II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2968 

To increase the number of judgeships for the United States Court of Appeals 

for the Ninth Circuit and certain district courts of the United States, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 7, 2021 

Mr. SULLIVAN (for himself, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. DAINES, and 

Mr. RISCH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To increase the number of judgeships for the United States 

Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and certain district courts of the United States, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Judicial Efficiency Im5 provement Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) FORMER NINTH CIRCUIT.—The term 

9 ‘‘former ninth circuit’’ means the ninth judicial cirVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:29 Oct 09, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2968.IS S2968

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1 cuit of the United States as in existence on the day 

2 before the effective date of this Act. 

3 (2) NEW NINTH CIRCUIT.—The term ‘‘new 

4 ninth circuit’’ means the ninth judicial circuit of the 

5 United States established by the amendment made 

6 by section 3(2)(A). 

7 (3) TWELFTH CIRCUIT.—The term ‘‘twelfth cir8 cuit’’ means the twelfth judicial circuit of the United 

9 States established by the amendment made by sec10 tion 3(2)(B). 

11 SEC. 3. NUMBER AND COMPOSITION OF CIRCUITS. 

12 Section 41 of title 28, United States Code, is amend13 ed— 

14 (1) in the matter preceding the table, by strik15 ing ‘‘thirteen’’ and inserting ‘‘fourteen’’; and 

16 (2) in the table— 

17 (A) by striking the item relating to the 

18 ninth circuit and inserting the following: 

‘‘Ninth ........................................... California, Guam, Hawaii, Northern 

Mariana Islands.’’; 

19 and 

20 (B) by inserting after the item relating to 

21 the eleventh circuit the following: 

‘‘Twelfth ........................................ Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. CIRCUIT COURT JUDGESHIPS. 

2 (a) NEW JUDGESHIPS.—The President shall appoint, 

3 by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 2 addi4 tional circuit judges for the new ninth circuit, whose offi5 cial duty station shall be in California. 

6 (b) TEMPORARY JUDGESHIPS.— 

7 (1) APPOINTMENT OF JUDGES.—The President 

8 shall appoint, by and with the advice and consent of 

9 the Senate, 2 additional circuit judges for the former 

10 ninth circuit, whose official duty station shall be in 

11 California. 

12 (2) EFFECT OF VACANCIES.—The first 2 vacan13 cies in the position of circuit judge for the new ninth 

14 circuit occurring 10 years or more after judges are 

15 first confirmed to fill both temporary circuit judge16 ships created by this subsection shall not be filled. 

17 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect 

18 on the date of enactment of this Act. 

19 SEC. 5. NUMBER OF CIRCUIT JUDGES. 

20 The table in section 44(a) of title 28, United States 

21 Code, is amended— 

22 (1) by striking the item relating to the ninth 

23 circuit and inserting the following: 

‘‘Ninth ..................................................................................................... 18’’; 

24 and 


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1 (2) by inserting after the item relating to the 

2 eleventh circuit the following: 

‘‘Twelfth .................................................................................................. 13’’. 

3 SEC. 6. PLACES OF CIRCUIT COURT. 

4 The table in section 48(a) of title 28, United States 

5 Code, is amended— 

6 (1) by striking the item relating to the ninth 

7 circuit and inserting the following: 

‘‘Ninth ........................................... Honolulu, Pasadena, San Francisco.’’; 

8 and 

9 (2) by inserting after the item relating to the 

10 eleventh circuit the following: 

‘‘Twelfth ........................................ Las Vegas, Phoenix, Portland, Seattle.’’. 

11 SEC. 7. LOCATION OF TWELFTH CIRCUIT HEADQUARTERS. 

12 The offices of the Circuit Executive of the Twelfth 

13 Circuit and the Clerk of the Court of the Twelfth Circuit 

14 shall be located in Seattle, Washington. 

15 SEC. 8. ASSIGNMENT OF CIRCUIT JUDGES. 

16 Each circuit judge of the former ninth circuit who 

17 is in regular active service and whose official duty station 

18 on the day before the effective date of this Act— 

19 (1) is in California, Guam, Hawaii, or the 

20 Northern Mariana Islands shall be a circuit judge of 

21 the new ninth circuit as of that effective date; and 


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1 (2) is in Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Ne2 vada, Oregon, or Washington shall be a circuit judge 

3 of the twelfth circuit as of that effective date. 

4 SEC. 9. ELECTION OF ASSIGNMENT BY SENIOR JUDGES. 

5 Each judge who is a senior circuit judge of the former 

6 ninth circuit on the day before the effective date of this 

7 Act— 

8 (1) may elect to be assigned to the new ninth 

9 circuit or the twelfth circuit as of that effective date; 

10 and 

11 (2) shall notify the Director of the Administra12 tive Office of the United States Courts of the elec13 tion made under paragraph (1). 

