Sponsors (6)
The bill expands judicial capacity and gives courts flexible tools and facility funding to reduce backlogs and speed decisions, but does so at significant and open-ended taxpayer cost, with risks of politicized appointments, limited transparency, and transitional disruption.
Litigants and federal court users will generally get faster case resolution because the bill creates dozens of new judgeships and updates statutory judge counts (56 permanent + 3 temporary judgeships, immediate additional judges in CA), reducing caseload pressure and speeding appeals.
Federal courts gain flexible tools to respond to caseload surges, vacancies, conflicts, or regional emergencies by temporarily assigning circuit and district judges across circuits, allowing courts to reduce backlogs and issue decisions more quickly.
Reorganizing circuits and creating a new circuit can improve access to federal courts for residents in affected regions by shortening appeal routes and reducing delays (e.g., creation of a fourteenth circuit and additional Ninth Circuit judges).
Taxpayers will face substantial new and ongoing federal costs — for dozens of judgeships, staff, facilities, and multi-year appropriations — increasing federal spending without specified offsets.
The large number of new lifetime judicial vacancies to fill over many years creates a sustained confirmation burden that risks politicizing appointments and intensifying contentious Senate confirmation fights.
Key authorities are vague and lack transparency — e.g., a vague 'public interest' standard for assignments, no reporting on cross‑circuit assignments, and unspecified funding amounts — increasing risk of discretionary or politicized use and leaving the public uninformed about impacts.
Based on analysis of 17 sections of legislative text.
Introduced October 21, 2025 by Daniel Scott Sullivan · Last progress October 21, 2025
Splits the current Ninth Circuit into two circuits (a reconfigured Ninth and a new Twelfth), reallocates active and senior judges based on duty station or election, creates new circuit and many new district judgeships phased 2025–2035, and authorizes related staffing, facilities, and appropriations. It also permits temporary reciprocal judge assignments between the Ninth and Twelfth Circuits, directs case transfers for pending appeals, designates Seattle as the Twelfth Circuit executive/clerk location, and sets timing rules for transition and senior judge elections. The law changes where appeals are heard, adds judge positions requiring Presidential appointment and Senate confirmation, phases funding levels (with CPI adjustments) for judiciary implementation, and establishes short- and long-term administrative steps to move from the former Ninth Circuit to the two successor circuits.