Judicial Efficiency Improvement Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 722 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 MARCH 7, 2019 Mr. SULLIVAN (for himself, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. DAINES, and Ms. MCSALLY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and re- ferred 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 dis- trict courts of the United States, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Judicial Efficiency Im- 4 provement Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 (1) FORMER NINTH CIRCUIT.—The term 8 ‘‘former ninth circuit’’ means the ninth judicial cir- 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:49 Mar 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S722.IS S722 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 722 IS cuit of the United States as in existence on the day 1 before the effective date of this Act. 2 (2) NEW NINTH CIRCUIT.—The term ‘‘new 3 ninth circuit’’ means the ninth judicial circuit of the 4 United States established by the amendment made 5 by section 3(2)(A). 6 (3) TWELFTH CIRCUIT.—The term ‘‘twelfth cir- 7 cuit’’ means the twelfth judicial circuit of the United 8 States established by the amendment made by sec- 9 tion 3(2)(B). 10 SEC. 3. NUMBER AND COMPOSITION OF CIRCUITS. 11 Section 41 of title 28, United States Code, is amend- 12 ed— 13 (1) in the matter preceding the table, by strik- 14 ing ‘‘thirteen’’ and inserting ‘‘fourteen’’; and 15 (2) in the table— 16 (A) by striking the item relating to the 17 ninth circuit and inserting the following: 18 ‘‘Ninth ........................................... California, Guam, Hawaii, Northern Mariana Islands.’’; and 19 (B) by inserting after the item relating to 20 the eleventh circuit the following: 21 ‘‘Twelfth ........................................ Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Ne- vada, Oregon, Washington.’’. VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:49 Mar 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S722.IS S722 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 722 IS SEC. 4. CIRCUIT COURT JUDGESHIPS. 1 (a) NEW JUDGESHIPS.—The President shall appoint, 2 by and with the advice and consent of the Senate— 3 (1) 4 additional circuit judges for the new ninth 4 circuit, whose official duty station shall be in Cali- 5 fornia; and 6 (2) 1 additional circuit judge for the twelfth cir- 7 cuit, whose official duty station shall be in Idaho. 8 (b) TEMPORARY JUDGESHIPS.— 9 (1) APPOINTMENT OF JUDGES.—The President 10 shall appoint, by and with the advice and consent of 11 the Senate, 2 additional circuit judges for the former 12 ninth circuit, whose official duty station shall be in 13 California. 14 (2) EFFECT OF VACANCIES.—The first 2 vacan- 15 cies in the position of circuit judge for the new ninth 16 circuit occurring 10 years or more after judges are 17 first confirmed to fill both temporary circuit judge- 18 ships created by this subsection shall not be filled. 19 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect 20 on the date of enactment of this Act. 21 SEC. 5. NUMBER OF CIRCUIT JUDGES. 22 The table in section 44(a) of title 28, United States 23 Code, is amended— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:49 Mar 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S722.IS S722 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 722 IS (1) by striking the item relating to the ninth 1 circuit and inserting the following: 2 ‘‘Ninth ..................................................................................................... 20’’; and 3 (2) by inserting after the item relating to the 4 eleventh circuit the following: 5 ‘‘Twelfth .................................................................................................. 14’’. SEC. 6. PLACES OF CIRCUIT COURT. 6 The table in section 48(a) of title 28, United States 7 Code, is amended— 8 (1) by striking the item relating to the ninth 9 circuit and inserting the following: 10 ‘‘Ninth ........................................... Honolulu, Pasadena, San Fran- cisco.’’; and 11 (2) by inserting after the item relating to the 12 eleventh circuit the following: 13 ‘‘Twelfth ........................................ Las Vegas, Phoenix, Portland, Se- attle.’’. SEC. 7. LOCATION OF TWELFTH CIRCUIT HEADQUARTERS. 14 The offices of the Circuit Executive of the Twelfth 15 Circuit and the Clerk of the Court of the Twelfth Circuit 16 shall be located in Seattle, Washington. 17 SEC. 8. ASSIGNMENT OF CIRCUIT JUDGES. 18 Each circuit judge of the former ninth circuit who 19 is in regular active service and whose official duty station 20 on the day before the effective date of this Act— 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:49 Mar 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S722.IS S722 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 722 IS (1) is in California, Guam, Hawaii, or the 1 Northern Mariana Islands shall be a circuit judge of 2 the new ninth circuit as of that effective date; and 3 (2) is in Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Ne- 4 vada, Oregon, or Washington shall be a circuit judge 5 of the twelfth circuit as of that effective date. 6 SEC. 9. ELECTION OF ASSIGNMENT BY SENIOR JUDGES. 