[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 185 (Wednesday, December 5, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S14780-S14781]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           PASSAGE OF S. 1327

  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise today to welcome the passage of 
S. 1327, which will reestablish temporary judgeships where needed in 
the district courts and extend other temporary judgeships that are 
about to expire.
  The bill will reestablish a 10-year temporary judgeship in the 
Eastern District of California, where it is sorely needed. It will also 
reestablish a temporary judgeship in Nebraska and extend the terms of 
existing temporary judgeships in Hawaii, Kansas, and Ohio.
  The Eastern District of California had a temporary judgeship from 
1992 to 2004. At the end of that period, the caseload in the district 
was the second-highest in the Nation: 787 filings per judge. That was 
almost 50 percent more than the national average.
  Still, the temporary judgeship expired in the fall of 2004 as 
required by law. Since then the situation in the Eastern District has 
grown even more dire. Average caseloads across the Nation have 
declined, but in the Eastern District they have increased by 18 
percent.
  The most recent statistics show that the Eastern District of 
California has the highest caseload in the country: 927 filings per 
judge. That is twice as many cases as the national average.
  It is no exaggeration to say that the judges of the Eastern District 
are in desperate need of relief. They have continued to serve with 
distinction in the face of the crushing caseloads. Two of the court's 
senior judges still carry full caseloads after taking senior status. 
Two other senior judges are also continuing to hear cases.
  In recent months, the caseload has become even more crushing with the 
departure of chief judge David Levi. He stepped down from the bench 
after 17 years of service to become the dean of the Duke University 
School of Law.
  It is clear that the Eastern District of California needs our help to 
ensure that cases continue to be handled with the care, attention, and 
promptness that are essential to the fair administration of justice. 
Reestablishing the expired temporary judgeship is one way to help.
  This bill is also a crucial first step toward getting California all 
of the

[[Page S14781]]

judges it needs. According to the 2007 recommendations of the Judicial 
Conference of the United States, California needs a total of 12 new 
judges--more judges than are needed in any other State in the Nation. 
Four of those judges are needed in the Eastern District. By adding a 
temporary judgeship in the Eastern District, this bill will begin to 
meet that need.
  I am pleased to be a cosponsor of this bill and pleased that the 
Senate has passed it.

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