News and Announcements

Bankruptcy cases filed in federal courts for the fiscal year 2015—the 12-month period ending September 30, 2015—totaled 860,182, down 11 percent from the 963,739 bankruptcy filings in FY 2014, according to statistics released today by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. This is the lowest number of bankruptcy filings for any 12-month period since 2007, and the fifth consecutive fiscal year filings have fallen.

Making a stately federal courthouse seem warm and welcoming to the public can be a challenge. In the Western District of Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh, a strong interest in art has led to a rotating schedule of art exhibits that has brightened a space once austere and cold, while increasing public visits to the courthouse.

A sophisticated phone scam is targeting bankruptcy filers in several states, using personal information from filings and posing as attorneys to get intended victims to immediately wire money to satisfy a debt. 

The remarkable resurrection of a once-forgotten judge’s civil rights legacy was completed Oct. 2, when U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and former Senator Ernest “Fritz” Hollings joined the Judiciary in renaming the Hollings Judicial Center in Charleston, South Carolina, the J. Waties Waring Judicial Center.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Edward Leavy is the recipient of the 2015 Edward J. Devitt Distinguished Service to Justice Award.

A U.S. Courts video features the Judiciary’s annual honoring of Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, depicting many of the more than 50 naturalization ceremonies conducted by federal courts across the country.

Six new chairs of Judicial Conference committees have been named by Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., with terms beginning October 1, 2015. 

Federal courts have greatly improved their response to natural disasters in the last decade, according to a new U.S. Courts video, released in observance of National Preparedness Month. The video details lessons from four weather emergencies that shut down federal courthouses. 

The Judicial Conference of the United States today adopted amended rules for Judicial Conduct and Disability proceedings that provide for greater transparency and also approved an updated Strategic Plan for the Federal Judiciary.

Students will participate in naturalization ceremonies across the nation throughout September as part of a living civics lesson on citizenship. Federal courts are conducting more than 50 naturalization ceremonies in September to observe Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, which is officially celebrated on September 17.