Judge Robert Conrad Jr. said extra judgeships are needed under the weight of increasing caseloads.
President Joe Biden has been criticized by judicial leaders for vetoing a bill that would have added more judges to the federal bench amid a heavy volume of pending cases.
Biden on Dec. 23 vetoed the Judicial Understaffing Delays Getting Emergencies Solved Act of 2024, or JUDGES Act, which would have added 66 new district court judgeships nationwide.
Judge Robert Conrad Jr., the director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, said Biden’s decision was disappointing.
“Providing additional judgeships is essential to improving access to the courts and necessary for the efficient and effective administration of justice,” he said in a Dec. 24 statement.
Biden cited numerous reasons for declining to sign the bill into law, which passed the Senate in August and the House this month.
Biden said in a statement that the legislation “seeks to hastily add judgeships with just a few weeks left” in the current 119th Congress. The White House had previously warned that Biden would veto the bill before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
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