Chuck Schumer plugs the idea of adding more seats to federal courts (district and appeals courts).

On Maddow:

It's a good time to do this.

The Judicial Conference (nonpartisan, oversees U.S. courts) recommended last year that Congress create 5 new judgeships on the 9th circuit + 65 new judgeships on district courts. They need help with caseloads.

Congress hasn't passed a major judgeship bill since 1990.

Since then, case filings in appeals courts grew by 15% by the end of 2018, according to the Judicial Conference. In district courts, case filings had gone up by 39%.

So what? Judges slammed with caseloads should just make it work, right?

Well, we don't want that. For some federal judges, it's leading to serious burnout, exasperation with Congress and severe delays in average Americans getting justice. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/judge-federal-courts-vacancies_n_55d77721e4b0a40aa3aaf14b

Some examples of what these delays can look like:

In a civil case, if you sue your employer for discrimination, you may have to wait years to go before a judge.

In a criminal case, a defendant may finish their jail term before their case is even resolved.

It's tough to find a federal judge who talk about this on record, or at all. I found a few in 2015.

Here's U.S. district judge Kimberly Mueller, who loves her job, but... “It’s not the pinnacle of justice for me to have 1,000 cases. Or for the litigants.” https://www.huffpost.com/entry/judge-federal-courts-vacancies_n_55d77721e4b0a40aa3aaf14b

It isn't partisan (or shouldn't be) to add seats to courts that are drowning in cases. People need the courts in their states to function.

GOP Sen. Todd Young introduced a bill in October to do this. https://www.young.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/young-introduces-judges-act-to-address-judicial-emergencies

The only partisan (and expedient) thing about doing this now is that Dems control all of govt, so they'd write the bill, list the courts getting more seats and Biden would sign it.

But lawmakers in both states need more judges on their courts. This could be a big bipartisan win.