THE JUDICIAL BUSINESS OF THE MIDDLE DISTRICT There are 2 judgeships in the Middle District of Pennsylvania and have been since the second was created in 1929. The caseload is light and normally cannot be considered too heavy for two judges to carry. However, Judge John Murphy, the Chief Judge, has been seriously ill since last summer, was operated on at the National Institute of Health in Washington last November and has not yet returned to duty. Judge Follmer, the other active judge in the district, is 74 years old and it is impossible for him to carry the full load of the work in the district alone. Judge Murphy got very badly behind in his work before the current illness (diagnosed as cancer) and had a considerable list of old cases under advisement at the time the district was inspected by me last spring at the request of Judge Biggs. The following report concerning this district was made by the Committee to the March 1959 session of the Judicial Conference: "Middle District of Pennsylvania. --Judge Biggs, Chief Judge of the Third Circuit, presented to the Committee the need for an additional temporary judgeship in the Middle District of Pennsylvania because of personnel problems involving the present judges. He pointed out that some cases in that district have been pending for considerable lengths of time awaiting action by the court. The Committee considered the statistical report of the business of the District and the fact that the caseload per judgeship in 1958 was 187 civil cases filed compared with the national average of 259, 105 private civil cases compared with the national average of 167 and 69 criminal cases compared with the national average of 108 and that the pending civil caseload was 213 civil cases per judgeship compared with the national average of 270. The decrease in private civil cases filed in the five months period from August through December 1958 compared with the same months of the previous year was 7 percent. The vote on the creation of a new judgeship for this district by the Committee was 3 to 3 and, therefore, no recommendation is made." Judge Murphy has himself written a letter to Judge Biggs advocating the creation of another judgeship. That letter read as follows: "Dear Judge Biggs: October 23, 1959 Just a note by way of a progress report on my illness. It appears that the sugar problem is under dietary control. However, I have been unable thus far to solve the problem of the pains in the muscles of my back. After long deliberation it occurs to me that the work in the district has practically doubled in the Scranton area, so far as I am concerned, since the retirement of Judge Watson. We have had a particularly heavy criminal case load requiring a number of trials. Notwithstanding the fact that I have not taken a vacation in years, I have been working long hours in the office and at home in order to keep up with the work schedule. It is my considered judgment that this district should have an additional judge, at least on a temporary basis. It may be that we do not meet the 'statistical standards' viewed from a national viewpoint. The fact is, however, that the work load is here and it has been quite an effort to keep up with it. I do hope that you will exert every possible effort to see that the Middle District is considered in the Omnibus Bill, or any other bills that are introduced, in order to increase the judge manpower in this district. With warm personal regards, I am Sincerely, (s) John W. Murphy" The work of the district has been greatly aided by the help of visiting judges brought in by Judge Biggs. That help, however, is necessarily of a temporary nature and does not offer a permanent solution to the problem. The statistical tables concerning the business of the district through the fiscal year 1959 are attached. In the first half of the fiscal year 1960 civil cases commenced increased 17 percent over the same period in the previous fiscal year and private cases 7 percent both classes, - however, still being less than the national average. Respectfully submitted, Will Shefelt Will Shafroth Chief, Division of Procedural February 15, 1960 |