News and Announcements

Describing themselves as "the boots on the ground in our nation's federal trial courts," 87 chief U.S. District judges have sent a letter to Congressional leaders stating that reduced funding and sequestration have "...forced us to slash our operations to the bone."

A New Jersey federal courthouse placed in the top 10 of biggest losers in a national competition—and that’s good news. By reducing its energy needs by 37 percent over the last year, the Martin Luther King Jr. Courthouse in Newark was a winner in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s Energy Star National Building Competition. In 2012, more than 3,000 buildings competed to save energy and money.

Bankruptcy filings for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2013, fell 13 percent when compared to bankruptcy filings for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2012, according to statistics released today by the Administrative Office of the U.S.

In a congressional hearing on sequestration and the courts, a U.S. judge, federal defender and a private lawyer warned Senators that continued budget cuts would devastate the nation’s system of justice—threatening public safety, constitutional rights and economic well-being.

A federal judge today told a Senate panel that the number of personnel working in U.S. courts is at the lowest level since 1999, and that federal court clerks and probation and pretrial services staff could be furloughed for close to 70,000 hours this fiscal year.

The City of Detroit has declared bankruptcy under Chapter 9 of the Bankruptcy Code. Chapter 9 provides for reorganization of municipalities, which includes cities and towns, as well as villages, counties, taxing districts, municipal utilities, and school districts

In 2012, the cost of placing an offender in a Bureau of Prisons institution or federal residential reentry center was roughly eight times the cost of placing the same offender under post-conviction supervision by a federal probation officer.

A new guide on international commercial arbitration written for U.S. federal judges is now available online. In less than 100 pages, it offers a practical overview of a complicated area of law that has become the preferred means of resolving cross-border business disputes.

A computer virus that locks up personal computers, and then issues a demand for money from the Department of Justice and the U.S. Courts, is a scam and has no link to the courts or other federal agencies.

In calendar year 2012, a total of 3,395 orders authorizing the interception of wire, oral, or electronic communications, or wiretaps, were approved by state and federal judges. The Administrative Office of the United States Courts (AO) is required by statute to report to Congress the number of federal and state applications for orders authorizing or approving wiretaps.