by Nicole Flatow
Skyrocketing criminal caseloads and a persistently high vacancy rate on the federal courts have left civil litigants, “from bereaved spouses to corporate giants” waiting years for their day in court, The Wall Street Journal reports.
In Merced., Calif., plaintiffs who sued for alleged flood damage and chemical contamination almost five years ago have had trials postponed multiple times to make way for the criminal docket, incurring credit-card debt and forgoing planned expenses as they bear the cost of repairs on their own.
"We get calls every day from clients asking what is happening, what is causing the delay," said lawyer Mick Marderosian, who is representing the plaintiffs.
In Denver, Amy Bullock has waited two-and-a-half years and had her trial postponed twice on damages from the death of her husband in a 2006 truck accident.
“I'm looking forward to having my day in court but, honestly, I feel like it may never happen,” she said.
Many others lose hope before the wait is over. When Elizabeth and Nicholas Powers’ discrimination lawsuit was halted just prior to jury selection, they opted to settle rather than wait out the delay. And settlements prompted by such delays should cause alarm, because there is "no shortage of plaintiffs who wind up taking inadequate settlements,” the Center for American Progress’s Ian Millhiser told the newspaper.
Criminal caseloads in the federal courts have jumped 70 percent over the past decade, while the number of judgeships has increased just four percent since 1990, according to the newspaper. Exacerbating this situation, the vacancy rate has hovered at alarming levels for the past several years due to the snail’s pace of the judicial nominations process.
"Civil litigation has ground to a halt," Judge Mike McCuskey, chief judge for the Central District of Illinois, told WSJ.
There are now 81 vacant seats on our federal courts, 31 of which have been deemed judicial emergencies by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
Time is running out to fill these seats, as presidential election years are “notoriously bad for nominees,” The Washington Post’s Al Kamen warned recently.
To learn more about judicial nominations and follow developments, visit JudicialNominations.org.
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