I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3430

To amend title 28, United States Code, to divide New Jersey in 2 judicial 

districts. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 4, 2003

Mr. ANDREWS (for himself, Mr. LOBIONDO, and Mr. SAXTON) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL

To amend title 28, United States Code, to divide New Jersey 

in 2 judicial districts.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

4 The Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) In 1978, the Judicial Conference of the 

6 United States established a procedure for creating 

7 new Federal judicial districts, which is still in force. 

8 According to the ‘‘Proceedings of the Judicial Con9 ference, September 21–22, 1978’’, this procedure re10 quires that 4 principal criteria be taken into consid-
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1 eration in evaluating the establishment of a new 

2 Federal judicial district: caseload, judicial adminis3 tration, geography, and community convenience. 

4 (2) The criterion of ‘‘caseload’’ is found to in5 clude the total number of Federal court cases and 

6 the number of cases per Federal judge, for both 

7 criminal and civil Federal cases. 

8 (3) The criterion of ‘‘judicial administration’’ is 

9 found to include the backlog of pending cases in a 

10 Federal judicial district, which hinders the effective 

11 resolution of pending business before the court. 

12 (4) The criterion of ‘‘geography’’ is found to 

13 mean the accessibility of the central administration 

14 of the Federal judicial district to officers of the 

15 court, parties with business before the court, and 

16 other citizens living within the Federal judicial dis17 trict. 

18 (5) The criterion of ‘‘community convenience’’ 

19 is found to mean the extent to which creating a new 

20 Federal judicial district will allow the court to better 

21 serve the population and diverse communities of the 

22 area. 

23 (6)(A) The 13 southern counties of New Jersey, 

24 consisting of Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape 

25 May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Mercer, 
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1 Monmouth, Ocean, Salem, Somerset, and Warren 

2 Counties, have a substantial criminal caseload which 

3 requires the creation of a separate judicial district. 

4 (B) 352 Federal criminal cases originated in 

5 the 13 southern New Jersey counties in fiscal year 

6 2002 and were handled principally by the 4 judges 

7 of the Camden vicinage and the 3 judges of the 

8 Trenton vicinage. 

9 (C) In fiscal year 2002, the criminal cases orig10 inating in the 13 southern New Jersey counties ex11 ceeded that of 32 of the current 93 Federal judicial 

12 districts other than the District of New Jersey. Only 

13 61 of the other current Federal judicial districts had 

14 more criminal cases than the southern region of New 

15 Jersey. 

16 (D) For example, in the Eastern District of 

17 Louisiana (12 judges), 304 criminal cases were filed 

18 in fiscal year 2002. In the District of Connecticut (8 

19 judges), only 251 criminal cases were filed in fiscal 

20 year 2002. 

21 (7)(A) The substantial civil caseload con22 centrated in the southern counties of New Jersey re23 quires the creation of a separate judicial district. 

24 (B) Approximately 2,744 Federal civil cases 

25 originated in the 13 southern New Jersey counties 
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1 in fiscal year 2002 and were handled principally by 

2 the 4 judges of the Camden vicinage and the 3 

3 judges of the Trenton vicinage. 

4 (C) In the fiscal year 2002, the civil cases origi5 nating in the 13 southern New Jersey counties ex6 ceeded that of 61 of the current Federal judicial dis7 tricts other than the District of New Jersey. Only 

8 32 of the other Federal judicial districts had more 

9 civil cases than the southern region of New Jersey. 

10 (D) For example, in the Western District of 

11 Tennessee (5 judges), 1,410 civil cases were filed in 

12 fiscal year 2002. In the Southern District of West 

13 Virginia (5 judges), only 1,778 civil cases were filed 

14 in fiscal year 2002. 

15 (8)(A) The size of the backlog of pending cases 

16 concentrated in the 13 southern counties of New 

17 Jersey requires the creation of a separate judicial 

18 district. 

19 (B) In fiscal year 2002, the pending criminal 

20 cases attributed to the 13 southern New Jersey 

21 counties exceeded that of 58 of the current 93 Fed22 eral judicial districts other than the District of New 

23 Jersey. Only 35 of the other current Federal judicial

24 districts had more pending criminal cases than the 

25 southern region of New Jersey. 
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1 (C) In fiscal year 2002, the pending civil cases 

2 attributed to the 13 southern New Jersey counties 

3 exceeded that of 72 of the current 93 Federal judi4 cial districts other than the District of New Jersey. 

5 Only 21 of the other current Federal judicial dis6 tricts had more pending civil cases than the south7 ern region of New Jersey. 

