Judiciary News

The Judicial Conference of the United States today agreed to recommend to Congress the creation of new district and court of appeals judgeships to meet workload demands in certain courts.

The federal Judiciary is seeking $9.1 billion in discretionary funding from Congress for fiscal year (FY) 2024, an increase of 8.0 percent over the FY 2023 appropriation, according to the Judiciary’s FY 2024 budget request, which was released to the public on March 9.

Constance Baker Motley was the first African American woman to argue a case before the Supreme Court, and the first to serve as a federal judge. For all her achievements, Motley’s most-lasting legacy may be the generations of women she inspired to pursue careers in the law. In celebration of Women’s History Month, judges reflected on the life and career of the revered trailblazer and civil rights hero.

Law students watched the wheels of justice in motion as Ninth Circuit judges and attorneys gathered for oral arguments at the University of San Diego School of Law.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has advised the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts that it has insufficient funds available to transfer to the Judiciary to make additional payments to eligible chapter 7 bankruptcy trustees for fiscal year 2022.

The new Federal Court Learning Center in Indianapolis is now open and ready to welcome students and adults to learn about the important role the Judiciary plays in daily life.

Three African American judges reflect on challenges they faced and lessons they learned before joining the federal bench, in a new Heritage Spotlight video honoring African American History Month.

Bankruptcy filings fell 6.3 percent for the 12-month period ending Dec. 31, 2022, continuing a fall that coincided with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. But individual filings under Chapter 13 increased significantly.

Civility in the law and in life is the focus of the Judiciary’s 2023 Law Day resources for teachers, judges, and the legal community. Courtroom and classroom activities that give students real-life experience with civil discourse and solid decision-making skills are at the heart of the Judiciary’s national initiative Civil Discourse and Difficult Decisions.

The Federal Judicial Center (FJC) will soon begin a two-year pilot study of the impact of including data from a U.S. Sentencing Commission online tool in presentence reports during the sentencing phase of criminal cases.

On MLK Day 2023, learn how federal courts played a key role when Martin Luther King, Jr., and his allies sought justice.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., has issued his 2022 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary.

When COVID-19 struck in early 2020, Chief Justice William Howard Taft’s vision of a Judiciary that could work in unison was put to perhaps its greatest test. For critical weeks and months, the Judiciary’s very ability to conduct proceedings was endangered. The Judicial Conference of the United States, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, and judges and court staff across the country worked tirelessly to keep courts open and safe.

The federal judge who lost her only child when a gunman opened fire at her home and the Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO) expressed gratitude today for the passage by Congress of the Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act.

A recently completed renovation and expansion of a federal courthouse in Charlotte, North Carolina, combines a modern annex with architectural touches that invoke a Virginia courtroom designed by Thomas Jefferson. The new court complex is one of eight funded by Congress in late 2015.