Findings

Congress finds the following: (1) The Federal district court for the eastern district of California is the Federal trial court for 34 counties, including five of the fastest-growing cities in the State of California, serving a population of approximately 8,400,000. (2) The Federal district court for the eastern district of California is one of the largest judicial districts in the country, with approximately 8,400,000 residents and over 87,000 square miles of land. Yet, there are only six permanent judgeships, with one upcoming vacancy pending a nomination elevating a sitting district judge. (3) Based on the 2019 U.S. census data, the ratio of authorized district judgeships to population was 1:1,362,552. The central district of California has the next highest ratio in the State, nearly half the size, with 1:694,323. (4) As of June 2022, the total pending cases per judgeship in the Federal district court for the eastern district of California was 1,308, over 2.6 times larger than the average for all districts within the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Pending caseloads remain high, and if a new vacancy opens upon the elevation of the district judge, caseloads will once again reach this unsustainable level.