Temporary Judgeships Would Be Permanent in Bipartisan Senate Bill

A bipartisan group of lawmakers are proposing legislation to make all existing temporary federal district court judge seats across the country permanent, following a request by the judiciary to relieve the workload on certain courts.

The legislation, led by Judiciary Committee members Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and expected to be introduced Wednesday, would convert the 10 current temporary judgeships, all authorized decades ago, into permanent positions.

Courts with temporary judgeships include the federal trial court in Hawaii, which saw a 13% increase in civil cases filed in 2023, and the Eastern District of Texas, a known patent venue that saw roughly 7 percent more civil cases filed last year, according to latest data posted by the judiciary.

The bill — which is supported by both Senate Judiciary Chair Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and ranking member Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) — comes as partisanship has long stalled broader efforts by the judiciary to convince Congress to create new judgeships in courts with rising caseloads and growing populations.

Cruz said in a statement the bill “will prevent the loss of judgeships that the American taxpayer has come to rely on, and will stabilize the structure of the federal judiciary.”

“By making several long-standing temporary judgeships permanent, this bill will help provide certainty and stability to federal courts in Hawaii and other states across the country,” Hirono added.

Other courts with temporary judgeships are the Eastern District of Missouri, the District of Kansas, the Northern District of Alabama, the District of Arizona, Central District of California, Southern District of Florida, District of New Mexico and the Western District of North Carolina.

The broad bipartisan support could give the legislation legs to potentially move in the evenly divided Senate, where bills need 60 votes to advance.

Reps. Lance Gooden (R-Texas) and Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) are also introducing a companion version in the House. Lieu said in a statement that making the judgeships permanent “provides greater stability” since they would no longer have to be renewed annually as part of the appropriations process.

The bill’s introduction comes one year after the Judicial Conference, the judiciary’s policymaking arm, released recommendations to make permanent or extend for five years nine of the 10 current temporary judgeships. Some of those temporary slots had been authorized by Congress as early as 1990, and lawmakers have continued to extend them in annual spending bills. If Congress ever failed to extend a temporary judgeship, the next vacancy that occurs on that court would not be filled.

In the same recommendation, the conference also asked for the addition of 66 more permanent federal district court judges at courts with 430 weighted filings per judgeship.

The Eastern District of Texas, for example, had 676 weighted filings per judgeship, as of the end of last year, the Central District of California had 616 per judgeship, and the Southern District of Florida had over 1,000 per judgeship.