7 Each judge who is a senior circuit judge of the former 8 ninth circuit on the day before the effective date of this 9 Act— 10 (1) may elect to be assigned to the new ninth 11 circuit or the twelfth circuit as of that effective date; 12 and 13 (2) shall notify the Director of the Administra- 14 tive Office of the United States Courts of the elec- 15 tion made under paragraph (1). 16 SEC. 10. SENIORITY OF JUDGES. 17 The seniority of each judge who is assigned under 18 section 8 or elects to be assigned under section 9 shall 19 run from the date of commission of the judge as a judge 20 of the former ninth circuit. 21 SEC. 11. APPLICATION TO CASES. 22 The following apply to any case in which, on the day 23 before the effective date of this Act, an appeal or other 24 proceeding has been filed with the former ninth circuit: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:49 Mar 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S722.IS S722 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 722 IS (1) Except as provided in paragraph (3), if the 1 matter has been submitted for decision, further pro- 2 ceedings with respect to the matter shall be had in 3 the same manner and with the same effect as if this 4 Act had not been enacted. 5 (2) If the matter has not been submitted for de- 6 cision, the appeal or proceeding, together with the 7 original papers, printed records, and record entries 8 duly certified, shall, by appropriate orders, be trans- 9 ferred to the court to which the matter would have 10 been submitted had this Act been in full force and 11 effect on the date on which the appeal was taken or 12 other proceeding commenced, and further pro- 13 ceedings with respect to the case shall be had in the 14 same manner and with the same effect as if the ap- 15 peal or other proceeding had been filed in that court. 16 (3) If a petition for rehearing en banc is pend- 17 ing on or after the effective date of this Act, the pe- 18 tition shall be considered by the court of appeals to 19 which the petition would have been submitted had 20 this Act been in full force and effect on the date on 21 which the appeal or other proceeding was filed with 22 the court of appeals. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:49 Mar 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S722.IS S722 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 722 IS SEC. 12. TEMPORARY ASSIGNMENT OF CIRCUIT JUDGES 1 AMONG CIRCUITS. 2 Section 291 of title 28, United States Code, is 3 amended by adding at the end the following: 4 ‘‘(c) The chief judge of the Ninth Circuit may, in the 5 public interest and upon request by the chief judge of the 6 Twelfth Circuit, designate and assign temporarily any cir- 7 cuit judge of the Ninth Circuit to act as circuit judge in 8 the Twelfth Circuit. 9 ‘‘(d) The chief judge of the Twelfth Circuit may, in 10 the public interest and upon request by the chief judge 11 of the Ninth Circuit, designate and assign temporarily any 12 circuit judge of the Twelfth Circuit to act as circuit judge 13 in the Ninth Circuit.’’. 14 SEC. 13. TEMPORARY ASSIGNMENT OF DISTRICT JUDGES 15 AMONG CIRCUITS. 16 Section 292 of title 28, United States Code, is 17 amended by adding at the end the following: 18 ‘‘(f) The chief judge of the United States Court of 19 Appeals for the Ninth Circuit may in the public interest— 20 ‘‘(1) upon request by the chief judge of the 21 Twelfth Circuit, designate and assign one or more 22 district judges within the Ninth Circuit to sit upon 23 the Court of Appeals of the Twelfth Circuit, or a di- 24 vision thereof, whenever the business of that court 25 so requires; and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:49 Mar 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S722.IS S722 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 722 IS ‘‘(2) designate and assign temporarily any dis- 1 trict judge within the Ninth Circuit to hold a district 2 court in any district within the Twelfth Circuit. 3 ‘‘(g) The chief judge of the United States Court of 4 Appeals for the Twelfth Circuit may in the public inter- 5 est— 6 ‘‘(1) upon request by the chief judge of the 7 Ninth Circuit, designate and assign one or more dis- 8 trict judges within the Twelfth Circuit to sit upon 9 the Court of Appeals of the Ninth Circuit, or a divi- 10 sion thereof, whenever the business of that court so 11 requires; and 12 ‘‘(2) designate and assign temporarily any dis- 13 trict judge within the Twelfth Circuit to hold a dis- 14 trict court in any district within the Ninth Circuit. 