The U.S. Senate has confirmed seven judges for D.C. Superior Court and the D.C. Court of Appeals, addressing what city officials and lawmakers had loudly complained was a growing “crisis” of judicial vacancies that was slowing down the justice system and is only expected to get worse next year.

On unanimous voice votes cast late Thursday night, the Senate confirmed six judges for 15-year terms on the Superior Court: Kendra Davis Briggs, Errol Rajesh Arthur, Leslie A. Meek, Carl Ezekiel Ross, Laura E. Crane, and Veronica M. Sanchez. It also confirmed one judge, Vijay Shanker, to a 15-year term on the Court of Appeals.

There are 61 associate judges and one chief judge in Superior Court, which handles the majority of the city’s criminal, civil, probate, tax, landlord-tenant, and family matters. The Court of Appeals, the equivalent of a state supreme court, has eight associate judges and one chief judge. As of last month, there were 14 vacancies in Superior Court, and two on the Court of Appeals.

Because of D.C.’s lack of statehood, nominations to fill judicial vacancies in either court must go through the U.S. president and Senate, a reality that has often left those seats unfilled and many nominations languishing on Capitol Hill for extended periods of time.

“The local D.C. courts regularly face a judicial vacancy crisis, regardless of which party controls the Senate, because both parties prioritize federal judicial and executive branch nominees over local D.C. court nominees, but Republicans have exacerbated the problem this Congress by filibustering nominees to the local D.C. courts,” said D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton in mid-November.

As Norton noted, judicial vacancies in D.C. are nothing new; in 2019, the chief judges of both Superior Court and the Court of Appeals publicly said that unfilled judgeships were “slowing down the wheels of justice,” and Mayor Muriel Bowser raised the issue directly with then-president Donald Trump. Last month, all 13 members of the D.C. Council asked the White House to speed up the process of nominating judges to the two courts, noting that additional vacancies are expected in 2023. A bill from Norton that would eliminate the Senate confirmation for D.C. judges has languished in the House, where Republicans will take control next month.

“D.C. is the only place where our local judges have to be nominated by the White House & confirmed by the Senate. And that’s not right. This direct disenfranchisement leads to some members of the Senate playing games with our judges,” tweeted Councilmember Charles Allen (D-Ward 6) on Thursday night. “With this action, 7 new judges are on the way. But we’ll need more action in January.”

“We urge everyone in a position to help to not take their foot off the gas until all the vacancies on the bench are filled,” added Doug Buchanan, a spokesman for the D.C. courts. “There are currently eight vacancies waiting for the White House to nominate a candidate, seven in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and one in the D.C. Court of Appeals. So, while we look forward to swearing in our new judges, we remain cognizant of the fact that we will still have 11 vacancies on the bench between the D.C. Court of Appeals and the D.C. Superior Courts by the end of February 2023.”

And continued action to address judicial vacancies will also be needed in the coming years, largely because of a bill passed by the council last month that overhauls the city’s criminal code — and reinstates the right to a jury trial for people charged with misdemeanor offenses. While proponents say this will put D.C. back on par with most states, the chief judges of both Superior Court and the Court of Appeals raised concerns with the additional workload, especially given current backlogs and vacancies. Allen responded by phasing in the implementation of the restored right between 2025 and 2030 to allow the courts to scale up.

In a statement, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) pledged to continue working to confirm judges for the D.C. courts.

“This Democrat-led Senate will not ignore the needs of the local D.C. courts. The seven new jurists the Senate confirmed last night will help alleviate some of the D.C courts vacancy crisis,” he said. “With another two years of a Democratic majority, the Senate will continue to work to fill as many vacancies as possible.”

This post was updated with a statement from Sen. Chuck Schumer and the spokesman for the D.C. courts.