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Law360 (May 6, 2020, 4:52 PM EDT) -- Federal courts are asking Congress for $36.6 million in additional funding to pay for more judgeships and to enhance courtroom safety measures and teleworking infrastructure to handle the anticipated backlog of cases building up due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, which oversees the operation of the federal court system, made the request to lawmakers in an April 28 letter that was released publicly Tuesday. The agency said federal courts need funding and human resources to address immediate and recovery needs as the pandemic, which has disrupted court proceedings and courtroom operations nationwide, stretched into a third month.
Following the outbreak, Congress included $7.5 million for the judiciary in the $2 trillion COVID-19 relief package President Donald Trump signed into law in late March. According to last week's request, the judiciary has identified a need for $64.1 million but noted it can offset $27.5 million of that amount with existing balances and projected savings as a result of canceled travel and conferences due to the pandemic.
The funding request includes $15.1 million for enhanced cleaning of courthouses and court facilities, $15 million for eight weeks of health screening at courthouse entrances and $11.2 million to boost the judiciary's national information technology infrastructure due to the increased demand in expanded telework and videoconferencing.
The letter also includes a $9.4 million request for federal defender organizations that provide legal representation and other services for indigent defendants in criminal and related matters in federal courts.
The judiciary's proposal wants to add seven new district judges to courts "that are in extreme need." Those are the Eastern District of California, Southern District of Florida, Western District of Texas and Southern District of Indiana, and the Districts of Arizona, Delaware and New Jersey.
"It has been decades since the judiciary's judgeships needs were comprehensively addressed by Congress, and the pandemic has further highlighted the strain many courts are experiencing due to overwhelming caseloads and an inadequate number of judges," the proposal says.
The judiciary specifically noted that the Eastern District of California and the District of Arizona have both declared judicial emergencies in the wake of COVID-19 and said their calendars "are so congested that they are unable to meet certain statutory time limits to hear cases."
The letter added that 14 temporary bankruptcy judgeships in the Eastern District of Michigan, Middle District of Florida, Southern District of Florida and the Districts of Delaware, Puerto Rico and Maryland should be converted to permanent status. According to the proposal, those temporary judgeships have expired or are due to expire in 2022 or 2024.
The judiciary wrote that the economic impact of COVID-19 "in some respects exceeds" that of the 2008 recession and that there will likely be a significant increase in bankruptcy reorganization cases, particularly in Delaware, that require extensive judicial resources.
The judiciary's letter was addressed to House Appropriations Committee Chair Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., and ranking member Kay Granger, R-Texas, and Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government Chair Mike Quigley, D-Ill., and ranking member Tom Graves, R-Ga. Their offices did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
--Editing by Stephen Berg.
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