15 ‘‘(h) Any designation or assignment under subsection 16 (f) or (g) shall be in conformity with the rules or orders 17 of the court of appeals of, or the district within, as applica- 18 ble, the circuit to which the judge is designated or as- 19 signed.’’. 20 SEC. 14. DISTRICT JUDGES FOR THE DISTRICT COURTS. 21 (a) ADDITIONAL JUDGESHIPS.—The President shall 22 appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Sen- 23 ate— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:49 Mar 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S722.IS S722 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 722 IS (1) 4 additional district judges for the district 1 of Arizona; 2 (2) 7 additional district judges for the central 3 district of California; 4 (3) 5 additional district judges for the eastern 5 district of California; 6 (4) 2 additional district judges for the northern 7 district of California; 8 (5) 3 additional district judges for the southern 9 district of California; 10 (6) 1 additional district judge for the district of 11 Colorado; 12 (7) 1 additional district judge for the district of 13 Delaware; 14 (8) 6 additional district judges for the middle 15 district of Florida; 16 (9) 1 additional district judge for the northern 17 district of Florida; 18 (10) 3 additional district judges for the south- 19 ern district of Florida; 20 (11) 1 additional district judge for the northern 21 district of Georgia; 22 (12) 1 additional district judge for the district 23 of Idaho; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:49 Mar 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S722.IS S722 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 722 IS (13) 1 additional district judge for the southern 1 district of Indiana; 2 (14) 1 additional district judge for the district 3 of Minnesota; 4 (15) 1 additional district judge for the district 5 of Nevada; 6 (16) 3 additional district judges for the district 7 of New Jersey; 8 (17) 2 additional district judges for the district 9 of New Mexico; 10 (18) 2 additional district judges for the eastern 11 district of New York; 12 (19) 1 additional district judge for the southern 13 district of New York; 14 (20) 1 additional district judge for the western 15 district of New York; 16 (21) 1 additional district judge for the district 17 of Puerto Rico; 18 (22) 2 additional district judges for the eastern 19 district of Texas; 20 (23) 2 additional district judges for the south- 21 ern district of Texas; and 22 (24) 4 additional district judges for the western 23 district of Texas. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:49 Mar 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S722.IS S722 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 722 IS (b) CONVERSION OF TEMPORARY JUDGESHIPS.—The 1 existing judgeships for the district of Kansas and the east- 2 ern district of Missouri authorized by section 203(c) of 3 the Judicial Improvements Act of 1990 (Public Law 101– 4 650; 28 U.S.C. 133 note) and the existing judgeships for 5 the district of Arizona, the central district of California, 6 the southern district of Florida, the district of New Mex- 7 ico, the western district of North Carolina, and the eastern 8 district of Texas authorized by section 312(c) of the 21st 9 Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authoriza- 10 tion Act (Public Law 107–273, 28 U.S.C. 133 note), as 11 of the date of enactment of this Act, shall be authorized 12 under section 133 of title 28, United States Code, and 13 the incumbents in those offices shall hold the office under 14 section 133 of title 28, United States Code, as amended 15 by this Act. 16 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 17 The table contained in section 133(a) of title 28, United 18 States Code, is amended— 19 (1) by striking the item relating to the district 20 of Arizona and inserting the following: 21 ‘‘Arizona ................................................................. 17’’; (2) by striking the items relating to California 22 and inserting the following: 23 ‘‘California: Northern ................................................................. 16 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:49 Mar 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S722.IS S722 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 722 IS Eastern ................................................................... 11 Central .................................................................... 35 Southern ................................................................. 16’’; (3) by striking the item relating to the district 1 of Colorado and inserting the following: 2 ‘‘Colorado ............................................................... 8’’; (4) by striking the item relating to the district 3 of Delaware and inserting the following: 4 ‘‘Delaware ................................ 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