[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 17 (Wednesday, February 7, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1128-S1130]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. TORRICELLI (for himself and Mr. Corzine):
  S. 273 A bill to amend title 28, United States Code, to divide New 
Jersey into 2 judicial districts; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. TORRICELLI. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce, on behalf 
of myself and my distinguished colleague, Senator Corzine, a bill that 
will help bring more criminals to justice and create a better federal 
judicial system in New Jersey. This legislation will divide the federal 
District of New Jersey into the Southern and Northern Districts of New 
Jersey thus enabling federal courts and federal law enforcement to 
better serve the State's approximately eight million residents.
  Currently, the District of New Jersey has 17 judges. This bill does 
not increase the number of judges, but divides them between the 
Southern and Northern Districts giving the South 7 judges and the North 
10. The bill will also result in the creation of several new federal 
positions for the Southern District including a Clerk of the Court, 
U.S. Attorney, U.S. Marshal, and a Federal Public Defender.
  The creation of two districts in New Jersey is called for by the 
additional crime-fighting resources a split will bring to the State and 
by the sheer size of the State. The current District of New Jersey is 
the third most populous federal judicial district in the nation. Of the 
25 states that have a single federal judicial district, New Jersey has 
the largest population. More than a dozen states with smaller 
populations have multiple judicial districts. In fact, with more than 2 
million residents in the southern counties, the population of the 
proposed Southern District of New Jersey would exceed that of almost 
half of the current judicial districts. The proposed Northern District 
would rank even higher.
  And while the bill would not create any new judgeships, it would mean 
that, for the first time, the judges of the Southern District would 
necessarily come from and be part of the unique community they serve. 
This can only lead to enhanced sensitivity to the community's needs.
  The bill will also take a significant step towards addressing the 
disparity in crime-fighting resources allocated to northern and 
southern New Jersey. In 1998, southern New Jersey accounted for 25 
percent of the state's urban murders, 32 percent of the state's murder 
arrests and 33 percent of the state's arrests for violent crimes. 
Despite these statistics, only 10 percent of the FBI agents, 15 percent 
of U.S. Marshals and 18 percent of DEA agents in New Jersey are 
assigned to the southern counties.
  The bill will also ensure that crime-fighting decisions are made 
locally instead of by officials who are based elsewhere in the state. 
This too would result in a government more sensitive and responsive to 
the people it serves.
  Given these facts, it is not surprising that the bill has received a 
ringing endorsement from many in New Jersey's

[[Page S1129]]

legal and law enforcement community. In the last Congress, the House 
version of this bill was cosponsored by the entire southern New Jersey 
Congressional delegation. I hope to have their support again. It is 
also supported by the New Jersey State Bar Association, all of the 
southern county bar associations, the South Jersey Police Chief's 
Association, the Chamber of Commerce of Southern New Jersey, and 
various former county prosecutors and former federal law enforcement 
officials.
  While the process of reviewing and deliberating the merits of this 
legislation will be lengthy and time consuming, this is a change that 
is long overdue. The citizens of New Jersey deserve a better federal 
judicial system and their fair share of federal crime-fighting 
resources. I look forward to working with my colleagues to secure 
passage of this legislation.
  I ask unanimous consent that a copy of the legislation be printed in 
the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 273

