Judge shortage stops civil trials in Fresno federal courts. How long will it last?
A shortage of federal judges in the U.S. Eastern District of California has caused judicial officials to halt any new civil cases from moving forward in the Fresno courthouse.
“That means that unless it is an emergency nothing will get addressed, no motions, nothing,” said Fresno attorney Kevin Little. “Essentially all of the federal civil cases are on hold pending the arrival of judicial reinforcements.”
And that may be coming. President Joe Biden’s nominee to fill one of those positions, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jennifer L. Thurston, is moving through the approval process.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on her on Nov. 18. If she clears the committee on Thursday, then her nomination heads to the full Senate for a confirmation vote.
If approved, Thurston will fill a position in the Fresno courthouse where the judge shortage is the most severe.
For U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd, the lone judge handling both civil and criminal cases in the Fresno office, that day can’t come soon enough.
Drozd currently has a combined 1305 civil cases and more than 745 criminal defendants, court records show.
The massive Eastern District of California is made up of almost 8 million residents and encompasses six large urban areas: Sacramento, Fresno, Bakersfield, Stockton, Vallejo, and Fairfield.
In March, there were only six active judge positions to serve residents in the region. But that dropped to four judges as two vacancies opened up.
The shortage of judges coupled with the high caseload became so dire in Fresno last year, that Drozd called it “unsustainable.”
Little and other attorneys said the federal courthouse in Fresno used to have three district judges years ago. But judges retiring took a toll on the office that has struggled to keep up.
Chief U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller issued an order of clarification on Sept. 28 stating that “Drozd has now worked tirelessly for more than 20 months to maintain not only his own caseload but all of the cases currently bearing the designation “unassigned” or “none”.”
But until a new judge is appointed to fill one of the two longstanding vacancies, Mueller said any case that is unassigned can expect their case won’t be heard by a district judge.
“For practical purposes, this means that all matters set before the district judge in these cases are effectively STAYED until further notice,” Mueller wrote.
Little said the downside of halting civil trials is that cases alleging civil rights violations, or wrongful termination won’t be getting their day in court anytime soon. Little said if a client’s case can be handled in state court, he may chose that route instead.
Attorney Jeffrey T. Hammerschmidt said suspending civil cases can is also problematic for businesses seeking justice against another business or consumers suing a company.
Hammerschmidt said that despite the challenges the judge shortage creates, he has been amazed at the job Judge Drozd has done, given his caseload.
“Just handling the criminal cases alone is overwhelming,” he said. “And he is very thorough, he reads the motions, sentencing briefs carefully. He is very prepared for his cases. Frankly, I don’t know how he has done it.”
Hammerschmidt that even when a new judge is selected, it may take up to a year for that person to get up to speed, given the high volume of cases.
This story was originally published November 17, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
