Sen. Ossoff-Backed Bipartisan Bill to Add New Judges to Northern District of Georgia, Reduce Wait Times Passes U.S. Senate

Atlanta, Ga. - Bipartisan legislation backed by U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff to help reduce Federal court wait times has passed the U.S. Senate.

The bipartisan Judicial Understaffing Delays Getting Emergencies Solved (JUDGES) Act recently passed the U.S. Senate to add new Judgeships in Georgia and across the country, which would help reduce case backlogs, prosecute dangerous criminals, and secure justice for innocent Georgians.

Under the bipartisan JUDGES Act, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia would see two new Judgeships added in 2027 and 2033, which has courthouses in Atlanta, Gainesville, Newnan and Rome.

As of December 2023, the Northern District of Georgia had 637 weighted filings per judgeship, an increase of 99 from the prior year.

These new judgeships were requested by the Judicial Conference, the national policymaking body of the judiciary headed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the Chief Judges from the Courts of Appeals, based on its analysis of the case burdens carried by the 94 district courts nationwide.

"The shortage of Federal judges serving Georgians can mean justice delayed or justice denied," Sen. Ossoff said. "That's why we've now passed this bipartisan bill through the Senate to add two more Federal judge positions in the Northern District of Georgia. We must ensure Georgians have timely access to our court system."

Congress has not created a new district court judgeship in any state since 2003 and has not passed comprehensive legislation to create new judgeships since 1990.

Since 1990, district court filings have increased by 30%.

In 2022, the average number of filings per judgeship (weighted to account for the different amounts of time needed to resolve different types of filings) was over 500 in 17 of the 94 U.S. district courts, although the Judicial Conference recommends each judgeship have an average number of 430 weighted filings.

Click here to read the Judicial Understaffing Delays Getting Emergencies Solved (JUDGES) Act.

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