Judiciary News

Federal Judiciary leaders today received a report on the impact of reduced funding due to sequestration – which cut court staff and delayed cases – and a separate report on an aggressive multi-faceted strategy to reduce the costs of court space.

An in-depth look at the 2013 caseload of the federal courts and activities of the Administrative Office can be found in the 2013 Judicial Business of the U.S. Courts, and Annual Report of the Director, released today by the Administrative Office.

The Administrative Office has received approval from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) of a revised records disposition schedule for non-electronic criminal case files.

In a federal courtroom, a witness, who only speaks Foochow, provides testimony in a case where no one in the room speaks that language. In a preliminary hearing, a Spanish-speaking defendant responds to questions from the judge. In both instances, an interpreter bridging the language gap for the participants is miles away at the other end of a telephone.

African American History Month, celebrated every February, this year occurs during the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and of Freedom Summer, two landmark events that helped end legal segregation in America.

The hourly pay rates for lawyers who represent indigent defendants in federal criminal cases, which were temporarily reduced last year, have been restored, effective March 1, 2014.

Nearly 158,000 offenders and defendants are under supervision in the federal probation and pretrial system. For officers, maintaining contact with each client is essential. Three districts currently are piloting a web-based Client Electronic Notification System (CENS) that will help officers maintain that contact and safeguard the community.

In a highly unusual confirmation hearing, six nominees from one federal court district—Arizona—prepare to testify, during a recent session of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

A federal judge from the Northern District of Ohio held a recent naturalization ceremony at a Cleveland history museum, and in the process created a memorable event for two groups.

When a state courthouse in Lexington, Ky., was shut down by a recent plumbing incident, a neighboring federal courthouse offered assistance in an unusual way.

In calendar year 2013, there was a 12 percent drop in cases filed in federal bankruptcy courts.

The different ways federal district courts provide settlement assistance to parties is the focus of a new study by the Federal Judicial Center (FJC). Eight district courts are participating in the study to be completed by late 2014.

A police officer on a DUI stop logs into the online Law Enforcement Notification System (LENS) and finds that not only is the driver under federal supervision for a prior drug offense, but the conditions of release stipulate no alcohol use.

The Federal Law Clerk Hiring Plan, which sought to bring order to the process of hiring judges’ law clerks, “has been effectively discontinued, and no further dates are being set in connection with the plan,” according to a memo sent to all federal judges.

The federal judiciary has issued a warning about an email scam that has affected a number of state courts.