I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 409
To amend title 28, United States Code, to divide New Jersey into 2 judicial
districts.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 6, 2001
Mr. ANDREWS (for himself, Mr. SAXTON, and Mr. LOBIONDO) 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
into 2 judicial districts.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) In 1978, the Judicial Conference of the
United States established a procedure for creating
new Federal judicial districts, which is still in force.
According to the ‘‘Proceedings of the Judicial Con-
ference, September 21–22, 1978’’, this procedure re-
quires that 4 principal criteria be taken into consid-
(5) The criterion of ‘‘judicial administration’’ is
found to include the backlog of pending cases in a
Federal judicial district, which hinders the effective
resolution of pending business before the court.
(6)(A) The size of the backlog of pending cases
concentrated in the 13 southern counties of New
Jersey requires the creation of a separate judicial
district.
(B) In fiscal year 1999, the pending criminal
cases attributed to the 13 southern New Jersey
counties exceeded that of 62 of the current 93 Fed-
eral judicial districts other than the District of New
Jersey. Only 31 of the other current Federal judicial
districts had more pending criminal cases than the
southern region of New Jersey.
(C) In fiscal year 1999, the pending civil cases
attributed to the 13 southern New Jersey counties
exceeded that of 66 of the current 93 Federal judi-
cial districts other than the District of New Jersey.
Only 27 of the other current Federal judicial dis-
tricts had more pending civil cases than the south-
ern region of New Jersey.
(D) The number of pending cases in the Cam-
den vicinage of New Jersey exceeds the number of
cases pending before entire judicial districts with
similar numbers of judges, clearly indicating that
southern New Jersey merits a separate Federal judi-
cial district. For example, as of October 1, 1999,
there were 1,431 civil cases pending before the Cam-
den vicinage, and only 113 of those were commenced
in fiscal year 1999. The Western District of Ten-
nessee, with 6 judges, had only 1,079 civil cases
pending in fiscal year 1999. The Western District of
Oklahoma had only 1,356 civil cases pending in fis-
cal year 1999 before 9 judges. Finally, there are 161
criminal cases pending before the Camden vicinage,
while the entire Southern District of Indiana, with
7 judges, had only 117 criminal cases pending in fis-
cal year 1999.
(7) The criterion of ‘‘geography’’ is found to
mean the accessibility of the central administration
of the Federal judicial district to officers of the
court, parties with business before the court, and
other citizens living within the Federal judicial dis-
trict.
(8)(A) The distance between the northern and
southern regions of New Jersey and the density of
New Jersey’s population create a substantial barrier
to the efficient administration of justice.
(B) The distance from Newark, New Jersey to
Camden, New Jersey is more than 85 miles.
(C) When a new Federal court district was cre-
ated in Louisiana in 1971, the distance between
New Orleans and Baton Rouge (nearly 80 miles)
was cited as a major factor in creating a new district
court, as travel difficulties were impeding the timely
administration of justice.
(9) The criterion of ‘‘community convenience’’
is found to mean the extent to which creating a new
Federal judicial district will allow the court to better
serve the population and diverse communities of the
area.
(10)(A) New Jersey’s culturally and regionally
diverse population of over 8,000,000 citizens, widely
distributed across a densely populated State, is in-
convenienced by having only 1 judicial district.
(B) The District of New Jersey is the third
most populous Federal judicial district in the United
States.
(C) The population of the 13 southern New
Jersey counties exceeds the population of 67 of the
current 93 Federal judicial districts other than the
District of New Jersey. The population of the 8
northern New Jersey counties (consisting of Bergen,
Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Morris, Passaic, Sussex,
and Union) exceeds the population of 73 of the cur-
rent 93 Federal judicial districts other than the Dis-
trict of New Jersey.
(D) Of the 25 States that have only a single
Federal judicial district (including Puerto Rico, the
United States territories, and the District of Colum-
bia), New Jersey has the highest population.
(E) More than a dozen States have smaller pop-
ulations than New Jersey, yet they have multiple
Federal judicial districts, including Washington,
Oklahoma, Iowa, Georgia, West Virginia, and Mis-
souri.
(11) In evaluating the creation of a new South-
ern District of New Jersey, the Judicial Conference
should seek the views of the chief judge of the af-
fected district, the judicial council for the affected
circuit court, and the affected United States Attor-
ney as representative of the views of the Department
of Justice, as required in the procedure established
by the ‘‘Proceedings of the Judicial Conference, Sep-
tember 21–22, 1978’’.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF 2 DISTRICTS IN NEW JERSEY.
(a) CREATION.—Section 110 of title 28, United
States Code, is amended to read as follows:
‘‘§ 110. New Jersey
‘‘New Jersey is divided into 2 judicial districts to be
known as the Northern and Southern Districts of New
Jersey.
‘‘Northern District
‘‘(a) The Northern District comprises the counties of
Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Morris, Passaic, Sus-
sex, and Union.
‘‘Court for the Northern District shall be held at Newark.
‘‘Southern District
‘‘(b) The Southern District comprises the counties of
Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland,
Gloucester, Hunterdon, Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean,
Salem, Somerset, and Warren.
‘‘Court for the Southern District shall be held at Camden
and Trenton.’’.
(b) JUDGESHIPS.—The item relating to New Jersey
in the table set forth in section 133(a) of title 28, United
States Code, is amended to read as follows:
‘‘New Jersey:
‘‘Northern ..........................................................................................
‘‘Southern ...........................................................................................
7’’.
(c) BANKRUPTCY JUDGESHIPS.—The item relating to
New Jersey in the table set forth in section 152(a)(1) of
title 28, United States Code, is amended to read as fol-