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

       The Congress finds the following:
       (1) In 1978, the Judicial Conference of the United States 
     established a procedure for creating new Federal judicial 
     districts, which is still in force. According to the 
     ``Proceedings of the Judicial Conference, September 21-22, 
     1978'', this procedure requires that 4 principal criteria be 
     taken into consideration in evaluating the establishment of a 
     new Federal judicial district: caseload, judicial 
     administration, geography, and community convenience.
       (2) The criterion of ``caseload'' is found to include the 
     total number of Federal court cases and the number of cases 
     per Federal judge, for both criminal and civil Federal cases.
       (3)(A) The 13 southern counties of New Jersey, consisting 
     of Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, 
     Gloucester, Hunterdon, Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean, Salem, 
     Somerset, and Warren Counties, have a substantial criminal 
     caseload which requires the creation of a separate judicial 
     district.
       (B) 463 Federal criminal cases originated in the 13 
     southern New Jersey counties in fiscal year 1999 and were 
     handled principally by the 5 judges of the Camden vicinage 
     and the 3 judges of the Trenton vicinage.
       (C) In fiscal year 1999, the criminal cases originating in 
     the 13 southern New Jersey counties exceeded that of 57 of 
     the current 93 Federal judicial districts other than the 
     District of New Jersey. Only 36 of the other current Federal 
     judicial districts had more criminal cases than the southern 
     region of New Jersey.
       (D) For example, in the District of Massachusetts (19 
     judges), 434 criminal cases were filed in fiscal year 1999. 
     In the District of Connecticut (14 judges), only 250 criminal 
     cases were filed in fiscal year 1999.
       (4)(A) The substantial civil caseload concentrated in the 
     southern counties of New Jersey requires the creation of a 
     separate judicial district.
       (B) Approximately 2,983 Federal civil cases originated in 
     the 13 southern New Jersey counties in fiscal year 1999 and 
     were handled principally by the 5 judges of the Camden 
     vicinage and the 3 judges of the Trenton vicinage.
       (C) In the fiscal year 1999, the civil cases originating in 
     the 13 southern New Jersey counties exceeded that of 68 of 
     the current Federal judicial districts other than the 
     District of New Jersey. Only 25 of the other Federal judicial 
     districts had more civil cases than the southern region of 
     New Jersey.
       (D) For example, in the Southern District of West Virginia, 
     a separate judicial district with 8 judges, only 1,203 civil 
     cases were commenced in fiscal year 1999. The Western 
     District of Tennessee, with 6 judges, had only 1,512 civil 
     cases commenced in fiscal year 1999.
       (5) The criterion of ``judicial administration'' is found 
     to include the backlog of pending cases in a Federal judicial 
     district, which hinders the effective resolution of pending 
     business before the court.
       (6)(A) The size of the backlog of pending cases 
     concentrated in the 13 southern counties of New Jersey 
     requires the creation of a separate judicial district.
       (B) In fiscal year 1999, the pending criminal cases 
     attributed to the 13 southern New Jersey counties exceeded 
     that of 62 of the current 93 Federal judicial districts other 
     than the District of New Jersey. Only 31 of the other current 
     Federal judicial districts had more pending criminal cases 
     than the southern region of New Jersey.
       (C) In fiscal year 1999, the pending civil cases attributed 
     to the 13 southern New Jersey counties exceeded that of 66 of 
     the current 93 Federal judicial districts other than the 
     District of New Jersey. Only 27 of the other current Federal 
     judicial districts had more pending civil cases than the 
     southern region of New Jersey.
       (D) The number of pending cases in the Camden vicinage of 
     New Jersey exceeds the number of cases pending before entire 
     judicial districts with similar numbers of judges, clearly 
     indicating that southern New Jersey merits a separate Federal 
     judicial district. For example, as of October 1, 1999, there 
     were 1,431 civil cases pending before the Camden vicinage, 
     and only 113 of those were commenced in fiscal year 1999. The 
     Western District of Tennessee, with 6 judges, had only 1,079 
     civil cases pending in fiscal year 1999. The Western District 
     of Oklahoma had only 1,356 civil cases pending in fiscal year 
     1999 before 9 judges. Finally, there are 161 criminal cases 
     pending before the Camden vicinage, while the entire Southern 
     District of Indiana, with 7 judges, had only 117 criminal 
     cases pending in fiscal year 1999.
       (7) The criterion of ``geography'' is found to mean the 
     accessibility of the central administration of the Federal 
     judicial district to officers of the court, parties with 
     business before the court, and other citizens living within 
     the Federal judicial district.
       (8)(A) The distance between the northern and southern 
     regions of New Jersey and the density of New Jersey's 
     population create a substantial barrier to the efficient 
     administration of justice.
       (B) The distance from Newark, New Jersey to Camden, New 
     Jersey is more than 85 miles.
       (C) When a new Federal court district was created in 
     Louisiana in 1971, the distance between New Orleans and Baton 
     Rouge (nearly 80 miles) was cited as a major factor in 
     creating a new district court, as travel difficulties were 
     impeding the timely administration of justice.
       (9) The criterion of ``community convenience'' is found to 
     mean the extent to which creating a new Federal judicial 
     district will allow the court to better serve the population 
     and diverse communities of the area.
       (10)(A) New Jersey's culturally and regionally diverse 
     population of over 8,000,000 citizens, widely distributed 
     across a densely populated State, is inconvenienced by having 
     only 1 judicial district.
       (B) The District of New Jersey is the third most populous 
     Federal judicial district in the United States.
       (C) The population of the 13 southern New Jersey counties 
     exceeds the population of 67 of the current 93 Federal 
     judicial districts other than the District of New Jersey. The 
     population of the 8 northern New Jersey counties (consisting 
     of Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Morris, Passaic, Sussex, 
     and Union) exceeds the population of 73 of the current 93 
     Federal judicial districts other than the District of New 
     Jersey.
       (D) Of the 25 States that have only a single Federal 
     judicial district (including Puerto Rico, the United States 
     territories, and the District of Columbia), New Jersey has 
     the highest population.
       (E) More than a dozen States have smaller populations than 
     New Jersey, yet they have multiple Federal judicial 
     districts, including Washington, Oklahoma, Iowa, Georgia, 
     West Virginia, and Missouri.
       (11) In evaluating the creation of a new Southern District 
     of New Jersey, the Judicial Conference should seek the views 
     of the chief judge of the affected district, the judicial 
     council for the affected circuit court, and the affected 
     United States Attorney as representative of the views of the 
     Department of Justice, as required in the procedure 
     established by the ``Proceedings of the Judicial Conference, 
     September 21-22, 1978''.

     SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF 2 DISTRICTS IN NEW JERSEY.

       (a) Creation.--Section 110 of title 28, United States Code, 
     is amended to read as follows:

     ``Sec. 110. New Jersey

       ``New Jersey is divided into 2 judicial districts to be 
     known as the Northern and Southern Districts of New Jersey.

                          ``Northern District

       ``(a) The Northern District comprises the counties of 
     Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Morris, Passaic, Sussex, 
     and Union.
       ``Court for the Northern District shall be held at Newark.

                          ``Southern District

       ``(b) The Southern District comprises the counties of 
     Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, 
     Gloucester, Hunterdon, Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean, Salem, 
     Somerset, and Warren.
     ``Court for the Southern District shall be held at Camden and 
     Trenton.''.
       (b) Judgeships.--The item relating to New Jersey in the 
     table set forth in section 133(a) of title 28, United States 
     Code, is amended to read as follows:

``New Jersey:
  ``Northern........................................................10 
  ``Southern.......................................................7''.

       (c) Bankruptcy Judgeships.--The item relating to New Jersey 
     in the table set forth in section 152(a)(1) of title 28, 
     United States Code, is amended to read as follows:

``New Jersey:
  ``Northern.........................................................4 
  ``Southern.......................................................4''.

     SEC. 3. DISTRICT JUDGES, BANKRUPTCY JUDGES, MAGISTRATE 
                   JUDGES, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, UNITED STATES 
                   MARSHAL, AND FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER.

       (a) Transfer of District Judges.--(1) Any district judge of 
     the District Court of New Jersey who is holding office on the 
     day before the effective date of this Act and whose official 
     duty station is in Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Morris, 
     Passaic, Sussex,

[[Page S1130]]

     or Union County shall, on or after such effective date, be a 
     district judge for the Northern District of New Jersey. Any 
     district judge of the District Court of New Jersey who is 
     holding office on the day before the effective date of this 
     Act and whose official duty station is in Atlantic, 
     Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, 
     Hunterdon, Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean, Salem, Somerset, or 
     Warren County shall, on and after such effective date, be a 
     district judge of the Southern District of New Jersey.
       (2) Whenever a vacancy occurs in a judgeship in either 
     judicial district of New Jersey, the vacancy shall first be 
     offered to those judges appointed before the enactment of 
     this Act and in active service in the other judicial district 
     of New Jersey at the time of the vacancy, and of those judges 
     wishing to fill the vacancy, the judge most senior in service 
     shall fill that vacancy. In such a case, the President shall 
     appoint a judge to fill the vacancy resulting in the district 
     of New Jersey from which such judge left office.
       (b) Transfer of Bankruptcy and Magistrate Judges.--Any 
     bankruptcy judge or magistrate judge of the District Court of 
     New Jersey who is holding office on the day before the 
     effective date of this Act and whose official duty station is 
     in Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Morris, Passaic, Sussex, 
     or Union County shall, on or after such effective date, be a 
     bankruptcy judge or magistrate judge, as the case may be, for 
     the Northern District of New Jersey. Any bankruptcy judge or 
     magistrate judge of the District Court of New Jersey who is 
     holding office on the day before the effective date of this 
     Act and whose official duty station is in Atlantic, 
     Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, 
     Hunterdon, Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean, Salem, Somerset, or 
     Warren County shall, on and after such effective date, be a 
     bankruptcy judge or magistrate judge, as the case may be, of 
     the Southern District of New Jersey.
       (c) United States Attorney, United States Marshal, and 
     Federal Public Defender.--
       (1) Those in office.--This Act and the amendments made by 
     this Act shall not affect the tenure of office of the United 
     States attorney, the United States marshal, and the Federal 
     Public Defender, for the District of New Jersey who are in 
     office on the effective date of this Act, except that such 
     individuals shall be the United States attorney, the United 
     States marshal, and the Federal Public Defender, 
     respectively, for the Northern District of New Jersey as of 
     such effective date.
       (2) Appointments.--The President shall appoint, by and with 
     the advice and consent of the Senate, a United States 
     attorney and a United States marshal for the Southern 
     District of New Jersey. The Court of Appeals for the Third 
     Circuit shall appoint a Federal Public Defender for the 
     Southern District of New Jersey.
       (d) Pending Cases Not Affected.--This Act and the 
     amendments made by this Act shall not affect any action 
     commenced before the effective date of this Act and pending 
     in the United States District Court for the District of New 
     Jersey on such date.
       (e) Juries Not Affected.--This Act and the amendments made 
     by this Act shall not affect the composition, or preclude the 
     service, of any grand or petit jury summoned, empaneled, or 
     actually serving in the Judicial District of New Jersey on 
     the effective date of this Act.

     SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       (a) In General.--This Act and the amendments made by this 
     Act shall take effect 180 days after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act.
       (b) Appointments.--Notwithstanding subsection (a), the 
     President and the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit may 
     make the appointments under section 3(c)(2) at any time after 
     the date of the enactment of this Act.
                                 ______