Judiciary News

Personal and business bankruptcy filings fell 29.1 percent for the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2021. A steady decline in filings has continued since the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis began.  

Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod testified before a House subcommittee today to describe judges’ recusal standards and case conflict screening process that help judges maintain high ethical standards.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., has named five new chairs of Judicial Conference committees and extended the term of four current chairs by one year. The appointments took effect on Oct. 1, 2021.

The federal Judiciary has unveiled a new Vulnerability Disclosure Policy to ensure the security of data that can be accessed online. The policy gives security researchers clear guidelines on how they may conduct vulnerability discovery activities. It also instructs researchers on how to submit discovered vulnerabilities to the Judiciary.

Judge Julia Smith Gibbons, former budget chair for the U.S. Judicial Conference who was a pioneering woman judge in her home state of Tennessee, is the recipient of the 2021 Edward J. Devitt Distinguished Service to Justice Award. Gibbons serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.  

Cuauhtemoc Ortega grew up in the working-class neighborhood of La Puente in Los Angeles County, where people he knew sometimes struggled through negative encounters with law enforcement and immigration officials. Now, he leads the Federal Public Defender’s Office representing La Puente and the greater Los Angeles area.

The Judiciary’s policy-making body today recommended that Congress create new judgeships because of a rapid and substantial rise in felony prosecutions in two districts.

On Sept. 28, Collins Fitzpatrick will retire as Circuit Executive of the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, after 50 years of service in the federal Judiciary. In 1976, Fitzpatrick was appointed as the Seventh Circuit’s first executive, five years after Congress created the position. He is by far the longest-serving circuit executive in the federal court system.

More than 550 students at South Florida high schools engaged in a day of candid conversations with federal judges and attorneys about the Constitution, civil discourse, and solid decision-making skills in the law and in teens’ lives. The event was part of a monthlong national celebration of the signing of the U.S. Constitution.

How do federal judges have an impact on individual rights every day, even for people who may never enter a courtroom? Ten federal judges answer the question in the new video “Court Shorts: A Fair and Impartial Judiciary,” produced in celebration of Constitution Day, on Sept. 17, discussing their commitment to impartiality, the Constitution, and the rule of law.

Federal courthouses along the Gulf Coast are closed due to the effects of Hurricane Ida.

The bench, bar, and public have been asked to provide comments on proposed interim regulations for the administration of a new payment for trustees serving in Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases under the Bankruptcy Administration Improvement Act of 2020. The comment period runs from Aug. 30, 2021 to Sept. 17, 2021.

The Judiciary has informed Congress that it opposes the proposed Judiciary Accountability Act. In a letter to key lawmakers today, Judge Roslynn R. Mauskopf, secretary of the Judicial Conference of the United States, wrote that the bill “fails to recognize the robust safeguards that have been in place within the Judiciary to protect Judiciary employees, including law clerks, from wrongful conduct in the workplace, including protections against discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and abusive conduct.”

Judiciary leaders are expressing deep concern that Congress has failed to provide funding to protect federal judges and courthouses, and are urging House and Senate leaders to appropriate money to address a “worsening” safety environment.

The bench, bar, and public have been asked to provide comments on a series of proposed rules that would, if approved, guide the Judiciary in responding to future declared emergencies that impair federal court operations. The proposals include amendments to Appellate Rules 2 and 4, and new emergency Bankruptcy, Civil, and Criminal Rules.