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Washington, D.C. –Today, House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) delivered the following opening statement for the markup of H.R. 1569, a bill to add Flagstaff and Yuma to the list of locations in which court shall be held in the judicial district for the State of Arizona:
"H.R. 1569 would add Flagstaff and Yuma to the list of locations in which court may be held in the judicial district for the State of Arizona. This legislation, introduced by Congressman Tom O’Halleran of Arizona, has the support of every member of the Arizona Congressional delegation, including our colleagues Mr. Stanton, Mr. Biggs, and Ms. Lesko.
"Access to justice is fundamental to the rule of law, and this straightforward, bipartisan legislation will bring Arizona’s U.S. district judges closer to the communities they serve.
"Currently, by statute, the United States district judges for the District of Arizona may hold court in four cities—Globe, Phoenix, Prescott, and Tucson. But Arizona’s population has changed significantly in the 71 years since that statute was enacted in 1948. The population of Yuma, for example, has increased tenfold, and the population of Flagstaff has increased almost as much. Today, litigants in those parts of the state have to drive for hours to the nearest courthouse where a federal district judge is permitted to sit.
"For example, someone living on the Navajo Nation Indian reservation currently has to drive 4 to 5 hours to the federal courthouse in Prescott. Their trip would be nearly half that if they could go to Flagstaff instead.
"This commonsense bill remedies that problem by adding to the United States Code Flagstaff and Yuma as locations where district court judges may hear cases. Implementing the bill will be as simple as its text as both of these sites already host federal courthouses where these judges can hear cases.
"I want to thank Mr. Stanton for his strong advocacy of this legislation as well as the efforts of Mr. Biggs and Ms. Lesko. I am pleased to support this bipartisan legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support it as well."
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