President Biden: New Judges, Delayed Justice

President Biden recently said no to a new law that would add more federal judges. This law, called the Judicial Understaffing Delays Getting Emergencies Solved (JUDGES) Act, aimed to solve a problem that's been around for decades: not enough judges handling too many cases. The bill would have added 66 new judges over 10 years in the states where courts are the most backed up. The last big increase in judges happened nearly 35 years ago, but the number of cases has tripled since 2004. This means judges are swamped, and people waiting for trials have to wait longer.

Much longer. In some states, it can take up to five years for a civil case to go to trial. During this time, businesses can close, people can face financial ruin, and everyone pays more in legal fees. Biden vetoed the bill because he thinks senators are playing politics with it. He's right that they are, but his veto also means justice will be delayed even more. It's important to remember that Biden has done a good job adding judges and making the courts more diverse. But vetoing this bill might not be the best way to fix the problems he sees.

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