research

education and training

federal judicial history

assistance to foreign judiciaries

improving judicial administration

research

education and training

federal judicial history

assistance to foreign judiciaries

improving judicial administration

research

education and training

federal judicial history

assistance to foreign judiciaries

improving judicial administration

research

education and training

federal judicial history

assistance to foreign judiciaries

improving judicial administration

research

education and training

federal judicial history

assistance to foreign judiciaries

improving judicial administration

research

education and training

federal judicial history

assistance to foreign judiciaries

improving judicial administration

research

education and training

federal judicial history

assistance to foreign judiciaries

improving judicial administration

research

education and training

federal judicial history

assistance to foreign judiciaries

improving judicial administration

research

education and training

federal judicial history

assistance to foreign judiciaries

improving judicial administration

research

education and training

federal judicial history

assistance to foreign judiciaries

improving judicial administration

research

education and training

federal judicial history

assistance to foreign judiciaries

improving judicial administration

Federal Judicial Center

Annual Report


contents

a message from the director: who we are and what we do, 1

about the federal judicial center, 3

Statutory mission, 

Governance, 

Organization, 

Coordination within the judicial branch, 

Staffing and appropriation, 

20 0 0 at a glance, 5

education & training, 

Education programs for judges and legal staff, 

Education &training programs for court staff, 

Distance education, 

Programs for foreign judicial officials, 

research, 13

Appellate litigation, 

Bankruptcy litigation, 

Civil litigation, 

Criminal litigation, 

Federal judicial history, 

media programs & publications, 15

Educational media programs, 

Publications, 

Information services, 

federal judicial center foundation, 18

advisory committees, 19
2000 annual report of the federal judicial center 1

A Message from the Director:

Who We Are and What We Do

The mission of the Federal Judicial Center is to educate federal judges and court

staff and to contribute to the body of research that furthers judicial efficiency and

promotes the rule of law. The Center was established in  because Congress

acknowledged that the business of judging had become so complicated that the

judicial branch required an in-house agency dedicated primarily to the education

of judges and court staff and conducting policy-oriented research. Newly appointed

federal judges come from diverse professional backgrounds. Regardless of whether

that background is criminal prosecution or defense, commercial litigation, civil

rights, antitrust, or any other speciality, however, no judge arrives with experience

in all of the substantive areas that make up a federal court docket. And few new

judges, if any, are familiar with the multitude of procedural rules and tasks that are

the daily fare on any federal judicial menu. So the Center introduces new judges

to some of the demands of their new role.

Our mandate does not stop with orientation, however; the need for judicial

education is ongoing. New statutes are passed, new cases interpret those statutes,

rules are amended, and some judges find innovative ways to do the job of judging

better. Throughout our history, the Center has assisted judges in understanding

and analyzing changes in such areas as civil rights, habeas corpus, securities law,

antitrust, intellectual property, sentencing reform, rules governing evidence, class

actions, and approaches to case management.

So the changes keep coming—and not just new judges and new laws. Changes

in other fields, such as science and technology, affect the courts, both in the issues

litigated before them and in how the courts themselves operate. And the Center

responds accordingly, focusing not just on basic concepts, or on “what’s the latest,” but also on “what’s ahead.” Since our creation, the Center has provided

federal judges with almost , separate seminars and conferences, as well as reference manuals and guides. More recently, we have complemented these programs with education through videos and direct satellite broadcasts. Pages  through

 of this report provide details on our offerings this year, for both judges and

court personnel.

That is who we are and what we do.

In all of the Center’s judicial education programs, our main goal is to help

judges familiarize themselves with the core elements of a subject and sift through

the often conflicting points of view as to how they should assess and weigh facts

and analyze legal doctrine. Part of our responsibility is to present competing points

of view, in an intellectually sound but neutral way, so that judges are assured that
2 2000 annual report of the federal judicial center

they are getting a complete and unbiased analysis of complicated and often controversial issues. The Chief Justice put it well in his  Year-End Report on the Federal

Judiciary:

Federal judges today face cases involving complicated statutes and factual

assertions, many of which straddle the intersections of law, technology, and

the physical, biological and social sciences. FJC education programs and

reference guides help judges sort out relevant facts and applicable law from

the panoply of information with which the adversary system bombards them.

The FJC thus contributes to the independent decision making that is the

judge’s fundamental duty.

