118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4199 

AN ACT 

To authorize additional district judges for the district courts 

and convert temporary judgeships. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
2 

†S 4199 ES

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Judicial Understaffing 

3 Delays Getting Emergencies Solved Act of 2024’’ or the 

4 ‘‘JUDGES Act of 2024’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) Article III of the Constitution of the United 

8 States gives Congress the power to establish judge9 ships in the district courts of the United States. 

10 (2) Congress has not created a new district 

11 court judgeship since 2003 and has not enacted 

12 comprehensive judgeship legislation since 1990. 

13 (3) This represents the longest period of time 

14 since district courts of the United States were estab15 lished in 1789 that Congress has not authorized any 

16 new permanent district court judgeships. 

17 (4) By the end of fiscal year 2022, filings in the 

18 district courts of the United States had increased by 

19 30 percent since the last comprehensive judgeship 

20 legislation. 

21 (5) As of March 31, 2023, there were 686,797 

22 pending cases in the district courts of the United 

23 States, with an average of 491 weighted case filings 

24 per judgeship over a 12-month period. 

25 (6) To deal with increased filings in the district 

26 courts of the United States, the Judicial Conference 
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1 of the United States requested the creation of 66 

2 new district court judgeships in its 2023 report. 

3 SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL DISTRICT JUDGES FOR THE DISTRICT 

4 COURTS. 

5 (a) ADDITIONAL JUDGESHIPS.— 

6 (1) 2025.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The President shall ap8 point, by and with the advice and consent of the 

9 Senate— 

10 (i) 1 additional district judge for the 

11 central district of California; 

12 (ii) 1 additional district judge for the 

13 eastern district of California; 

14 (iii) 1 additional district judge for the 

15 northern district of California; 

16 (iv) 1 additional district judge for the 

17 district of Delaware; 

18 (v) 1 additional district judge for the 

19 middle district of Florida; 

20 (vi) 1 additional district judge for the 

21 southern district of Indiana; 

22 (vii) 1 additional district judge for the 

23 northern district of Iowa; 

24 (viii) 1 additional district judge for 

25 the district of New Jersey; 
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1 (ix) 1 additional district judge for the 

2 southern district of New York; 

3 (x) 1 additional district judge for the 

4 eastern district of Texas; and 

5 (xi) 1 additional district judge for the 

6 southern district of Texas. 

7 (B) TABLES.—The table contained in sec8 tion 133(a) of title 28, United States Code, is 

9 amended— 

10 (i) by striking the items relating to 

11 California and inserting the following: 

‘‘California: 

Northern ................................................................. 15 

Eastern ................................................................... 7 

Central .................................................................... 28 

Southern ................................................................. 13’’; 

12 (ii) by striking the item relating to 

13 Delaware and inserting the following: 

‘‘Delaware ............................................................... 5’’; 

14 (iii) by striking the items relating to 

15 Florida and inserting the following: 

‘‘Florida: 

Northern ................................................................. 4 

Middle ..................................................................... 16 

Southern ................................................................. 17’’; 

16 (iv) by striking the items relating to 

17 Indiana and inserting the following: 

‘‘Indiana: 

Northern ................................................................. 5 

Southern ................................................................. 6’’; 
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1 (v) by striking the items relating to 

2 Iowa and inserting the following: 

‘‘Iowa: 

Northern ................................................................. 3 

Southern ................................................................. 3’’; 

3 (vi) by striking the item relating to 

4 New Jersey and inserting the following: 

‘‘New Jersey ........................................................... 18’’; 

5 (vii) by striking the items relating to 

6 New York and inserting the following: 

‘‘New York: 

Northern ................................................................. 5 

Southern ................................................................. 29 

Eastern ................................................................... 15 

Western .................................................................. 4’’; and 

7 (viii) by striking the items relating to 

8 Texas and inserting the following: 

‘‘Texas: 

Northern ................................................................. 12 

Southern ................................................................. 20 

Eastern ................................................................... 8 

Western .................................................................. 13’’. 

9 (C) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This paragraph 

10 shall take effect on January 21, 2025. 

