[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 74 (Monday, May 7, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5658-S5660]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. INOUYE (for himself and Mr. Akaka):
  S. 1319. A bill to provide for the conversion of a temporary 
judgeship for the district of Hawaii to a permanent judgeship; to the 
Committee on the Judiciary.

  Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I rise today to support this bill 
addressing the need for a fourth permanent judgeship for the District 
of Hawaii.
  Hawaii currently has four active District Court judges. However, if 
any of its four active judges either accepts senior status and retires, 
or becomes otherwise unable to serve, the District of Hawaii will not 
be able to replace that vacancy with another active judge. This will 
pose a problem for not only the active judges, as their workload will 
increase, but also for the public because an unfilled vacancy may have 
a disastrous effect on our court's caseloads. This bill ensures the 
continued efficiency of Hawaii's District court system.
  Thank you for allowing me this opportunity to share with you the 
importance of this legislation.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1319

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

     SECTION 1. CONVERSION OF TEMPORARY JUDGESHIP TO PERMANENT 
                   JUDGESHIP FOR THE DISTRICT OF HAWAII.

       (a) In General.--The existing judgeship for the district of 
     Hawaii authorized by section 203(c) of the Judicial 
     Improvements Act of 1990 (28 U.S.C. 133 note; Public Law 101-
     650; 104 Stat. 5089) shall, as of the date of enactment of 
     this Act, be authorized under section 133 of title 28, United 
     States Code, and the incumbent in that office shall hold the 
     office under section 133 of title 28, United States Code, as 
     amended by this Act.
       (b) Tables.--In order that the table contained in section 
     133(a) of title 28, United States Code, will reflect the 
     change in the total number of permanent district judgeships 
     authorized as a result of subsection (a) of this section, the 
     item relating to Hawaii is amended to read as follows:

``Hawaii...........................................................4''.

  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I rise today with my colleague from Hawaii, 
Senator Daniel Inouye, to introduce legislation to convert a temporary 
judgeship for the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii to a 
permanent position.
  There are currently 3 permanent Federal judgeships and one temporary 
Federal judgeship in the U.S. District Court, District of Hawaii. The 
Judicial Improvement Act of 1990, P.L. 101-650 created the temporary 
position and mandates that the first vacancy occurring in Hawaii after 
October 2004 cannot be filled. The District of Hawaii will be left with 
only 3 Federal judge positions upon a judge vacating his or her 
position. The loss of a judgeship will severely impact Hawaii's 
judicial system.
  In March 2007, the Judicial Conference recommended that Congress 
convert 5 temporary judgeships, one of which is in the District of 
Hawaii, to permanent status. Their recommendation is largely based on 
the significant increase in weighted filings that would occur if a 
judgeship is lost. The Conference projects that the current weighted 
filing of 380 per judgeship would climb to 507 per judgeship, which is 
18 percent above the Conference standard, should the District of Hawaii 
lose a judgeship.
  In addition, the Conference reported that the median time from filing 
to disposition for criminal cases in Hawaii has continued to increase 
from 1999 to 2005, making Hawaii's case processing times the second 
slowest in the nation. Since 2001, the District Court of Hawaii has 
completed an average of 50 trials per year, significantly less than the 
national average. Although Hawaii has 4 judgeships, 2 are senior judges

[[Page S5660]]

who only handle a small number of civil cases. The limited assistance 
provided by these senior judges is likely to decline further in the 
near future. These judges are not able to retire due to the constraints 
put forth by the loss of the temporary judgeship seat, should one of 
the current judges decide to leave. Furthermore, receiving assistance 
from visiting judges is made difficult by the high cost of travel to 
Hawaii. For these, and many other reasons, the Judicial Council of the 
Ninth Circuit supports the Judicial Conference's recommendation to 
convert this temporary judgeship to a permanent position.
  I share the concern of many in Hawaii's legal community that the lack 
of a fourth permanent position will delay the timely issuance of 
justice in matters pending before the U.S. District Court, District of 
Hawaii. This is a disservice to all. The economic impact of extending 
trials and prolonging time spent in jail will burden Hawaii's 
taxpayers. Moreover, the lack of timely judicial review will have 
negative social impacts by prolonging the disruption in individuals' 
families and lives. The bill we introduce today would ensure 4 Federal 
judgeships remain active in Hawaii to address the needs of the District 
Court of Hawaii and the people of Hawaii.
                                 ______