Idaho currently has two federal judges, and Congressman Mike Simpson hopes to change that to three. He’s cosponsoring the Judicial Understaffing Delays Getting Emergencies Solved (JUDGES) Act of 2025. He says the legislation will add 63 new judgeships to areas across the country over the next ten years. Idaho would be one of them. In a press release he says there are locations that have years-long backlogs of cases.
He says “This solution will strengthen our judicial system and better serve the people of Idaho. I have long advocated for this much-needed addition, and I look forward to seeing this critical legislation get across the finish line once and for all.”
Last year Simpson voted for the Judges Act of 2024, but it was vetoed by President Biden after it passed both the house and senate.
The last time Idaho added a new federal district judge was in 1954.
