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Congessional Record, Volume 149 Issue 168 (Wednesday, November 19, 2003) Page 2 of 8
<br />bill currently under consideration.
<br />The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
<br />gentleman from Wisconsin?
<br />There was no objection.
<br />Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
<br />consume.
<br />Today when I was driving in, I followed a car that had a big bumper
<br />sticker on it that said —Don't Mess with Texas, " and I came to the
<br />House today with great fear and trepidation that by messing with Texas
<br />and deciding where the Federal courts will sit, I would be caught in
<br />the crossfire of a Texas cat fight, and I am happy to report that the
<br />cats are purring and the Members can mess with Texas and not get in
<br />trouble by passing this bill.
<br />Senate 1720 implements the march, 1991, Judicial Conference proposal
<br />to designate Plano, Texas, as a place for holding court in the Eastern
<br />District of Texas, It also realigns the divisions of the U.S. District
<br />Court for the Eastern District of Texas to reflect the closing of the
<br />courthouse in Denton County. The Paris division is eliminated and its
<br />counties redistributed among the other divisions of this court.
<br />Plano is the largest city in the Eastern District of Texas. Of the 93
<br />judicial districts in the United States, the Eastern District of Texas
<br />is the only one in which its largest city cannot hold.Fedetal court.
<br />This is a major impediment to the efficient operations of the Federal
<br />court system in the Eastern District of Texas_ Senate 1720 will greatly
<br />assist the affected citi2eas, litigants, lawyers, and judges and also
<br />will promote the efficient administration of justice.
<br />The bill is identical to language,in section 102 of H.R. 1302, the
<br />Federal Courts improvement Act-6f 2063, which was introduced by the
<br />chairman and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Courts, the
<br />Internet, and Intellectual Property. In addition, this Congress has
<br />passed this exact language on five previous occasions since 1991.
<br />Following Senate passage of Senate 1720, the gentleman from Texas
<br />(Mr. Hall) expressed concern that the legislation does not ensure that
<br />the eastern district caseload will be distributed equally between Plano
<br />and Sherman. While the judges of the eastern -district have unanimously_
<br />agreed to split the docket between SheYznan' and 'Plano, this agreement,
<br />iii. a "signed resolution, is nonbinding'.
<br />I share the concerns of the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hall).
<br />Therefore, I support Senate 1720 premised on the understanding that the
<br />judges of the eastern district will. do as they promised by implementing
<br />a system to assign at least 50 percent of the cases filed in or
<br />transferred to the Sherman district to a resident district judge
<br />sitting in the city of Sherman. The remaining 50 percent of the cases
<br />will be assigned to the Plano court.
<br />Finally, in response to my request for a34ur4nce that the judges'
<br />agreement will be implemented, the Administrative' Office of the U.B.
<br />Courts has written a letter promising to do whatever is necessary to
<br />iinpl�ment this plan. I will :insert this letter along with the
<br />resolution signed by the judges of the Eastern District of Texas into
<br />the Record. With these assurances, I am sure that we can mess with
<br />Texas and not get caught in the crossfire.
<br />I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
<br />Judicial Conference
<br />of the United States,
<br />Washington, DC, November 19, 2003,
<br />Hon—F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.,
<br />Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, House of
<br />Representatives, Rayburn House Office Building,
<br />.Washington, DC.
<br />Dear Mr. Chairman: I understand that S. 1720, a bill to
<br />designate Plano, Texas, will be considered by the House later
<br />http:JYv,Nvw.gpo.gcv /fdsys /pkg/CREC- 2003- 11- 191htmUCREC -2003- 11- 19 -ptl PgHlI585,_. 9/20/2013
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