About  percent of the , judicial education programs that the Center has

presented have been undertaken in cooperation with other institutions, primarily

law schools. This collaboration allows us to make maximum use of our limited

funds, which have decreased in recent years, and leverage our own expertise. The

Center retains control of program design in these joint ventures.

The Center, of course, cannot be federal judges’ sole source of education and

training, because the needs are too great and our resources too limited. Furthermore, the Center’s creation did not end the many ways in which judges learn both

individually and through programs organized by their own courts, bench–bar groups,

law schools, and others, particularly about matters distinctive to their own districts

and states. Although there has been opposition to federal judges’ attendance at

some privately sponsored seminars, the Center lays no claim that we have preempted the field of judicial education. In fact, last October, the Center’s Board

unanimously opposed legislation, as did the Judicial Conference, that would have

prohibited federal judges from attending any privately funded educational programs and would have allowed them to attend non-Center programs at government expense only if the Center’s Board approved of the program. It is not the

Center’s role to decide which non-Center programs judges should attend.

It is the Center’s role to provide judges with as many tools as our resources

allow to assist them in resolving the difficult questions that confront them in delivering equal justice under law. The Chief Justice observed in his year-end statement that “our courts continue to serve as a standard of excellence around the

world.” We are proud of the Center’s contributions to that excellence.

Fern M. Smith
2000 annual report of the federal judicial center 3

About the Federal Judicial Center

statutory mission

In , Congress created the Federal Judicial Center “to further the development

and adoption of improved judicial administration” in the courts of the United

States. The Center’s statutory duties are codified at  U.S.C. §§ –. They

include providing orientation and continuing education for the judges and staff of

the federal judicial system, performing research on court operations and procedures (particularly in support of Judicial Conference committees), and conducting

programs to promote judicial federalism, assist foreign judicial systems, and study

the federal courts’ history. This annual report, mandated by statute, describes the

Center’s activities in furtherance of its statutory duties in calendar year .

governance

The Chief Justice of the United States chairs the Center’s Board, which also includes two circuit judges, three district judges, one bankruptcy judge, and one

magistrate judge elected by the Judicial Conference, as well as the director of the

Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (ex officio). The Board oversees the FJC’s

activities, and its members serve on standing committees on education and research and on advisory committees on judicial education programs.

In March , the Judicial Conference elected Judge Pauline Newman of the

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and Judge Robert J. Bryan of the

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington to membership on the

Board. Judge Robert M. Parker of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

had resigned for reasons of health, and Judge Thomas F. Hogan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia left the Board because his term expired.

The Board appoints the FJC’s director and deputy director; the director appoints the Center’s staff. All but one of the Center’s eight directors have been

federal judges, including the current director, Judge Fern M. Smith of the U.S.

District Court for the Northern District of California.

organization

The organizational structure of the Center reflects its primary statutory mandates

and direction provided in the Board’s  strategic plan. The Judicial Education

and Court Education divisions are responsible for planning and producing all education and training programs for judges and court staff, including satellite broadcasts, video programs, Web resources, and educational publications. The Research

Division examines and evaluates current and alternative federal court practices and

policies. This research not only assists committees of the Judicial Conference in

developing policy recommendations but also contributes substantially to educational programs and products for the judiciary. The three divisions work closely

with two units of the Director’s Office—the Systems Innovation & Development

Office and Communications Policy & Design—in using print, broadcast, and on-
4 2000 annual report of the federal judicial center

line media to deliver timely education and training and to disseminate the results

of Center research. The Federal Judicial History Office, a part of the Research

Division, develops innovative ways to help courts and scholars study and preserve

federal judicial history, including a Web site that was introduced in . The

Interjudicial Affairs Office, part of the Judicial Education Division, provides information to judicial and legal officials from foreign countries and assesses how developments in international law should be included in the Center’s educational programs for federal judges.

coordination within the judicial branch

Numerous programs and projects described in this annual report involve coordination, cooperation, and consultation with the Judicial Conference and its committees, with the Administrative Office, and with the U.S. Sentencing Commission. At the request of the Center’s Board and the Judicial Conference, and pursuant to the Center’s strategic plan, the FJC and the Administrative Office have

created an interagency committee to promote appropriate coordination of educational activities.

