# Presentation: 569404

## Federal Judicial Center

- “*to further the development and adoption of improved judicial administration” through education & research*

## U.S. Judicial System

- Federal
- U.S. Constitution (Articles I & III)
- Congress (lower courts, jurisdiction)
- States
- 50 States (& D.C., Puerto Rico)
- State constitutions & laws
- Independent judicial systems
- Most U.S. law = state law
- over 90% court cases in state courts

## Jurisdiction

**Jurisdiction includes:**
-  Contract disputes
-  Domestic relations
-  Personal injury
-  State criminal offenses
-  State constitutional claims
-  Federal constitutional claims
*Many states have specialized courts, including: domestic, juvenile, drug, tax, traffic*

- Federal Courts
**Limited jurisdiction**
-   _Subject_
-  U.S. Constitution & laws
-  Treaty
-  Bankruptcy, customs, patent, admiralty, international trade
-   _Party_
-  Federal gov’t or state
-  Ambassador or public official
-  Foreign states
**  **_Diversity_
-  Citizens of different states &       > $75,000

## Federal Court Structure

**Supreme Court**
-   9 Justices
-    Cases: Petitions: 8,500; Full Review: 87

**Courts of Appeals**
-   179 Judges in 13 Circuits
-     6 – 28 Judges/circuit
-      Cases: 66,600

**District Courts**
-   678 Judges in 94 Districts
-     2 – 27 Judges/district
-      Cases: 348,000

** (2006,  numbers approximate)*

## Slide 5

## Specialized Federal Courts

- International Trade
- Federal Claims
- Bankruptcy
- Court of Appeals for Armed Forces
- Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
- Tax Court
- Administrative Agency Tribunals
- “Administrative Law Judge”
- Disputes involving specific federal laws, including social security, immigration, labor

## United States Supreme Court

- Review discretionary.
- No panels or advisory opinions.
- Questions of law.

***If federal question.***

## The Legal Profession

- Legal Education
- University: 4 years, general studies
- Law School: 3 years
- Core: civil procedure, constitutional law, criminal law, ethics, evidence, property, torts, legal writing
- Elective: commercial law, intellectual property, labor law, health law, international law, advocacy training, etc.
- “Bar” Accreditation
- Exam
- Admission to State Bar
- Graduation from from accredited law school
- 195 accredited law schools operating in U.S. *(4 states recognize non-accredited)*
- Continuing Legal Education for Attorneys *(43 states require)*
- Areas of Practice
- Private Sector (law firm, corporation)
- Public Sector (government, judiciary)

## Judicial Office: Eligibility

- No exam
- Few formal selection criteria
- Training
- Federal:
- No mandatory pre-judicial training
- Voluntary continuing judicial education
- State:
- Mandatory pre-judicial training: 28 states
- Mandatory continuing judicial education: 43 states

- Candidates selected from:
- Experienced practitioners (government and private), state courts, lower federal courts, or academia

## Judicial Selection: State

- Methods vary by state:
- Election (31 states)
- popular election: partisan (13) or non-partisan (18)
- Appointment by governor
- merit selection commissions
- “retention” elections
- Appointment by legislature (2 states)
- Renewable terms (range: 2 - 14 years)

## Judicial Selection: Federal Article III Judges

- Nominated by President and confirmed by Senate
- Recommendation: legislators, others *(usually from President’s political party)*
- Investigation: White House, Justice Department, FBI
- Nomination: Submitted by President to Senate
*Review: American Bar Association** (**not* *legally required, non-binding)*
- Hearing: Senate Judiciary Committee
- Vote:  Senate
- Life tenure *(“during good behavior”)*

## Judicial Selection: Federal Article I Judges

- Bankruptcy
*(Jurisdiction over bankruptcy matters)**	*
- Appointed by Courts of Appeals to renewable 14-year terms
- Magistrate
*	**(Pre-trial matters, case management, mediation, some civil trials)*
- Appointed by District Courts to renewable 8-year terms
- Federal Claims
*	**(Monetary claims against the U.S. Government)**	*
- Appointed by President, with Senate confirmation,                to renewable 15-year terms

## Chief Justice 
Nominated by President, confirmed by Senate
Duties: Preside over court sessions, Judicial Conference, AO, FJC, Smithsonian, National Gallery of Art