8 (D) The number of pending cases in the Cam9 den vicinage of New Jersey exceeds the number of 

10 cases pending before entire judicial districts with 

11 similar numbers of judges, clearly indicating that 

12 southern New Jersey merits a separate Federal judi13 cial district. For example, as of October 1, 2002, 

14 there were 1,846 civil cases pending before the Cam15 den vicinage. The Western District of Tennessee, 

16 with 5 judges, had only 991 civil cases pending in 

17 fiscal year 2002. The Western District of Oklahoma, 

18 with 6 judges, had only 1,400 civil cases pending 

19 during the same period. Finally, there were 250 

20 criminal cases pending before the Camden vicinage 

21 at the end of fiscal year 2002, while the entire East22 ern District of Louisiana, with 12 judges, had only 

23 191 criminal cases pending. Also, the Western Dis24 trict of Pennsylvania, with 10 judges, had only 275 
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1 criminal cases pending at the end of fiscal year 

2 2002. 

3 (9)(A) The distance between the northern and 

4 southern regions of New Jersey and the density of 

5 New Jersey’s population create a substantial barrier 

6 to the efficient administration of justice. 

7 (B) The distance from Newark, New Jersey to 

8 Camden, New Jersey is more than 85 miles. 

9 (C) When a new Federal court district was cre10 ated in Louisiana in 1971, the distance between 

11 New Orleans and Baton Rouge (nearly 80 miles) 

12 was cited as a major factor in creating a new district 

13 court, as travel difficulties were impeding the timely 

14 administration of justice. 

15 (10)(A) New Jersey’s culturally and regionally 

16 diverse population of over 8,000,000 citizens, widely 

17 distributed across a densely populated State, is in18 convenienced by having only 1 judicial district. 

19 (B) The District of New Jersey is the fourth 

20 most populous Federal judicial district in the United 

21 States. 

22 (C) The population of the 13 southern New 

23 Jersey counties exceeds the population of 69 of the 

24 current 93 Federal judicial districts other than the 

25 District of New Jersey. The population of the 8 
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1 northern New Jersey counties (consisting of Bergen, 

2 Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Morris, Passaic, Sussex, 

3 and Union) exceeds the population of 73 of the cur4 rent 93 Federal judicial districts other than the Dis5 trict of New Jersey. 

6 (D) Of the 27 States and territories that have 

7 only a single Federal judicial district (including 

8 Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia), New Jer9 sey has the highest population. 

10 (E) More than a dozen States have smaller pop11 ulations than New Jersey, yet they have multiple 

12 Federal judicial districts, including Washington, 

13 Oklahoma, Iowa, West Virginia, and Missouri. 

14 (11) In evaluating the creation of a new South15 ern District of New Jersey, the Judicial Conference 

16 should seek the views of the chief judge of the af17 fected district, the judicial council for the affected 

18 circuit court, and the affected United States Attor19 ney as representative of the views of the Department 

20 of Justice, as required in the procedure established 

21 by the ‘‘Proceedings of the Judicial Conference, Sep22 tember 21–22, 1978’’. 

23 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF 2 DISTRICTS IN NEW JERSEY. 

24 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—
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1 (1) CREATION.—Section 110 of title 28, United 

2 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

3 ‘‘§ 110. New Jersey 

4 ‘‘New Jersey is divided into 2 judicial districts to be 

5 known as the Northern and Southern Districts of New 

6 Jersey. 

7 ‘‘Northern District 

8 ‘‘(a) The Northern District comprises the counties of 

9 Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Morris, Passaic, Sus10 sex, and Union.

11 ‘‘Court for the Northern District shall be held at Newark.

12 ‘‘Southern District 

13 ‘‘(b) The Southern District comprises the counties of 

14 Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, 

15 Gloucester, Hunterdon, Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean, 

16 Salem, Somerset, and Warren.

17 ‘‘Court for the Southern District shall be held at Camden 

18 and Trenton.’’.

19 (2) JUDGESHIPS.—The item relating to New 

20 Jersey in the table set forth in section 133(a) of title 

21 28, United States Code, is amended to read as fol22 lows:

‘‘New Jersey: 

‘‘Northern .......................................................................................... 10

‘‘Southern ........................................................................................... 7’’.

23 (3) BANKRUPTCY JUDGESHIPS.—The item re24 lating to New Jersey in the table set forth in section
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1 152(a)(1) of title 28, United States Code, is amend2 ed to read as follows:

‘‘New Jersey: 

‘‘Northern .......................................................................................... 4

‘‘Southern ........................................................................................... 4’’.

