[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 87 (Friday, June 18, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1341]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


            CONSEQUENCES FOR JUVENILE OFFENDERS ACT OF 1999

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. JOHN B. SHADEGG

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 16, 1999

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 1501) to 
     provide grants to ensure increased accountability for 
     juvenile offenders:

  Mr. SHADEGG. Mr. Chairman, first, I want to thank my colleagues from 
Florida, Mr. Goss and Mr. McCollum for bringing this important issue 
before the House today. I strongly support the amendment to H.R. 1501, 
Consequences for Juvenile Offenders Act, to increase the number of 
District Court judges for Arizona, Florida, and Nevada.
  The need for additional judgeships for the U.S. District Court of 
Arizona can be best demonstrated by a letter sent from District of 
Arizona Chief Justice Robert C. Broomfield to the Honorable Proctor 
Hug, Jr., Chief Justice of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth 
Circuit. In this letter, Chief Justice Broomfield mentions that in the 
same week as the letter was dictated, one of the eight senior judges 
died and two more were hospitalized, leaving the District of Arizona 
courts literally paralyzed under an unmanageable caseload with only 
five justices able to hear cases.
  This issue is of particular interest to citizens of Arizona due to 
the dramatic increase in drug-related crimes in our state and the 
tremendous burden currently facing the sitting judges of the U.S. 
District Court for Arizona. Over the last several months, Arizona has 
been plagued with a series of massive drug seizures totaling hundreds 
of pounds of marijuana, methamphetamine, and cocaine, and millions of 
dollars in drug money.
  Most recently, on May 13th, federal and state law enforcement 
officials in Phoenix confiscated $3 million worth of drugs and seized 9 
kilograms of cocaine, 11.25 kilograms of methamphetamine, 636 grams of 
heroin and 36 kilograms of marijuana, along with illegal firearms and 
stolen vehicles. All those arrested were indicted in federal district 
court on charges that include distribution of controlled substances, 
possession of controlled substances with the intent to distribute, 
possession of firearms, and money laundering.
  In February of this year, authorities seized 22 pounds of marijuana 
and 3 pounds of methamphetamine, and five weapons from a suspected drug 
dealer in Arizona. Furthermore, Border Patrol Agents assigned to the 
Tucson Border Sector of the U.S./Mexico border have found in recent 
months several intricate systems of tunnels used to smuggle illegal 
drugs into Arizona.
  The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has identified 28 drug 
trafficking groups believed to be major drug trafficking organizations 
within Arizona. Large quantities of drug money, over $2 million in 
1998, have been seized by the Phoenix Police Department Commercial 
Interdiction Unit.
  Arizona law enforcement reports that powder and crack cocaine are 
readily available in the region's metropolitan areas. Arizona is a 
primary drug shipment corridor for movement of drugs from Mexico to the 
many areas of the United States. The more sophisticated, modern highway 
system of metropolitan Phoenix and the convenience of Phoenix's Sky 
Harbor International Airport make Phoenix an ideal drug transport city 
to other major cities around the country.
  In an effort to battle the ever-increasing presence of drugs in our 
community, Arizona has been designated as a High Intensity Drug 
Trafficking Area, or ``HIDTA''. This designation has provided law 
enforcement the ability to commit resources to respond to the drug 
trafficking problems in Arizona. Law enforcement agencies including the 
Phoenix and Tucson Police Departments, the Maricopa and Pinal County 
Sheriff's Departments, and the Arizona Department of Public Safety work 
in conjunction with the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), 
and the U.S. Customs Service to coordinate interdiction efforts.
  These efforts have resulted in a 429% increase in methamphetamine 
arrests and a 52% increase in cocaine arrests in the last decade. Since 
1992 alone, arrests for possession of dangerous drugs have doubled 
while arrests for the sale or manufacture of methamphetamine have 
increased 251%.
  As evidenced by these figures, attempts to crack down on organized 
drug trafficking groups have been successful. Unfortunately, the 
increased attention on law enforcement has not been accompanied with an 
increased focus on our federal court system and the judges needed to 
prosecute and convict these drug offenders.
  Arizona's justice system has continued to grow through the years 
while the number of judgeship appointments have remained the same. The 
last time the District of Arizona was granted additional permanent 
judgeships was 1978--twenty-one years ago! Chief Justice Broomfield has 
cited several factors to justify the need for an increase in permanent 
judgeships, including:
  The large increase in criminal cases filed is permanent in nature. 
There has been an increase of 764 permanent federal law enforcement 
officers in Arizona, leading to a significant increase in caseloads and 
filings.
  Since 1994 Arizona has added an additional 600 new border patrol 
agents which also have made a significant increase in caseloads and 
filings.
  The U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona (which contributes a major 
portion of the District Court caseload) continues to expand. Since 1978 
the U.S. Attorney's Office has grown from 30 attorneys to 103, an 
increase of 243%. That office is now the 13th largest among the 94 
districts; yet with the current complement of 8 judges, the Arizona 
District Court ranks 29th.
  There has been a substantial population shift to the West and the 
Southwest in the last several decades. For example, the City of Phoenix 
is now the sixth largest city in the country, having grown from 106,818 
in 1950 to 1,205,285 in 1997.
  The District of Arizona criminal felony filings have increased by 10 
percent since 1993. Currently, Arizona is ranked third in the nation 
for criminal felony filings. These filings range from possession of 
drugs with the intent to sell to violent criminal acts such as assault 
with a deadly weapon, and murder.
  Along with the increase of criminal felony filings District of 
Arizona judges are burdened with a sharp increase in the number of 
cases. Each judge currently assigned to the District of Arizona has a 
caseload of roughly 834 cases, the fourth highest among the nation's 94 
districts.
  Arizona is a state which is growing significantly and it does not 
have the judicial system to keep up with its growth. Without a strong 
judicial system we will continue to have the unbalance that our judges 
are currently experiencing today.
  For these reasons, I believe the three additional judgeships for the 
District of Arizona created by Mr. Goss's amendment to H.R. 1501 are 
desperately needed to effectively address the abundant caseload, and 
more importantly the high number of criminal felony filings in Arizona.

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