In , at the request of Rep. Harold Rogers, chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies, the Center and the Administrative Office prepared a paper describing the past

and present uses of technology in the federal courts, as well as emerging technologies that might be applicable to court operations. Chairman Rogers had asked the

senior staff of the federal judicial center

Fern M. Smith, Director

Russell R. Wheeler, Deputy Director

John S. Cooke, Director, Judicial Education Division

James B. Eaglin, Director, Research Division

Emily Z. Huebner, Director, Court Education Division

Sylvan A. Sobel, Director, Communications Policy & Design

Ted E. Coleman, Chief, Systems Innovation & Development Office

Mira Gur-Arie, Senior Attorney for Interjudicial Affairs

Bruce A. Ragsdale, Chief, Federal Judicial History Office
2000 annual report of the federal judicial center 5

Center to describe how technology influences training and education in the federal judiciary and had asked the Administrative Office to report on how technology influences the administration and operations of the federal courts.

Advisory committees of judges, court staff, and others help the Center in planning and producing education programs and publications. These committees are

listed on pages  and .

staffing and appropriation

The Center had a fiscal  appropriation of ,,, and it employed 

people at the end of calendar year . Its fiscal  appropriation is ,,.

2000 at a Glance

In  the Center

• provided  educational programs (including educational programs broadcast on the Federal Judicial Television Network) for more than , federal judge and court staff participants

• completed thirteen major research and evaluation projects, continued work

on twenty-two others, and responded to many other requests for shortterm research assistance

• published or updated seven manuals, monographs, or similar reference books

and published five research reports

• launched the History of the Federal Judiciary Web site on its Internet and

intranet homepages, which presents for the first time anywhere information

about the service records, careers, and education of the more than ,

district and appellate judges and justices who have served since 

• produced or updated seventy-one educational media programs for live or

videotaped satellite broadcast or distribution on videocassette

• broadcast more than , hours of educational and informational programs

from the Center, the Sentencing Commission, and the Administrative Office on the Federal Judicial Television Network

• completed six curriculum packages and training guides

• released one computer-based instructional program

• distributed more than , copies of its publications, including periodicals and catalogs of books, programs, and other services, as well as almost

, audio, video, and multimedia programs

• answered approximately 2,000 information requests from judges, court staff,

and others

• hosted seminars or briefings for some  foreign judges and officials from

forty countries
6 2000 annual report of the federal judicial center

Education & Training

Judges and court staff receive education and training from the Center through a

variety of methods. Face-to-face conferences, seminars, and workshops are often

the best way to bring together participants from throughout the judicial system so

that they can learn from one another. Such programs continue to be the primary

vehicle for orientation and continuing education for judges; however, most of the

staff of the courts who participate in Center education programs and in local training events do so through distance education. In , at least % of the participants in Center programs used Center-prepared curriculum packages in their own

courts, watched satellite broadcasts on the Federal Judicial Television Network

(FJTN), or participated in other forms of distance education. The Center also

publishes manuals, monographs, and other job aids and produces audiotapes, videotapes, and computer-based educational media. Many of these resources are also

available on the Center’s site on the judiciary’s intranet (http://jnet.fjc.dcn).

The Center’s  education and training programs reached more than ,

participants, as described below. (Each participation by a judge or court employee

is included in these totals, so some individuals are counted more than once.) Readers

of previous annual reports may note that total participant figures have increased

substantially. This increase occurred because figures for participation in Center

education programs include, for the first time, estimated figures for FJTN viewings,

based on a study the Center began testing in  that uses statistical sampling to

estimate viewership. The pilot-test phase of the study was completed in June ,

and the study became fully operational in July. During the nine-month period

from January to September , the first six months of which were during the

project’s pilot phase, the Center estimates that some , viewers watched live

and videotaped educational and informational programs broadcast by the Center;

the large majority of these viewers were court staff.

seminars & workshops for judges, jan. 1–dec. 31, 2000

Number of Number of

Programs Participants

Orientations for newly appointed circuit judges 1 3

Orientations for newly appointed district judges 3 78

Orientations for newly appointed bankruptcy judges 2 16

Orientations for newly appointed magistrate judges 3 58

Conference for chief district judges 1 85

Conference for chief bankruptcy judges 1 95

Workshops for district and circuit judges 7 463

National workshops for bankruptcy judges 3 262

National workshops for magistrate judges 2 326

Sentencing Policy Institute 1 152

Special-focus workshops 11 399

In-court seminars 15 201

TOTAL 50 2,138
2000 annual report of the federal judicial center 7

The Center also held five programs for  federal defenders and staff.