14 SEC. 10. SENIORITY OF JUDGES. 

15 The seniority of each judge who is assigned under 

16 section 8 or elects to be assigned under section 9 shall 

17 run from the date of commission of the judge as a judge 

18 of the former ninth circuit. 

19 SEC. 11. APPLICATION TO CASES. 

20 The following apply to any case in which, on the day 

21 before the effective date of this Act, an appeal or other 

22 proceeding has been filed with the former ninth circuit: 

23 (1) Except as provided in paragraph (3), if the 

24 matter has been submitted for decision, further pro25 ceedings with respect to the matter shall be had in 


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1 the same manner and with the same effect as if this 

2 Act had not been enacted. 

3 (2) If the matter has not been submitted for de4 cision, the appeal or proceeding, together with the 

5 original papers, printed records, and record entries 

6 duly certified, shall, by appropriate orders, be trans7 ferred to the court to which the matter would have 

8 been submitted had this Act been in full force and 

9 effect on the date on which the appeal was taken or 

10 other proceeding commenced, and further pro11 ceedings with respect to the case shall be had in the 

12 same manner and with the same effect as if the ap13 peal or other proceeding had been filed in that court. 

14 (3) If a petition for rehearing en banc is pend15 ing on or after the effective date of this Act, the pe16 tition shall be considered by the court of appeals to 

17 which the petition would have been submitted had 

18 this Act been in full force and effect on the date on 

19 which the appeal or other proceeding was filed with 

20 the court of appeals. 

21 SEC. 12. TEMPORARY ASSIGNMENT OF CIRCUIT JUDGES 

22 AMONG CIRCUITS. 

23 Section 291 of title 28, United States Code, is 

24 amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(c) The chief judge of the Ninth Circuit may, in the 

2 public interest and upon request by the chief judge of the 

3 Twelfth Circuit, designate and assign temporarily any cir4 cuit judge of the Ninth Circuit to act as circuit judge in 

5 the Twelfth Circuit. 

6 ‘‘(d) The chief judge of the Twelfth Circuit may, in 

7 the public interest and upon request by the chief judge 

8 of the Ninth Circuit, designate and assign temporarily any 

9 circuit judge of the Twelfth Circuit to act as circuit judge 

10 in the Ninth Circuit.’’. 

11 SEC. 13. TEMPORARY ASSIGNMENT OF DISTRICT JUDGES 

12 AMONG CIRCUITS. 

13 Section 292 of title 28, United States Code, is 

14 amended by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(f) The chief judge of the United States Court of 

16 Appeals for the Ninth Circuit may in the public interest— 

17 ‘‘(1) upon request by the chief judge of the 

18 Twelfth Circuit, designate and assign one or more 

19 district judges within the Ninth Circuit to sit upon 

20 the Court of Appeals of the Twelfth Circuit, or a di21 vision thereof, whenever the business of that court 

22 so requires; and 

23 ‘‘(2) designate and assign temporarily any dis24 trict judge within the Ninth Circuit to hold a district 

25 court in any district within the Twelfth Circuit. 


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1 ‘‘(g) The chief judge of the United States Court of 

2 Appeals for the Twelfth Circuit may in the public inter3 est— 

4 ‘‘(1) upon request by the chief judge of the 

5 Ninth Circuit, designate and assign one or more dis6 trict judges within the Twelfth Circuit to sit upon 

7 the Court of Appeals of the Ninth Circuit, or a divi8 sion thereof, whenever the business of that court so 

9 requires; and 

10 ‘‘(2) designate and assign temporarily any dis11 trict judge within the Twelfth Circuit to hold a dis12 trict court in any district within the Ninth Circuit. 

13 ‘‘(h) Any designation or assignment under subsection 

14 (f) or (g) shall be in conformity with the rules or orders 

15 of the court of appeals of, or the district within, as applica16 ble, the circuit to which the judge is designated or as17 signed.’’. 

