Courthouse Affordability and Space Efficiency Act of 2025
The Courthouse Affordability and Space Efficiency (CASE) Act of 2025 would add a new provision to the federal law governing federal buildings (Title 40 U.S.C., Chapter 33). Its central goal is to curb the construction of new federal courthouses unless those projects meet specified, space-efficient design standards. Specifically, the act creates a requirement that new courthouses must use shared courtrooms (the “courtroom sharing requirements”) in proportion to the number and type of judges, and it directs updating the United States Courts Design Guide to reflect these sharing rules. It also requires that if a new courthouse adds capacity, the existing space in the same courthouse complex must be fully utilized or removed from the General Services Administration’s (GSA) inventory. A clerical amendment to insert a new section in the U.S. Code accompanies these changes. The practical effect would be to reduce the proliferation of standalone, underutilized courtrooms and encourage more space-efficient courthouse design. Note: The text contains a potentially ambiguous drafting point about when the prohibition on starting construction applies relative to the enactment date, which could influence whether certain projects begun before enactment proceed or are halted.
Key Points
- 1New Sec. 3320 added to Title 40 U.S.C. “Reducing costs related to courthouses”: The Administrator of General Services may not commence construction of a new courthouse unless certain conditions are met (see below).
- 2Courtroom sharing requirements: The act defines specific ratios for courtrooms per judge types to determine adequacy of space:
- 3- For courthouses with 10 or more active district judges: 2 courtrooms per 3 active district judges, with a floor of at least 9 courtrooms.
- 4- For courthouses with 3 or more bankruptcy judges: 1 courtroom per 2 bankruptcy judges.
- 5- For courthouses with 3 or more senior district judges: 1 courtroom per 2 senior district judges.
- 6- For courthouses with 3 or more magistrate judges: 1 courtroom per 2 magistrate judges.
- 7Design guide update: Within 180 days after enactment, the Design Guide for courthouses must be updated to incorporate these courtroom sharing requirements to the maximum extent practicable.
- 8Utilization requirement for new capacity: If a new courthouse would add capacity to the GSA’s inventory, all existing space in the same courthouse complex must be fully utilized or relinquished from the inventory before or as a condition of adding capacity.
- 9Clerical amendment: Adds a new section (3320) to the analysis for chapter 33 of title 40, U.S.C., formalizing the new rule in codified law.
- 10Enactment nuance: The text states the Administrator may not commence construction if (1) construction has not begun by enactment date and (2) the design/construction fails to comply with sharing requirements. The use of “and” creates potential ambiguity about when a project may proceed, depending on whether it began before or after enactment and whether it fully complies with the sharing rules.