11 (2) 2027.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The President shall ap13 point, by and with the advice and consent of the 

14 Senate— 

15 (i) 1 additional district judge for the 

16 district of Arizona; 
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1 (ii) 2 additional district judges for the 

2 central district of California; 

3 (iii) 1 additional district judge for the 

4 eastern district of California; 

5 (iv) 1 additional district judge for the 

6 northern district of California; 

7 (v) 1 additional district judge for the 

8 middle district of Florida; 

9 (vi) 1 additional district judge for the 

10 southern district of Florida; 

11 (vii) 1 additional district judge for the 

12 northern district of Georgia; 

13 (viii) 1 additional district judge for 

14 the district of Idaho; 

15 (ix) 1 additional district judge for the 

16 northern district of Texas; and 

17 (x) 1 additional district judge for the 

18 southern district of Texas. 

19 (B) TABLES.—The table contained in sec20 tion 133(a) of title 28, United States Code, as 

21 amended by paragraph (1) of this subsection, is 

22 amended— 

23 (i) by striking the item relating to Ar24 izona and inserting the following: 

‘‘Arizona ................................................................. 13’’; 
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1 (ii) by striking the items relating to 

2 California and inserting the following: 

‘‘California: 

Northern ................................................................. 16 

Eastern ................................................................... 8 

Central .................................................................... 30 

Southern ................................................................. 13’’; 

3 (iii) by striking the items relating to 

4 Florida and inserting the following: 

‘‘Florida: 

Northern ................................................................. 4 

Middle ..................................................................... 17 

Southern ................................................................. 18’’; 

5 (iv) by striking the items relating to 

6 Georgia and inserting the following: 

‘‘Georgia: 

Northern ................................................................. 12 

Middle ..................................................................... 4 

Southern ................................................................. 3’’; 

7 (v) by striking the item relating to 

8 Idaho and inserting the following: 

‘‘Idaho .................................................................... 3’’; and 

9 (vi) by striking the items relating to 

10 Texas and inserting the following: 

‘‘Texas: 

Northern ................................................................. 13 

Southern ................................................................. 21 

Eastern ................................................................... 8 

Western .................................................................. 13’’. 

11 (C) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This paragraph 

12 shall take effect on January 21, 2027. 

13 (3) 2029.— 
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The President shall ap2 point, by and with the advice and consent of the 

3 Senate— 

4 (i) 1 additional district judge for the 

5 central district of California; 

6 (ii) 1 additional district judge for the 

7 eastern district of California; 

8 (iii) 1 additional district judge for the 

9 northern district of California; 

10 (iv) 1 additional district judge for the 

11 district of Colorado; 

12 (v) 1 additional district judge for the 

13 district of Delaware; 

14 (vi) 1 additional district judge for the 

15 district of Nebraska; 

16 (vii) 1 additional district judge for the 

17 eastern district of New York; 

18 (viii) 1 additional district judge for 

19 the eastern district of Texas; 

20 (ix) 1 additional district judge for the 

21 southern district of Texas; and 

22 (x) 1 additional district judge for the 

23 western district of Texas. 

24 (B) TABLES.—The table contained in sec25 tion 133(a) of title 28, United States Code, as 
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1 amended by paragraph (2) of this subsection, is 

2 amended— 

3 (i) by striking the items relating to 

4 California and inserting the following: 

‘‘California: 

Northern ................................................................. 17 

Eastern ................................................................... 9 

Central .................................................................... 31 

Southern ................................................................. 13’’; 

5 (ii) by striking the item relating to 

6 Colorado and inserting the following: 

‘‘Colorado ............................................................... 8’’; 

7 (iii) by striking the item relating to 

8 Delaware and inserting the following: 

‘‘Delaware ............................................................... 6’’; 

9 (iv) by striking the item relating to 

10 Nebraska and inserting the following: 

‘‘Nebraska .............................................................. 4’’; 

11 (v) by striking the items relating to 

12 New York and inserting the following: 

‘‘New York: 

Northern ................................................................. 5 

Southern ................................................................. 29 

Eastern ................................................................... 16 

Western .................................................................. 4’’; and 

13 (vi) by striking the items relating to 

14 Texas and inserting the following: 

‘‘Texas: 

Northern ................................................................. 13 

Southern ................................................................. 22 

Eastern ................................................................... 9 
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Western .................................................................. 14’’. 

