{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://maloy.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1308", "Rep. Maloy Sponsors Bill Increasing Access to Court in Moab and Monticello", "2024-09-17", "2024", "2024-09", "Republican", "House", "UT", "Celeste Maloy", "M001228", "maloy.house.gov", "maloy", "https://maloy.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx?DocumentTypeID=27", "scraper", "Rep. Celeste Maloy (UT-02) and colleagues introduced the Judicial Understaffing Delays Getting Emergencies Solved Act of 2024 (JUDGES Act), which included Rep. Maloy\u2019s bill \u2013 HR 8666 \u2013 to authorize additional federal case locations in Utah.\n\n\u201cUtahns raised concerns with me about the distance they have to travel to get to court or participate on a jury. That\u2019s why I worked to ensure the Judges Act includes a provision allowing court to be held in Moab and Monticello, Utah. This is representative government in action,\u201d said Rep. Maloy.\n\nThe Judicial Conference of the United States wrote in support of HR 8666 here.\n\nThe Judges Act will also add critically needed federal judgeships to resolve currently understaffed and backlogged courts.\n\n\u201cA severe shortage of judges eventually delivers an array of complications to our courts \u2013 and over time, the problem only grows worse until justice is routinely delayed and therefore denied,\u201d said Rep. Issa, Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet. \u201cThe JUDGES Act will deliver immediate relief, a longer-term solution, and a sustainable plan that will prevent this crisis from happening again.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo ensure the orderly administration of justice, Congress must pass the bipartisan JUDGES Act,\u201d said Congressman Nehls. \u201cOur federal district courts are experiencing severe judicial shortages, causing many Americans, including Texans, to be denied access to our nation\u2019s justice system due to an increase in population and a rise in federal case filings. This is unacceptable. As of March 2023, the Texas federal district court system has a backlog of 14,501 civil cases and 16,436 criminal cases. The bipartisan JUDGES Act would authorize additional federal courtroom locations and judgeships in several states across the country, including Texas, to address this inefficiency.\u201d\n\nThis legislation is co-led by Representatives Nehls, Nadler, and Johnson. Additional original cosponsors include Representatives Lee, Bacon, Van Drew, Valadao, Maloy, Hinson, Kim, LaLota, Owens, and Weber.\n\nThe JUDGES Act will:\n\nAuthorize additional federal case locations in Utah, Texas, and California.\n\nCreate 63 permanent judgeships in six phases from 2025-2035\n\nAdd three temporary district court judgeships in Oklahoma\n\nTask GAO with evaluating the efficiency of federal courts and assessing detention space needs\n\nRequire the Judicial Conference to publicly release its judicial seat recommendations and methodology", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:43:57Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://maloy.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1308"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7701120339334011, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}