor Mappings

Who is "The Secretary" in each section?

Domains
Judiciary Federal Courts
Actor Mappings
"the_president"
→ President of the United States

We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.

Learn more about our methodology