Chief Judge (Courts of Appeals, District Courts)
Assigned by seniority (time on court)
7-year term
Supervises court administration
Delegates to Clerk of Court
May have reduced caseload

Senior Judge (optional)
Eligibility: 65 years of age
Rule: when age + years of service = 80 
Reduced case load 

- Nominated by President, confirmed by Senate
- Duties: Preside over court sessions, Judicial Conference, AO, FJC, Smithsonian, National Gallery of Art
- Chief Judge *(Courts of Appeals, District Courts)*
- Assigned by seniority *(time on court)*
- 7-year term
- Supervises court administration
- Delegates to Clerk of Court
- May have reduced caseload
- Senior Judge *(optional)*
- Eligibility: 65 years of age
- Rule: when age + years of service = 80
- Reduced case load

- Federal Judges: Chief & Senior Status

## Number of Cases

- 67,000
- 327,000
-   67,000
- 260,000
- 1,600,000
- (mostly bankruptcy
- and federal claims cases)

- State
- 281,000
- 37,700,000
- 20,600,000
- 17,100,000
- 62,500,000
- (juvenile, traffic, domestic)

*Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (2005)*; *National Center for State Courts (2004)*

- Trial
- Criminal
- Civil

- Appellate

- Specialized Courts

## Number of Judges

- Federal*
- 1,769
- 188
- 678
- (District, Int’l Trade)
- 903
- (Bankruptcy, Magistrate)

- State
- 30,711
- 1,338
- 11,374
** **
- 17,999
** **

********Excluding Senior Judges*
*Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (2005)*; *National Center for State Courts (2004)*

- Total
- Appellate
- (Supreme & Intermediate)
- Trial
- General Jurisdiction
- Limited Jurisdiction

## Diversity in the Federal Courts

**Female:**

**25%**

**Race**

**Gender**

** Active Judges; FJC History Office (current through January 2007)*

## Court Personnel (average size court)

- Court of Appeals

- District Court

- Chief Judge &
- 6 other district judges
- 3 magistrate judges

_**Central Staff**_
- Clerk of Court
- Court Staff:  80(+/-)
- Pro Se Attorneys: 4

_**Judge’s Staff**_
- Law Clerks: 2
- Secretaries: 1

- Bankruptcy Court: 4 judges & staff

## Federal Judicial Administration

**Congress: **Appropriates funds; enacts legislation on organization & jurisdiction.

- Federal
- Judicial
- Center

- Sentencing
- Commission

- Chief Justice of the Supreme Court

- Administrative
- Office

## Financing the Federal Courts

** **General Accounting Office, 2007*

- Budget for the Federal Judiciary: $5.98 billion*

- Judicial Salaries *(2006)*
- Supreme Court:       $203,000 (CJ: $212,100)
- Court of Appeals:     $175,100
- District Court:          $165,200
- Bankruptcy/Magistrate Judge:   $152,000

*(less than 2/10 of 1% of U.S. budget)*

## Judicial Conduct and Discipline

- _Judicial Branch_
-  Establishes & interprets rules of conduct
-  Reviews complaints against judges and determines sanctions in most instances

- _Legislative Branch  _
-  Sets rules on outside income, recusal, gifts
-  Through impeachment     and trial, may remove judges found responsible for extreme cases of misconduct. *(Rarely exercised)*

- Inter-branch Responsibilities

## Judicial Conduct and Discipline

- Constitution
-  Article III, Section 1
-  Judges serve “during good behavior”
- Statute
-  Judicial Conduct and Disability Act of 1980
-  Financial Disclosure (5 U.S.C. §101-112)
-  Limits on Outside Income (5 U.S.C. §501-505)
-  Disqualification (28 U.S.C. §455)
- Code of Conduct
-  Canons (Judicial Conference)
-  Judicial Conference Committee: Advisory Opinions

## Judicial Conduct & Disability Act of 1980

- Allegations have included:
- Conflict of Interest/Bias
- Undue Decisional Delay
- Medical Disability
- 2006 Study of Act’s operation:
- “No serious problem with the judiciary’s handling of the vast bulk of complaints...but found the handling of five [high visibility cases] problematic.”
- Recommendations: Improve clarity of ethics guidelines;** **additional education for judges and staff.

