Today, more than 160 million Americans—over half of the U.S. population—live in a community with a federal courtroom vacancy. That means that there simply are not enough judges on the bench to hear the cases that are piling up. The third branch of government is not functioning because our nation’s courts—where Americans vindicate their most cherished constitutional rights—do not have a full complement of judges on the bench. At the same time, it’s clear that no matter the issue—health care, immigration, environment, marriage equality, consumer protection—the judiciary will continue to play an increasingly important role in the lives of all Americans as well as in the success of the progressive legislative agenda.
On April 17, the Center for American Progress Action Fund and the Committee for a Fair Judiciary discussed the process and politics of judicial confirmations, the impact of the judicial vacancies crisis, and solutions for 2012 and beyond.
Read more about this event and watch video here. (CAP Action)