Members Of Colorado Congressional Delegation Joins Forces On Bill To Address Judicial Crisis

Statement

Today, members of Colorado's Congressional delegation introduced a bill to create two new U.S. District Court judgeships for the District of Colorado. Colorado's population has grown 66 percent in the three decades since a new judgeship was added, precipitating a judicial crisis. Rep. Diana DeGette (CO-01) introduced the legislation and was joined by Reps. Jared Polis (CO-02), Scott Tipton (CO-03), Doug Lamborn (CO-05), Mike Coffman (CO-06), and Ed Perlmutter (CO-07).

"It is vital to the legal fabric of Colorado that our court system be able to address the needs of our citizens," said members of the delegation. "Our state has grown dramatically in the past three decades, while the resources available to our district court system have not kept pace. Currently, District Court judges address 40 percent more cases than the national standard and do so while traversing one of the largest states in the country. Our bill takes an important step toward providing the court system the additional judges it needs to serve our constituents' needs."

The United States District Court for the District of Colorado serves the entire state of Colorado. Other than Alaska, the District of Colorado is geographically the second largest federal judicial district with one primary courthouse - meaning District and Magistrate Judges travel throughout the state to meet needs across the district. The Court has seven Judgeships, the last created in 1984. Since 1984, the population of Colorado has increased by 66%.