Judiciary News
Lincoln’s Other War-Time Proclamation
Published onFebruary 7, 2013
More than 200 years after his birth, on Feb. 12, 1809, and with a movie about him in the Oscar spotlight, Abraham Lincoln remains a source of fascination to Americans, including those in the world of law.
Bankruptcy Filings Decline in Calendar Year 2012
![Bankruptcy Filings Decline in Calendar Year 2012 Bankruptcy Filings Decline in Calendar Year 2012](/sites/all/modules/lazyloader/image_placeholder.gif)
Published onFebruary 4, 2013
Bankruptcy filings in the federal courts fell 13 percent in calendar year 2012, according to data released today by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. The number of bankruptcies filed in the 12-month period ending December 31, 2012, totaled 1,221,091, down from the 1,410,653 bankruptcies filed in CY 2011.
Access to Court Opinions Expands
Published onJanuary 31, 2013
A pilot project giving the public free, text-searchable, online-access to court opinions now is available to all federal appellate, district and bankruptcy courts.
U.S. Supreme Court at the Presidential Inauguration
![Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. administers the public oath of office to President Obama, as the president's wife and daughters watch.](/sites/all/modules/lazyloader/image_placeholder.gif)
Published onJanuary 29, 2013
As has happened from the earliest years of the nation, members of the U.S. Supreme Court took part in this year’s Jan. 21 inauguration ceremony, and their participation is documented in the accompanying photo slide show.
Photo: Federal Judge Swears In Congressman
Published onJanuary 25, 2013
Earlier this month, Chief Judge Catherine D. Perry, of the Eastern District of Missouri, swore in U.S. Representative Wm. Lacy Clay (D-Mo.), in a ceremony at the Thomas F. Eagleton U.S. Courthouse in St. Louis.
Court Statistics for Fiscal Year 2012 Are Released
Published onJanuary 24, 2013
Federal court statistical profiles for the nation’s 12 regional appeals courts and 94 district courts for fiscal year 2012, the 12-month period ending September 30, 2012, are newly available.
Federal Judiciary Continues Long History of Swearing In President
![Chief Justice Melville W. Fuller administers the oath of office to Theodore Roosevelt during his second swearing-in, in 1905. Chief Justice Melville W. Fuller administers the oath of office to Theodore Roosevelt during his second swearing-in, in 1905.](/sites/all/modules/lazyloader/image_placeholder.gif)
Published onJanuary 22, 2013
With the swearing-in this week of President Obama, U.S. Presidents have taken the oath of office 65 times in our nation’s history, and a federal jurist has administered that oath on 62 of those occasions.
U.S. Courts Camera Pilot Exceeds 100,000 Video Viewings
![The most viewed recording from the Northern District of California has over 17,000 views on the U.S. Courts’ website. The most viewed recording from the Northern District of California has over 17,000 views on the U.S. Courts’ website.](/sites/all/modules/lazyloader/image_placeholder.gif)
Published onJanuary 15, 2013
A few days after the federal Judiciary’s Digital Video Pilot Project began in July 2011, the Western District of Tennessee recorded the first courtroom proceeding, a preliminary injunction hearing in a defamation case.
First Revamped Bankruptcy Forms Out for Public Comment
Published onJanuary 8, 2013
The Judicial Conference Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure is asking for comment on the first proposed modernization of bankruptcy forms in two decades.
Year-End Report on Judiciary Stresses Cost Containment
![Year-End Report on Judiciary Stresses Cost Containment Year-End Report on Judiciary Stresses Cost Containment](/sites/all/modules/lazyloader/image_placeholder.gif)
Published onDecember 31, 2012
Focusing on efforts by the federal courts to contain costs, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has issued his "2012 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary."
Lessons from Sandy: Game Plan Before a Crisis is Critical, Judge Says
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Published onDecember 20, 2012
In late October and early November, courts in New York, New Jersey and other Eastern Seaboard states were shut down by Super Storm Sandy. This account, by Chief Judge Loretta A. Preska, describes the challenges faced by the Southern District of New York in putting its courts back in order.
‘Humbled’ Judge Hogan Receives Devitt Award, Warns of ‘Crossroads’ for Courts
![AO Director Thomas F. Hogan, second from left, is flanked by the committee that gave him the Devitt Award. From left, they are Joel F. Dubina, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit; Lisa Godbey Wood, chief judge of the U.S. Dis AO Director Thomas F. Hogan, second from left, is flanked by the committee that gave him the Devitt Award. From left, they are Joel F. Dubina, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit; Lisa Godbey Wood, chief judge of the U.S. Dis](/sites/all/modules/lazyloader/image_placeholder.gif)
Published onDecember 17, 2012
Pronouncing himself “humbled,” Judge Thomas F. Hogan, Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, has received the Edward J. Devitt Distinguished Service to Justice Award, but he cautioned in remarks that America's federal judges are “nearing a crossroads.”
In New Video, Students Sound Off on Bill of Rights
Published onDecember 13, 2012
Celebrating Bill of Rights Day, students in a newly released two-minute video talk candidly about the rights and freedoms they value most and are guaranteed in this seminal document.
Judge Chin's Immigrant Journey Recalled in 'Pathways to Bench' Video
Published onDecember 11, 2012
U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Denny Chin, a Chinese immigrant who grew up in a Hell's Kitchen tenement, is the subject of a newly released Pathways to the Bench video profile, the eighth in a video series in which federal judges talk about challenges that helped prepare them to serve justice.
As Electoral College Votes, a Little-Known Role for U.S. Courts
![One trial court in each state, and in the District of Columbia, safeguards a backup set of Electoral College documents, in case originals sent to the Senate and National Archives are lost. One trial court in each state, and in the District of Columbia, safeguards a backup set of Electoral College documents, in case originals sent to the Senate and National Archives are lost.](/sites/all/modules/lazyloader/image_placeholder.gif)
Published onDecember 6, 2012
Every four years, U.S. courts play a little-known role to help ensure that the Electoral College votes are received in Washington and properly counted.