[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 55 (Thursday, May 1, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3903-S3904]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. LEAHY:
  S. 678. A bill to provide for the appointment of additional Federal 
circuit and district judges, and for other purposes; to the Committee 
on the Judiciary.


                   the federal judgeship act of 1997

  Mr. LEAHY. In that regard, today being Law Day I think we should 
honor the Federal judiciary. We have a political climate where many of 
my colleagues bash the Federal judiciary on a daily basis and propose 
legislation that threatens a time-honored independence of the Federal 
judiciary. I think our Nation's judges deserve our respect, admiration, 
and support--not our disdain, scorn, and antipathy. Anywhere you go in 
the world you will find that one of the things that stands out, one of 
the things admired most about the United States, is the independence of 
our Federal judiciary.
  For the past 200 years, they protected the freedoms and fundamental 
rights we all take for granted. You could ask, where would our 
cherished rights like first amendment-protected free speech and the 
right of religious freedom be without the Federal courts? It is ironic 
that the right of free speech that the Federal judiciary bashers take 
for granted in the war against judges has been protected time and time 
again by those very same judges.
  It is our independent judiciary that handed down landmark decisions 
like Brown versus Board of Education. Without our independent 
judiciary, how long would African-American children have to suffer 
deplorable conditions in substandard schools? I remember after Brown 
versus Board of Education, we had the bumper stickers and billboards, 
``Impeach Earl Warren,'' and ``Impeach the Supreme Court.'' Well, only 
because they were politically independent could they hand down a 
decision so unpopular at the time, but so recognized today universally 
as the right decision. I shudder to think where we would be today with 
Federal judges who are tied to the political whims of the moment. We 
should talk about where the country would be without independent 
Federal judges.
  The nonpartisan Judicial Conference of the United States has proposed 
changes in the makeup of our courts. It has been 7 years since Congress 
last seriously reexamined the caseload of the Federal judiciary.
  Mr. President, our judges do an admirable job under tough conditions. 
They endure constant criticism and heavy caseloads. Contrary to what 
some of my Republican colleagues have stated, there is a need for more 
Federal judges.
  The Judicial Conference of the United States, the nonpartisan 
policymaking arm of the judicial branch, believes that the continuing 
heavy caseload of our courts of appeals and district courts merit 
additional judges. Overworked judges and heavy caseloads slow down the 
judicial process, and as we all know, justice delayed is justice 
denied. Mr. President, we must act now.
  Mr. President, on Law Day, a day to commemorate our Nation's legal 
system and the freedoms it is designed to protect, I introduce the 
Federal Judgeship Act of 1997. This legislation, identical to the 
recommendations of the nonpartisan Judicial Conference of the United 
States, would create 12 additional permanent judgeships and five 
temporary judgeships for the U.S. Court of Appeals; and 24 additional 
permanent judgeships and 12 temporary judgeships for the U.S. district 
courts.
  In 1984, Congress passed a bill to address the need for additional 
judgeships. Six years later, in 1990, Congress again fulfilled its 
constitutional responsibility and enacted the Federal Judgeship Act of 
1990 because of a sharply increasing caseload, particularly for drug-
related crimes.
  It is now 7 years since Congress last seriously reexamined the 
caseload of the Federal judiciary and the need for more Federal judges. 
Let us act now.

[[Page S3904]]

 Let us fulfill our constitutional responsibilities. Let us ensure that 
justice is not delayed or denied for anyone.
                                 ______