News and Announcements

Bankruptcy filings for the 12-month period ending March 31, 2014, fell 11 percent when compared to bankruptcy filings for the 12-month period ending March 31, 2013, according to statistics released today by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

Over the last two years, filings of patent cases in federal courts have risen 12 percent to 6,401. While many districts show a double-digit increase in the number of patent filings in 2012-2013, the District of Delaware and the Eastern District of Texas saw the largest growth in patent cases, respectively, at 364 and 275 filings.

In the mid-1940s, Judge J. Waties Waring from South Carolina had an epiphany that shook his life, his state, and American racial history. Segregation, he concluded, was not just wrong, but unlawful. On April 11, Judge Waring’s legacy was reclaimed, with a statue honoring his memory.

The 225th Anniversary of the Judiciary Act, and how federal courts continue to affect average Americans today, will be a key theme in the U.S. courts’ public education efforts for 2014.

Nearly a year after Super Storm Sandy, New Jersey is seeing another wave. This time, it’s a surge in federal cases involving flood insurance carriers.

A representative of the Judicial Conference expressed strong concerns to Congress about the Judiciary’s long-term ability to carry out its functions under a no-growth federal budget.

A newly published Federal Court Interpreter Orientation Manual and Glossary (pdf) provides an overview of the federal court interpreting program. The manual provides an introduction to the federal court system, interpreting best practices, and reference materials.

As a child, Julie A. Robinson was inspired by a story told by her grandmother, of how Civil Rights pioneer Mary McLeod Bethune was invited to the White House to meet with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Years later, Robinson followed Bethune’s footsteps into the White House, to be interviewed for a federal judgeship.

Attorney General Eric Holder appeared before the U.S. Sentencing Commission on March 13, 2014, to endorse a proposed change to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines that would reserve the harshest penalties for the most serious drug offenders. The Judicial Conference Criminal Law Committee supports this change.

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.