Judiciary leaders ask Congress to create new judgeships after Biden vetoed bill

The country’s leading federal judicial policymaking body urged Congress on Tuesday to approve 71 new lower court judgeships to ease mounting caseloads, which renewed a bipartisan push for additional seats after former President Joe Biden vetoed a similar effort last year.

The Judicial Conference of the United States, which develops policy for the federal courts, recommended that lawmakers create two new seats on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit and 69 additional district court judgeships. The request follows a 30% increase in district court filings since 1990, while the number of authorized judgeships has risen by only 4% in the same period, according to a press release.