[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 18]
[Senate]
[Page 27215]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                           FEDERAL JUDGESHIP

  Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, today this Congress has expanded 
accessibility to justice for hundreds of thousands of residents of 
northern Wisconsin by creating a Federal judgeship to sit in Green Bay, 
WI. Let me explain how this judgeship will alleviate the stress that 
the current system places on business, law enforcement agents, 
witnesses, victims and individual litigants in northeastern Wisconsin.
  First, while the four full-time district court judges for the Eastern 
District of Wisconsin currently preside in Milwaukee, for most 
litigants and witnesses in northeastern Wisconsin. Milwaukee is well 
over 100 miles away. In fact, as the courts are currently arranged, the 
northern portion of the Eastern District is more remote from a Federal 
court than any other major population center, commercial or industrial, 
in the United States. Thus, litigants and witnesses must incur 
substantial costs in traveling from northern Wisconsin to Milwaukee--
costs in terms of time, money, resources, and effort. Indeed, driving 
from Green Bay to Milwaukee takes nearly two hours each way. Add 
inclement weather or a departure point north of Green Bay--such as 
Oconto or Marinette--and often the driving time alone actually exceeds 
the amount of time witnesses spend testifying.
  Second, Wisconsin's Federal judges serve a disproportionately large 
population. I commissioned a study by the General Accounting Office 
which revealed that Wisconsin Federal judges serve the largest 
population among all Federal judges. Each sitting Federal judge in 
Wisconsin serves an average population of 859,966, while the remaining 
Federal judges across the country--more than 650--serve less than half 
that number, with an average of 417,000 per judge. For example, while 
Louisiana has fewer residents than Wisconsin, it has 22 Federal judges, 
nearly four times as many as our State.
  Third, the Federal Government is required to prosecute all felonies 
committed by Native Americans that occur on the Menominee Reservation. 
The Reservation's distance from the Federal prosecutors and courts--
more than 150 miles--makes these prosecutions problematic, and because 
the Justice Department compensates attorneys, investigators and 
sometimes witnesses for travel expenses, the existing system costs all 
of us. Without an additional judge in Green Bay, the administration of 
justice, as well as the public's pocketbook, will suffer enormously.
  Fourth, many manufacturing and retail companies are located in 
northeastern Wisconsin. These companies often require a Federal court 
to litigate complex price-fixing, contract, and liability disputes with 
out-of-State businesses. But the sad truth is that many of these 
legitimate cases are never even filed--precisely because the northern 
part of the State lacks a Federal court. This hurts businesses not only 
in Wisconsin, but across the Nation.
  In conclusion, having a Federal judge in Green Bay will reduce costs 
and inconvenience while increasing judicial efficiency. But most 
important, it will help ensure that justice is more available and more 
affordable to the people of northeastern Wisconsin.

                          ____________________