1 (C) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This paragraph 

2 shall take effect on January 21, 2029. 

3 (4) 2031.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The President shall ap5 point, by and with the advice and consent of the 

6 Senate— 

7 (i) 1 additional district judge for the 

8 district of Arizona; 

9 (ii) 1 additional district judge for the 

10 central district of California; 

11 (iii) 1 additional district judge for the 

12 eastern district of California; 

13 (iv) 1 additional district judge for the 

14 northern district of California; 

15 (v) 1 additional district judge for the 

16 southern district of California; 

17 (vi) 1 additional district judge for the 

18 middle district of Florida; 

19 (vii) 1 additional district judge for the 

20 southern district of Florida; 

21 (viii) 1 additional district judge for 

22 the district of New Jersey; 

23 (ix) 1 additional district judge for the 

24 western district of New York; and 
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1 (x) 2 additional district judges for the 

2 western district of Texas. 

3 (B) TABLES.—The table contained in sec4 tion 133(a) of title 28, United States Code, as 

5 amended by paragraph (3) of this subsection, is 

6 amended— 

7 (i) by striking the item relating to Ar8 izona and inserting the following: 

‘‘Arizona ................................................................. 14’’; 

9 (ii) by striking the items relating to 

10 California and inserting the following: 

‘‘California: 

Northern ................................................................. 18 

Eastern ................................................................... 10 

Central .................................................................... 32 

Southern ................................................................. 14’’; 

11 (iii) by striking the items relating to 

12 Florida and inserting the following: 

‘‘Florida: 

Northern ................................................................. 4 

Middle ..................................................................... 18 

Southern ................................................................. 19’’; 

13 (iv) by striking the item relating to 

14 New Jersey and inserting the following: 

‘‘New Jersey ........................................................... 19’’; 

15 (v) by striking the items relating to 

16 New York and inserting the following: 

‘‘New York: 

Northern ................................................................. 5 

Southern ................................................................. 29 

Eastern ................................................................... 16 
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Western .................................................................. 5’’; and 

1 (vi) by striking the items relating to 

2 Texas and inserting the following: 

‘‘Texas: 

Northern ................................................................. 13 

Southern ................................................................. 22 

Eastern ................................................................... 9 

Western .................................................................. 16’’. 

3 (C) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This paragraph 

4 shall take effect on January 21, 2031. 

5 (5) 2033.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The President shall ap7 point, by and with the advice and consent of the 

8 Senate— 

9 (i) 2 additional district judges for the 

10 central district of California; 

11 (ii) 1 additional district judge for the 

12 northern district of California; 

13 (iii) 1 additional district judge for the 

14 district of Colorado; 

15 (iv) 1 additional district judge for the 

16 middle district of Florida; 

17 (v) 1 additional district judge for the 

18 northern district of Florida; 

19 (vi) 1 additional district judge for the 

20 northern district of Georgia; 

21 (vii) 1 additional district judge for the 

22 southern district of New York; 
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1 (viii) 1 additional district judge for 

2 the southern district of Texas; and 

3 (ix) 1 additional district judge for the 

4 western district of Texas. 

5 (B) TABLES.—The table contained in sec6 tion 133(a) of title 28, United States Code, as 

7 amended by paragraph (4) of this subsection, is 

8 amended— 

9 (i) by striking the items relating to 

10 California and inserting the following: 

‘‘California: 

Northern ................................................................. 19 

Eastern ................................................................... 10 

Central .................................................................... 34 

Southern ................................................................. 14’’; 

11 (ii) by striking the item relating to 

12 Colorado and inserting the following: 

‘‘Colorado ............................................................... 9’’; 

13 (iii) by striking the items relating to 

14 Florida and inserting the following: 

‘‘Florida: 

