Statement of Judge Robert J. Conrad, Jr., Director of the AO, Regarding Veto of the JUDGES Act

Judge Robert J. Conrad, Jr., the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, issued the following statement regarding the President’s veto of S. 4199, the Judicial Understaffing Delays Getting Emergencies Solved (JUDGES) Act:

“The President’s veto of the JUDGES Act is extremely disappointing. Providing additional judgeships is essential to improving access to the courts and necessary for the efficient and effective administration of justice, as the Judiciary stated in a recent letter to the President (PDF) addressing issues raised by the Administration in objection to the bill. The judgeship legislation presented to the President reflects decades of work by the federal Judiciary and is very similar to legislation introduced in the last Congress. It is not a bill that was hastily put together. Rather it is the product of careful and detailed analysis which considers primarily the weighted caseload per active judge in each judicial district, while also factoring in the contribution of senior judges, magistrate judges and visiting judges. 

“This veto is a deviation from the long historical pattern of approving judgeship bills that awarded new judgeships to sitting Presidents. The President’s veto is contrary to the actions of Senator Biden who helped pass many of those bills. 

“It is regrettable that the Administration failed to support the federal Judiciary, and rejected this bipartisan, bicameral and interbranch agreement (PDF). The President’s veto will contribute to the pattern of growing caseloads and increasing backlogs that hurt litigants and weakens public confidence in our courts. We appreciate the support of Congress and look forward to working with them to enact essential judgeship legislation.”