JUDGES Act of 2025

Summary#

This bill, the JUDGES Act of 2025, authorizes many new federal district court judgeships and makes related changes. It adds new permanent district judges in several rounds with effective dates in 2025, 2027, 2029, 2031, 2033, and 2035. The bill amends the statutory table in 28 U.S.C. §133(a) to increase the number of judgeships in many districts (for example, multiple districts in California, Texas, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Georgia, and Indiana). It also creates one additional temporary judgeship for the Eastern District of Oklahoma and includes a rule that the first vacancy in each temporary seat not filled if the vacancy occurs five or more years after the temporary judge’s confirmation.

The bill requires the President to appoint the new judges "by and with the advice and consent of the Senate." It authorizes specific annual appropriations to support the new judgeships and ties future amounts to inflation (the Consumer Price Index). The bill also makes two small court-organization changes (adding College Station in Texas and El Centro in California). It directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report on judicial caseload measures and on federal detention space. Finally, it requires the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, in consultation with the Judicial Conference, to publish the Judicial Conference’s Article III judgeship recommendations and supporting appendices online and submit them to Congress.

What it means for you#

  • More judges could be added in many federal districts over 2025–2035. Nominations still must be confirmed by the Senate.
  • If you live in or use the federal courts in the named districts, the bill changes the number of authorized judgeships and the organization of some courts (College Station, El Centro).
  • The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts must make the Judicial Conference’s judgeship recommendations and supporting information publicly available online.
  • The GAO will study court caseload measures and detention-space needs and report to congressional judiciary committees.

Expenses#

  • The bill authorizes these amounts to carry out the judgeships and related amendments:
    • Fiscal years 2025 and 2026: $12,965,330 per year
    • Fiscal years 2027 and 2028: $23,152,375 per year
    • Fiscal years 2029 and 2030: $32,413,325 per year
    • Fiscal years 2031 and 2032: $42,600,370 per year
    • Fiscal years 2033 and 2034: $51,861,320 per year
    • Fiscal year 2035 and each fiscal year thereafter: $61,122,270 per year
  • Each year’s authorized amount is to be increased by the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) over the prior relevant period.
  • No publicly available information on total long-term costs beyond these yearly authorizations and CPI adjustments.

Proponents' View#

The bill’s findings state that filings and pending cases in the district courts have grown, that Congress has not created permanent district judgeships in many years, and that the Judicial Conference requested 66 new judgeships in its 2023 report. Supporters present the bill as a response to understaffing and rising caseloads, aiming to authorize judges where the Judicial Conference and the bill’s sponsors say they are needed.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information.