Judiciary News

The stories of six federal judges, who overcame various obstacles on their paths to the bench, are highlighted as part of the U.S. courts’ observance of Women’s History Month. 

The role of the jury in protecting the rights of Americans in criminal and civil cases is the focus of a U.S. Courts video discussion featuring two U.S. district judges, a clerk of court, and a law professor and author on the jury process. 

Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., announced the appointment of Lee Ann Bennett, the clerk of the Bankruptcy Court of the Middle District of Florida, as the new deputy director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. 

Thurgood Marshall was one of the country's greatest jurists and civil rights advocates, but he was also a gifted storyteller who liked to leaven even a serious tale with a sprinkling of humor.

Calling it a “modest but much-needed reform,” the chair of the Judicial Conference’s Criminal Law Committee has urged Congress to protect federal probation officers, by giving them the legal authority to give orders to, and arrest if needed, anyone obstructing them from performing their official duties.

Expanding an approach that has helped lower recidivism by federal offenders under supervision, probation officials are seeking to better protect the public by using actuarial data to help them identify those offenders most likely to become violent.

For years, polls have shown widespread ignorance of how government works, with courts and the Constitution faring especially poorly in the public consciousness. But federal courts throughout the Second Circuit, which includes New York, Connecticut and Vermont, have launched an ambitious program to change that.

During the 12-month period ending December 31, 2016, 794,960 cases were filed in federal bankruptcy courts, down from the 844,495 bankruptcy cases filed in calendar year 2015—a 5.9  percent drop in filings. 

As they have throughout American history, members of the U.S. Supreme Court took part in this year’s inauguration. 

The Justice Institute on Long Island is taking the concept of summer camp into the federal courthouse, imparting civics education and advocacy skills that prepare students for college, career, and civic engagement. 

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has issued his 2016 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary, highlighting the work performed by U.S. District judges.

The most common federal offense committed by “organizational offenders” —corporations, partnerships, unions, trusts, pension funds, and non-profits—was not fraud or money-laundering but environmental crime, according to a report published recently by the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

Crimes involving drugs fueled a 15 percent increase in criminal appeals last year even as the total volume of appeals continued to steadily decline, according to statistics from the Judiciary Data and Analysis Office for the U.S. court system. 

Eight federal Judiciary employees have received the 2016 Director’s Awards, given by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, to recognize outstanding performance in the federal courts nationwide.

Senior Judge Jon O. Newman, of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, will receive the 2016 Edward J. Devitt Distinguished Service to Justice Award, in a special ceremony Thursday at the U.S. Supreme Court.