18 SEC. 14. DISTRICT JUDGES FOR THE DISTRICT COURTS. 

19 (a) ADDITIONAL JUDGESHIPS.—The President shall 

20 appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Sen21 ate— 

22 (1) 4 additional district judges for the district 

23 of Arizona; 

24 (2) 15 additional district judges for the central 

25 district of California; 


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1 (3) 4 additional district judges for the eastern 

2 district of California; 

3 (4) 5 additional district judges for the northern 

4 district of California; 

5 (5) 6 additional district judges for the southern 

6 district of California; 

7 (6) 2 additional district judges for the district 

8 of Colorado; 

9 (7) 2 additional district judges for the district 

10 of Delaware; 

11 (8) 7 additional district judges for the middle 

12 district of Florida; 

13 (9) 1 additional district judge for the northern 

14 district of Florida; 

15 (10) 3 additional district judges for the south16 ern district of Florida; 

17 (11) 2 additional district judges for the north18 ern district of Georgia; 

19 (12) 1 additional district judge for the district 

20 of Idaho; 

21 (13) 2 additional district judges for the south22 ern district of Indiana; 

23 (14) 1 additional district judge for the district 

24 of Iowa; 


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1 (15) 5 additional district judges for the district 

2 of New Jersey; 

3 (16) 1 additional district judge for the district 

4 of New Mexico; 

5 (17) 2 additional district judges for the eastern 

6 district of New York; 

7 (18) 1 additional district judge for the southern 

8 district of New York; 

9 (19) 1 additional district judge for the western 

10 district of New York; 

11 (20) 2 additional district judges for the eastern 

12 district of Texas; 

13 (21) 4 additional district judges for the south14 ern district of Texas; and 

15 (22) 6 additional district judges for the western 

16 district of Texas. 

17 (b) CONVERSION OF TEMPORARY JUDGESHIPS.—The 

18 existing judgeships for the district of Kansas and the east19 ern district of Missouri authorized by section 203(c) of 

20 the Judicial Improvements Act of 1990 (Public Law 101– 

21 650; 28 U.S.C. 133 note) and the existing judgeships for 

22 the district of Arizona, the central district of California, 

23 the southern district of Florida, the eastern district of 

24 Missouri, the district of New Mexico, the western district 

25 of North Carolina, and the eastern district of Texas auVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:29 Oct 09, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2968.IS S2968

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1 thorized by section 312(c) of the 21st Century Depart2 ment of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act (Public 

3 Law 107–273, 28 U.S.C. 133 note), as of the date of en4 actment of this Act, shall be authorized under section 133 

5 of title 28, United States Code, and the incumbents in 

6 those offices shall hold the office under section 133 of title 

7 28, United States Code, as amended by this Act. 

8 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

9 The table contained in section 133(a) of title 28, United 

10 States Code, is amended— 

11 (1) by striking the item relating to the district 

12 of Arizona and inserting the following: 

‘‘Arizona ................................................................. 17’’; 

13 (2) by striking the items relating to California 

14 and inserting the following: 

‘‘California: 

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

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

Central .................................................................... 43 

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

15 (3) by striking the item relating to the district 

16 of Colorado and inserting the following: 

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

17 (4) by striking the item relating to the district 

18 of Delaware and inserting the following: 

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


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1 (5) by striking the items relating to Florida and 

2 inserting the following: 

‘‘Florida: 

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

Middle ..................................................................... 22 

Southern ................................................................. 21’’; 

3 (6) by striking the items relating to Georgia 

4 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Georgia: 

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

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

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

5 (7) by striking the item relating to Idaho and 

6 inserting the following: 

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

7 (8) by striking the items relating to Indiana 

8 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Indiana: 

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

Southern ................................................................. 7’’; 

9 (9) by striking the item relating to New Jersey 

10 and inserting the following: 

‘‘New Jersey ........................................................... 22’’; 

11 (10) by striking the item relating to New Mex12 ico and inserting the following: 

‘‘New Mexico .......................................................... 9’’; 

13 (11) by striking the items relating to New York 

14 and inserting the following: 

‘‘New York: 

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


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

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

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

1 (12) by striking the items relating to North 

2 Carolina and inserting the following: 

‘‘North Carolina: 

Eastern ................................................................... 4 

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

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

3 and 

4 (13) by striking the items relating to Texas and 

5 inserting the following: 

‘‘Texas: 

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

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

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

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

6 SEC. 15. ADMINISTRATION. 

7 (a) TRANSITION AUTHORITY.—The court of appeals 

8 for the ninth circuit as constituted on the day before the 

9 effective date of this Act may take any administrative ac10 tion that is required to carry out this Act and the amend11 ments made by this Act. 

12 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE TERMINATION.—The court de13 scribed in subsection (a) shall cease to exist for adminis14 trative purposes 2 years after the date of enactment of 

15 this Act. 


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1 SEC. 16. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

3 as may be necessary to carry out this Act, including funds 

4 for additional court facilities. 

5 SEC. 17. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

6 Except as provided in section 4(c), this Act and the 

7 amendments made by this Act shall take effect 1 year 

8 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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