News and Announcements

The Frank Carlson Federal Building and Courthouse in Topeka, Kansas is in an energy race with seven other finalists nationwide. The contestants—federal buildings that include a military exchange, a research facility and an office building—vie to consume the least amount of energy this fiscal year and win the Better Buildings Federal Award.

In July, the District of Maryland was the first court to throw away the paper in processing petty offenses, linking their Case Management/Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) system with the Central Violations Bureau (CVB), the national center charged with processing citations issued and payments received for petty offenses committed on federal property.

Bankruptcy filings for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2012, totaled 1,311,602 petitions, 14 percent less than the 1,529,560 filed in the 12-month period ending June 30, 2011, according to statistics released today by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

Arthur Votolato is a record-setter. He was the first bankruptcy judge to sit in Rhode Island, and for 44 years, he was the only U.S. bankruptcy judge to serve the state. He also enjoyed the distinction of being the longest continuously serving active bankruptcy judge in U.S. history.

A year after the federal Judiciary began its cameras in the courtroom pilot program in 14 federal trial courts, 39 court proceedings are available online for public viewing on the Judiciary’s website. The video recordings and brief summaries of the cases are organized by court, subject matter, and procedural posture. The posted videos have been viewed over 28,000 times since the pilot began in July 2011.

Independence Day is a fitting date to take the oath of U.S. citizenship and many courts across the country hold naturalization ceremonies. And what says America more than a naturalization ceremony held on a famous aircraft carrier, or on the steps of an historic Town Hall.

The Bankruptcy Noticing Center (BNC) begins accepting, processing and securely disposing of returned mail, saving the Judiciary over a million dollars.

A change in national policy will limit supervision of low-risk offenders in the federal system, redistributing scarce resources to supervise high-risk offenders.

Over the last few weeks, municipalities have declared bankruptcy. Chapter 9 of the Bankruptcy Code provides for reorganization of municipalities, which includes cities and towns, as well as villages, counties, taxing districts, municipal utilities, and school districts.

The potential trauma of high profile trials, the ubiquity of social media, tactics for reaching the plugged-in generation, and tips for maximizing jurors called for service in federal courts highlighted a recent workshop for court staff.