U.S. Reps. Russ Fulcher (R-ID) and Mike Simpson (R-ID) are introducing a bill they say will "address the federal judicial crisis in Idaho."
A statement from Fulcher's office says that Idaho has had two federal district judges since 1954, at which point the state had 600,000 residents. Now, the state still has two federal district judges and the population has grown to 1.7 million. Respectively, the caseload of the federal courts has also increased.
Simpson said in the statement that Idaho is one of three states in the U.S. with two federal judges spanning the entire state.
“This means our federal judges have an extraordinary caseload and a high number of weighted filings per judgeship," Simpson said. "As we all know, justice delayed is justice denied, and it is beyond time to authorize another judgeship for Idaho.”
The statement also explains that the Judicial Conference of the United States, a nonpartisan group that outlines policy guidelines regarding U.S. judicial courts, has routinely reminded Congress since 2003 that Idaho should have an additional judge to account for growing population.
The bill, which was introduced to the House on Jan. 3, is going to the House Judiciary Committee for review.
Author: Meg Maclean
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Permalink: https://fulcher.house.gov/2019/1/kxly