3 (b) DISTRICT JUDGES, BANKRUPTCY JUDGES, MAG4 ISTRATE JUDGES, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, UNITED

5 STATES MARSHAL, AND FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER.—

6 (1) TRANSFER OF DISTRICT JUDGES.—(A) Any 

7 district judge of the District Court of New Jersey 

8 who is holding office on the day before the effective 

9 date of this Act and whose official duty station is in 

10 Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Morris, Passaic, 

11 Sussex, or Union County shall, on and after such ef12 fective date, be a district judge for the Northern 

13 District of New Jersey. Any district judge of the 

14 District Court of New Jersey who is holding office 

15 on the day before the effective date of this Act and 

16 whose official duty station is in Atlantic, Burlington, 

17 Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, 

18 Hunterdon, Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean, Salem, Som19 erset, or Warren County shall, on and after such ef20 fective date, be a district judge of the Southern Dis21 trict of New Jersey. 

22 (B) Whenever a vacancy occurs in a judgeship 

23 in either judicial district of New Jersey, the vacancy 

24 shall first be offered to those judges appointed be-
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1 fore the enactment of this Act and in active service 

2 in the other judicial district of New Jersey at the 

3 time of the vacancy, and of those judges wishing to 

4 fill the vacancy, the judge most senior in service 

5 shall fill that vacancy. In such a case, the President 

6 shall appoint a judge to fill the vacancy resulting in 

7 the district of New Jersey from which such judge 

8 left office. 

9 (2) TRANSFER OF BANKRUPTCY AND MAG10 ISTRATE JUDGES.—Any bankruptcy judge or mag11 istrate judge of the District Court of New Jersey 

12 who is holding office on the day before the effective 

13 date of this Act and whose official duty station is in 

14 Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Morris, Passaic, 

15 Sussex, or Union County shall, on and after such ef16 fective date, be a bankruptcy judge or magistrate 

17 judge, as the case may be, for the Northern District 

18 of New Jersey. Any bankruptcy judge or magistrate 

19 judge of the District Court of New Jersey who is 

20 holding office on the day before the effective date of 

21 this Act and whose official duty station is in Atlan22 tic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, 

23 Gloucester, Hunterdon, Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean, 

24 Salem, Somerset, or Warren County shall, on and 

25 after such effective date, be a bankruptcy judge or 
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1 magistrate judge, as the case may be, of the South2 ern District of New Jersey. 

3 (3) UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, UNITED

4 STATES MARSHAL, AND FEDERAL PUBLIC DE5 FENDER.—

6 (A) THOSE IN OFFICE.—This section and 

7 the amendments made by this section shall not 

8 affect the tenure of office of the United States 

9 attorney, the United States marshal, and the 

10 Federal Public Defender, for the District of 

11 New Jersey who are in office on the effective 

12 date of this Act, except that such individuals 

13 shall be the United States attorney, the United 

14 States marshal, and the Federal Public De15 fender, respectively, for the Northern District of 

16 New Jersey as of such effective date. 

17 (B) APPOINTMENTS.—The President shall 

18 appoint, by and with the advice and consent of 

19 the Senate, a United States attorney and a 

20 United States marshal for the Southern Dis21 trict of New Jersey. The Court of Appeals for 

22 the Third Circuit shall appoint a Federal Public 

23 Defender for the Southern District of New Jer24 sey. 
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1 (4) PENDING CASES NOT AFFECTED.—This sec2 tion and the amendments made by this section shall 

3 not affect any action commenced before the effective 

4 date of this Act and pending in the United States 

5 District Court for the District of New Jersey on 

6 such date. 

7 (5) JURIES NOT AFFECTED.—This section and 

8 the amendments made by this section shall not af9 fect the composition, or preclude the service, of any 

10 grand or petit jury summoned, empaneled, or actu11 ally serving in the Judicial District of New Jersey 

12 on the effective date of this Act. 

13 SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—This Act and the amendments 

15 made by this Act shall take effect 180 days after the date 

16 of the enactment of this Act. 

17 (b) APPOINTMENTS.—Notwithstanding subsection 

18 (a)—

19 (1) the President may make the appointments 

20 under section 2(b)(3)(B), and 

21 (2) the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit 

22 may make the appointment under section 

23 2(b)(3)(B), 

24 at any time after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
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1 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

3 as may be necessary to carry out this Act and the amend4 ments made by this Act, including such sums as may be 

5 necessary for facilities for the District Court for the 

6 Southern District of New Jersey.

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