Privatize Courts To Help Swamped Federal Judges

By R. Brownell

Vacant positions for federal court judges not filled by the senate have overstretched many judges, forcing them to work across state lines. A recent Huffington Post article discusses the state of overworked judges:

“The Huffington Post talked to half a dozen federal judges about how court vacancies and the lack of new judgeships affect their workloads. All of them said they feel like they’re underwater and desperately need more judges, but at the same time, they aren’t comfortable calling out Congress for failing to do its job. Many didn’t feel it appropriate for a judge to weigh in on legislative or political matters. So their situations don’t change.”

Even if the empty slots get filled soon, it won’t make a dent on the wave of cases they have to deal with. Your regular federal judge takes “between 500 and 600 cases each year. Judges on England’s court have more than 1,000. It would take six new judgeships on the Eastern District court to bring down the workload to an average level, according to a 2015 review of courts and their caseloads by the Judicial Conference”.

The libertarian solution to this matter?

1. Congress needs to do their job and get these appointments done immediately so cases don’t get prolonged and backed up on the docket.
2. Look at the crimes and cases backing up the system, like crimes related to low level drug possession which are backing up a majority of federal courts.
3. Consider this as an opportunity to look at potential options for privatizing the judiciary, as economist Daniel Popeo proposed over twenty years ago:

   “While some in the legal establishment suspiciously view these for-profit companies as a potential vehicle for “abuse and injustice,” the result has been just the opposite. CiviCourt director Alice Wright has noted the companies’ very existence rests on pleasing both the plaintiff and the defendant. If abuses take place on a significant scale, demand for their services will drop. At CiviCourt and Judicate, the parties are allowed to select the judge they wish to try their case. Selections are made from a list of senior and retired judges. The parties also decide what rules of discovery and evidence will be used and whether the decision will be legally binding. The companies stress fairness to both parties. As one superior court judge familiar with Judicate has said, ‘If they don’t, they’ll be out of business.’ “

Only time will tell what adverse effects our backed up courts and mentally drained judges will have on our legal system, but the immediate solutions are clear: have congress do their job, decriminalize or abolish worthless laws, and consider involving private entities in our judicial system in order to streamline the process.