Northern ................................................................. 5 

Middle ..................................................................... 19 

Southern ................................................................. 19’’; 

15 (iv) by striking the items relating to 

16 Georgia and inserting the following: 

‘‘Georgia: 

Northern ................................................................. 13 

Middle ..................................................................... 4 

Southern ................................................................. 3’’; 
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1 (v) by striking the items relating to 

2 New York and inserting the following: 

‘‘New York: 

Northern ................................................................. 5 

Southern ................................................................. 30 

Eastern ................................................................... 16 

Western .................................................................. 5’’; and 

3 (vi) by striking the items relating to 

4 Texas and inserting the following: 

‘‘Texas: 

Northern ................................................................. 13 

Southern ................................................................. 23 

Eastern ................................................................... 9 

Western .................................................................. 17’’. 

5 (C) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This paragraph 

6 shall take effect on January 21, 2033. 

7 (6) 2035.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The President shall ap9 point, by and with the advice and consent of the 

10 Senate— 

11 (i) 2 additional district judges for the 

12 central district of California; 

13 (ii) 1 additional district judge for the 

14 northern district of California; 

15 (iii) 1 additional district judge for the 

16 southern district of California; 

17 (iv) 1 additional district judge for the 

18 middle district of Florida; 

19 (v) 1 additional district judge for the 

20 southern district of Florida; 
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1 (vi) 1 additional district judge for the 

2 district of New Jersey; 

3 (vii) 1 additional district judge for the 

4 eastern district of New York; 

5 (viii) 2 additional district judges for 

6 the western district of Texas. 

7 (B) TABLES.—The table contained in sec8 tion 133(a) of title 28, United States Code, as 

9 amended by paragraph (5) of this subsection, is 

10 amended— 

11 (i) by striking the items relating to 

12 California and inserting the following: 

‘‘California: 

Northern ................................................................. 20 

Eastern ................................................................... 10 

Central .................................................................... 36 

Southern ................................................................. 15’’; 

13 (ii) by striking the items relating to 

14 Florida and inserting the following: 

‘‘Florida: 

Northern ................................................................. 5 

Middle ..................................................................... 20 

Southern ................................................................. 20’’; 

15 (iii) by striking the item relating to 

16 New Jersey and inserting the following: 

‘‘New Jersey ........................................................... 20’’; 

17 (iv) by striking the items relating to 

18 New York and inserting the following: 

‘‘New York: 

Northern ................................................................. 5 
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Southern ................................................................. 30 

Eastern ................................................................... 17 

Western .................................................................. 5’’; and 

1 (v) by striking the items relating to 

2 Texas and inserting the following: 

‘‘Texas: 

Northern ................................................................. 13 

Southern ................................................................. 23 

Eastern ................................................................... 9 

Western .................................................................. 19’’. 

3 (C) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This paragraph 

4 shall take effect on January 21, 2035. 

5 (b) TEMPORARY JUDGESHIPS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall appoint, 

7 by and with the advice and consent of the Senate— 

8 (A) 2 additional district judges for the 

9 eastern district of Oklahoma; and 

10 (B) 1 additional district judge for the 

11 northern district of Oklahoma. 

12 (2) VACANCIES NOT FILLED.—The first va13 cancy in the office of district judge in each of the 

14 offices of district judge authorized by this sub15 section, occurring 5 years or more after the con16 firmation date of the judge named to fill the tem17 porary district judgeship created in the applicable 

18 district by this subsection, shall not be filled. 

19 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection shall 

20 take effect on January 21, 2025. 

21 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

2 appropriated to carry out this section and the 

3 amendments made by this section— 

4 (A) for each of fiscal years 2025 and 2026, 

5 $12,965,330; 

6 (B) for each of fiscal years 2027 and 

7 2028, $23,152,375; 

8 (C) for each of fiscal years 2029 and 2030, 

9 $32,413,325; 

10 (D) for each of fiscal years 2031 and 

11 2032, $42,600,370; 

12 (E) for each of fiscal years 2033 and 

13 2034, $51,861,320; and 

14 (F) for fiscal year 2035 and each fiscal 

15 year thereafter, $61,122,270. 