- Establishes “procedure for the processing of complaints against Federal Judges”

## Conduct & Disability Act: Complaint Process

**3**

- Judicial Council

- May investigate, dismiss, take corrective action, or refer to Judicial Conference for action.

**Possible Courses of Action:**
-  Dismiss Complaint
-  Temporarily Halt Assignments
-  Request Retirement
-  Censure, Reprimand (private or public)

**4**

- Judicial Conference

- Reviews complaint (and appeals   from complainant or accused judge).  May take action or refer to House of Representatives for impeachment proceedings.

- Rare

## Common law
Precedent
Statutes
Rules of procedure & evidence

Court Proceedings
Adversarial
Role of judge & attorneys
Trials
Jury or judge
Continuous (limited adjournments)
Verbatim transcript

- Common law
- Precedent
- Statutes
- Rules of procedure & evidence
- Court Proceedings
- Adversarial
- Role of judge & attorneys
- Trials
- Jury or judge
- Continuous (limited adjournments)
- Verbatim transcript

## Path of a Criminal Case

**Starting the Case**

- Arraignment
- Investigation
- Plea Bargaining

**Pre-trial**

- _Jury Trial_        _Judge Trial_
- 	Jury Selection
-  Opening Statements
-  Presentation of Evidence
-  Evidentiary Rulings
-  Closing Arguments
-  Jury Instructions
-   Deliberations
-            Verdict

**Trial**

-  Judgment
-  and
-  Sentencing
- Right to Appeal

**Post-Trial**

## Path of a Civil Case

- _Jury Trial_     _Judge Trial_
-      Jury Selection
-  Opening Statements
- Presentation of Evidence
-  Evidentiary Rulings
-  Closing Arguments
-         Jury Instructions
-  Deliberations
-                Verdict

**Trial**

-  Judgment
- Right to Appeal

**Post-Trial**

## Federal Judicial Center

- Established by statute, 1967
- Judicial branch agency
- Mandate: education & research
- Board
- Chief Justice, 7 judges, AO Director
- Director
- Appointed by Board
- Staff: 125
- Budget: $22,874,000 (2007)

## Topics in Judicial Education

- Skills
- Judicial Ethics
- Substantive Law
- Criminal Sentencing
- Science & Technology
- Case Management
- Court Administration

*Identified in consultation with: Judicial Advisory Committees*

## Workshops & Seminars

- Orientation
- 2 one-week sessions
- Continuing Education
- General
- 2 – 3 days, in different U.S. cities
- Specialized (frequently in partnership with universities)
- Environmental law, employment law, intellectual property, mediation skills, etc.
- In-court programs
- Faculty
- Evaluations

## FJC Publications

- Benchbook for District Court Judges
- Judicial Writing Manual
- Recurring Problems in Criminal Trials
- Case Management & ADR
- Deskbook for Chief Judges
- Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence
- Manual for Complex Litigation
- Monographs on legal issues

## Programs for Court Staff

- Court Administrators
- court management
- case flow management
- organizational development
- jury trial administration
- supervision, leadership, team-building
- Probation & Pretrial Services
- Workshops and Conferences
- In-court Program Development

## Distance Education

**Federal Judicial Television Network**

** ****Web & Video Conferencing**

**Video, DVD, Streaming, Audio**

**FJC Website (www.fjc.gov) **

## FJC Programs: Statistics

- Educational Programs for Judges (2006)
- 53 programs
- 2,105 participants
- Training Programs for Court Staff (2006)
- 314 programs
- 10,147 participants

## Research at the FJC

- Projects include:
-  Case management
-  Alternative Dispute Resolution
-  Case weights
-  Courtroom technology
-  Class action
-  Impact of rules reform

- Federal Judicial History Office: studies the history of the federal judiciary

*to develop and undertake analytical, empirical research in the fields of court operations and judicial administration, often at the request of judicial branch policymakers or Congress*

- Mandate:

## International Judicial Relations

- Informational briefings
- Educational programs
- Visiting Foreign Judicial Fellows Program
- International conferences
- Technical assistance
- Materials
- International Judicial Relations Committee

## www.fjc.gov