Senators Roberts and Brownback Applaud Senate Passage of Bill to Extend Temporary Judgeship for Kansas District Court

Press Release

U.S. Senators Pat Roberts and Sam Brownback (R-KS) today applauded the Senate passage of a bill to extend certain temporary federal district court judgeships, including a judgeship in Kansas. Senators Brownback and Roberts co-sponsored this important legislation to help ease the caseload of federal district courts in Kansas and across the nation.

The judgeships bill, introduced by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of 10 other senators, will extend the temporary judgeship in Kansas and judgeships in two other states, and creates two additional judgeships.

Without any congressional action, Kansas' temporary judgeship could expire as early as March 2008 upon the retirement or death of an active status judge. If the temporary judgeship is not extended, the criminal felony caseload per judgeship in Kansas will be 106, well above the national average of 87 per judgeship. The total caseload for the district of Kansas has increased by 7.5 percent since 2000.

"In order to keep our courts running smoothly with manageable caseloads, and to keep criminals off the streets, we need this extension," Senator Roberts said.

Senator Brownback said, "This extension is essential for Kansas. The federal caseload in Kansas has significantly increased over the past six years, and the court's number of trials completed is 74 percent above the national average. Extending Kansas's temporary judgeship will help assure that the citizens of our state receive fair and timely access to the federal courts."

Extending the temporary judgeship ensures that another judge may be appointed upon the death or retirement of one of Kansas' six active judges. In addition to the temporary judgeship, the Wichita division of the District of Kansas consists of one active judge and a senior status judge.

Senator Brownback is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

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