16 (2) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—For each fiscal 

17 year described in paragraph (1), the amount author18 ized to be appropriated for such fiscal year shall be 

19 increased by the percentage by which— 

20 (A) the Consumer Price Index for the pre21 vious fiscal year, exceeds 

22 (B) the Consumer Price Index for the fis23 cal year preceding the fiscal year described in 

24 subparagraph (A). 
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1 (3) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

2 ‘‘Consumer Price Index’’ means the Consumer Price 

3 Index for All Urban Consumers (all items, United 

4 States city average), published by the Bureau of 

5 Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor. 

6 SEC. 4. ORGANIZATION OF UTAH DISTRICT COURTS. 

7 Section 125(2) of title 28, United States Code, is 

8 amended by striking ‘‘and St. George’’ and inserting ‘‘St. 

9 George, Moab, and Monticello’’. 

10 SEC. 5. ORGANIZATION OF TEXAS DISTRICT COURTS. 

11 Section 124(b)(2) of title 28, United States Code, is 

12 amended, in the matter preceding paragraph (3), by in13 serting ‘‘and College Station’’ before the period at the end. 

14 SEC. 6. ORGANIZATION OF CALIFORNIA DISTRICT COURTS. 

15 Section 84(d) of title 28, United States Code, is 

16 amended by inserting ‘‘and El Centro’’ after ‘‘at San 

17 Diego’’. 

18 SEC. 7. GAO REPORTS. 

19 (a) JUDICIAL CASELOADS.—Not later than 2 years 

20 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

21 General of the United States shall submit to the Com22 mittee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee 

23 on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and 

24 make publicly available reports— 

25 (1) evaluating— 
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1 (A) the accuracy and objectiveness of case2 related workload measures and methodologies 

3 used by the Administrative Office of the United 

4 States Courts for district courts of the United 

5 States and courts of appeals of the United 

6 States; 

7 (B) the impact of non-case-related activi8 ties of judges of the district courts of the 

9 United States and courts of appeals of the 

10 United States on judicial caseloads; and 

11 (C) the effectiveness and efficiency of the 

12 policies of the Administrative Office of the 

13 United States Courts regarding senior judges; 

14 and 

15 (2) providing any recommendations of the 

16 Comptroller General with respect to the matters de17 scribed in paragraph (1). 

18 (b) DETENTION SPACE.—The Comptroller General of 

19 the United States shall submit to the Committee on the 

20 Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judici21 ary of the House of Representatives a report on an assess22 ment of— 

23 (1) a determination of the needs of Federal 

24 agencies for detention space; 
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1 (2) efforts by Federal agencies to acquire de2 tention space; and 

3 (3) any challenges in determining and acquiring 

4 detention space. 

5 SEC. 8. PUBLIC ACCESSIBILITY OF THE ARTICLE III JUDGE6 SHIP RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE JUDICIAL 

7 CONFERENCE OF THE UNITED STATES RE8 PORT. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrative Office of the 

10 United States Courts, in consultation with the Judicial 

11 Conference of the United States, shall make publicly avail12 able on their website, free of charge, the biennial report 

13 entitled ‘‘Article III Judgeship Recommendations of the 

14 Judicial Conference of the United States’’. 

15 (b) CONTENTS.—The report described in subsection 

16 (a) should be released not less frequently than biennially 

17 and contain the summaries and all related appendixes sup18 porting the judgeship recommendations of the Judicial 

19 Conference of the United States, including— 

20 (1) the process used by the Judicial Conference 

21 in developing the recommendations; 

22 (2) any caseload and methodology changes; 

23 (3) judgeship surveys with recommendations; 

24 and 
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1 (4) specific information about each court for 

2 which the Judicial Conference recommends addi3 tional judgeships. 

4 (c) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—The Administrative 

5 Office of the United States Courts shall submit to the 

6 Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Com7 mittee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives 

8 copies of the report described in subsection (a). 

Passed the Senate August 1, 2024. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 
118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4199 

AN ACT 

To authorize additional district judges for the 

district courts and convert temporary judgeships.