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Vol. 35, Number 8—August 2003 New Judges, No Room On July 14, 2003, Congress confirmed Robert Brack as a judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico; he was sworn into office July 25, 2003. Brack filled one of 15 new judgeships created November 22, 2002 that became effective July 15, 2003. Normally a new judge like Brack would look forward to getting down to work. But Brack may be jockeying for a place to hang his judicial robe in an office building that has been modified to function as a courthouse and that ran out of room a decade ago. Space in the Las Cruces, New Mexico, building is so congested that the court's bankruptcy judges hold proceedings in a nearby hotel, offices have been converted into courtrooms, and a magistrate judge is housed in grand jury space. According to Chief Judge James Parker (D. N.M.), a number of federal cases once were tried in the local state district courthouse—until the state court also became overloaded with cases and unavailable to the federal judicial officers. "Our current facility is basically an office building that was converted into a courthouse," says Parker, "with an over-sized closet serving as a hearing room." The building originally was designed with a single courtroom. Additional full-sized jury courtrooms have been carved out of office space, but the accommodations are less than ideal for the three full-time resident magistrate judges, a visiting duty district judge, bankruptcy judges, and now new District Judge Brack. The building still has a single elevator for use by defendants who are not in custody, witnesses, victims, interested family members or friends, attorneys, and judges and their staff members. This presents enormous security concerns. Unfortunately, Congress did not fund housing for any of the courts where the 15 new judges may need courtrooms or chambers. Although the Judiciary asked for $32.2 million in supplemental funding to provide work space and office equipment for these future judgeships, the White House has yet to request the funds, and Congress has yet to appropriate the money. In some courts, temporary vacancies or other circumstances will provide an interim solution. In other courts, it will be a problem that may hamper the effectiveness of the new judges. And the pressure is on. The President has submitted nominees for all 15 judgeships, and six have been confirmed by the full Senate. The Senate moved expeditiously on July 8 to confirm David G. Campbell to the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, filling a vacancy a week before the judgeship became effective. And there may be more judges to come. Pending legislation could authorize 36 new bankruptcy judgeships and 14 district court judgeships. Another bill would authorize 57 new judgeships. Judge Campbell, at least, will have chambers and a courtroom in which to hear cases in Phoenix, Arizona. In El Paso, Texas, newly confirmed Judge Frank Montalvo may not be so lucky. The El Paso courthouse, built in the 1930s, was filled to capacity in 1991 and currently has six courtrooms for three district judges and three magistrate judges. According to Judge Philip Martinez, who sits in El Paso, Montalvo won't have a courtroom and his chambers may be the U.S. Marshal's office, with his clerks housed elsewhere. There is no room to build out another district judge courtroom and no foreseeable let-up in a pressing criminal caseload. In 2002, the El Paso courthouse, located six blocks from the Mexican border, handled 48 percent of the criminal cases and 44 percent of the defendants in the Western District of Texas. Last year, the division funneled 2,362 criminal defendants through its facilities, up 271 percent from 1994. And those facilities are faltering, with undependable elevators, inadequate heating and air-conditioning, and significant security problems. According to Martinez, it will be five years until a new courthouse is available. "We're flexible," he said, "but it will be extremely challenging for the immediate future." The southwest border courts aren't the only districts with space and security problems and questions about where to house new judges. In the Western District of North Carolina, the Charles R. Jonas Federal Building and Courthouse in Charlotte, built in 1918 and last expanded in 1934, has been out of space since 1995. There is no room for the grand jury, attorney-witness rooms, and other court- related functions. Agencies occupy space in five leased buildings in Charlotte, and the U.S. Marshals Service—whose duty it is to protect the court—is in leased space a block away from the courthouse. "We'll be forced into courtroom sharing," said Chief Judge Graham Mullen (W.D. N.C.), when asked to explain how the two sitting Article III judges and two new judges will be able to work with a grand total of three courtrooms. Mullen's courtroom, formed from the U.S. Attorney's office, is an under-sized, L-shaped space that wedges his bench into a corner. Even though space is questionable, the need for the judges is not. In 2002, the Charlotte division handled 60 percent of the district's criminal cases, 54 percent of its civil cases, and 44 percent of its bankruptcy cases. All caseloads have increased, with bankruptcy cases increasing 154 percent since 1994, and criminal cases increasing 20 percent. The question right now is, where will the North Carolina newcomers work? The answer may be housing one of the new judges 30 miles away in Statesville where there's a courtroom and an office. As an additional worry, two sitting judges-—one of them Mullen—are eligible to take senior status in a few years, and Mullen wonders aloud where he'll sit. But right now, he's ready to build. "We were eligible for a new courthouse 10 years ago," he says. "All we need is an appropriation, and we can do a land swap with the city and get started with the design stage." Administrative Office Director Leonidas Ralph Mecham has written to General Services Administration Administrator Stephen A. Perry, asking GSA to help the Judiciary with its urgent space need. "The Judiciary has already unsuccessfully attempted to address this need through the appropriations process," Mecham wrote. "Because of the late enactment of the judgeship authorization, funding for related costs was not included in our Fiscal Year 2003 enacted appropriation." The Judiciary also tried to secure alternate funding. "At this time, however," Mecham wrote, "I see no alternative than to request that GSA build out the space needed for new judges and amortize the costs in the Judiciary's rental payments so that judicial nominees have adequate space to perform their duties as quickly as possible."

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