Thanks to AFD Tim Zindel for updating me on Senator Feinstein's bill (as reported in the 10/14 Daily Journal):
The Senate Judiciary Committee last week approved legislation authored by Senator Dianne Feinstein to add four new District Judgeships in the Eastern District. The legislation proposes to pay for the new spots through a $10 increase in the civil filing fee.
Hoping to solicit Republican support, Senator Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) proposed an amendment to shift 10 judgeships from districts with smaller caseloads beginning in 2013, after the 2012 election, but Sen. Feinstein denounced the amendment as a "poison pill." The amendment failed on a 4-14 vote but Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said the amendment may be "worth discussing in the future."