court staff education & training programs, jan. 1–dec. 31, 2000

Seminars and Workshops Number of Number of

(national and regional) Programs Participants

Clerks of court and clerk’s office personnel 11 1,184

Probation and pretrial services officers and personnel 17 887

Personnel in several categories 15 796

TOTAL 43 2,867

In-court Programs (programs using Center curriculum packages, Number of Number of

training guides, and computer-assisted intructional programs) Programs Participants

Clerks of court and clerk’s office personnel 366 9,506

Probation and pretrial services officers and personnel 112 7,482

Personnel in several categories 45 913

TOTAL 523 17,901

Technology-based Programs (videoconferences, Number of Number of

audioconferences, on-line conferences)* Programs Participants

Clerks of court and clerk’s office personnel 6 231

Probation and pretrial services officers 2 79

Personnel in several categories 8 203

TOTAL 16 513

GRAND TOTAL 582 21,281

 *The Center also provides Web-based education and training programs on its site on the judiciary’s intranet,

but does not maintain figures for their usage. For FJTN viewership, see text above.

education programs for judges and legal staff

The Center provides orientation and continuing education programs and materials for judges on many subjects and in a variety of forms.

Programs that judges attend in person include orientation seminars for all new

trial judges; national and circuit-based workshops for all judges, each of which

provide updates and analysis on multiple topics; and seminars devoted to specific

subjects, such as employment law, intellectual property, and case management.

The latter programs are particularly popular; consistently more judges apply than

can be accommodated. In , the Center organized a Conference for Border

Courts (cosponsored by the Administrative Office) to help courts find solutions to

the problems arising from the huge increase in criminal cases along the southwest

border. Judges from the border courts, led by Chief Judge Carolyn Dineen King

of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, asked for this conference and

were instrumental in planning it. A national Sentencing Policy Institute examined

the operation of the federal sentencing guidelines. The institute was produced in

cooperation with the Criminal Law Committee of the Judicial Conference of the

United States, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Administrative Office, and the

U.S. Sentencing Commission. The Center also conducted conferences for chief

district judges and chief bankruptcy judges on court-management issues, such as

budgeting and privacy concerns associated with the electronic availability of court
8 2000 annual report of the federal judicial center

records. A conference for chief circuit judges and circuit executives on the management and administrative responsibilities of chief judges helped the Center produce a template to assist each circuit in preparing its own chief judge’s deskbook.

In , the Center published new editions of its Reference Manual on Scientific

Evidence and Guideline Sentencing: An Outline of Appellate Case Law on Selected Topics

and updated the Benchbook for U.S. District Court Judges. It also produced a new

manual on case-management procedures in the federal courts of appeals. These

publications are available in print and in electronic form on the Center’s site on

the judiciary’s intranet at http://jnet.fjc.dcn. New manuals on alternative dispute

resolution, visiting judge programs, and international insolvency, and an on-line

compilation of materials designed to help judges handle federal death penalty cases,

will be available in early . Center staff continued to work with the Administrative Office on a civil litigation management manual, under the direction of the

Court Administration and Case Management Committee of the Judicial Conference. (Many of these manuals and reference guides are described further on pages

 and .)

Center educational broadcasts for judges on the FJTN included the fourth

annual review of the Supreme Court’s term; analysis of recurring issues in federal

death penalty cases; examination of the effects of the Supreme Court’s decision in

Apprendi v. New Jersey on charging and sentencing in criminal cases; periodic updates in bankruptcy law; and a review of developments in Social Security law. In

September the Center broadcast its orientation program for new judicial law clerks,

along with overviews of federal jurisdiction and the organization and jurisdiction

of bankruptcy courts.

education & training programs for court staff

The Center provides practical education and training programs on critical job

responsibilities for court managers and staff, as well as programs on executive team

development and strategic planning for judges and senior court managers. Much

of this training is delivered through distance education programs.

In , new FJTN broadcasts helped court staff learn how to manage issues

that arise in capital cases and described effective practices for opening appellate

cases and for working with multi-party cases. Fifteen broadcasts for probation and

pretrial services officers included additions to the Center’s series of programs to

help officers supervise offenders with substance abuse problems, as well as additions to the FJC–Sentencing Commission series on sentencing and guidelines issues. An FJTN broadcast introduced the new Supervisors’ Development Program,

a self-directed curriculum that requires participants to complete ninety to ninetysix hours of training incorporating Center self-study materials, in-district training,

and distance learning. Examples of other broadcasts for probation and pretrial services officers are a two-part program to help officers communicate with Spanishspeaking offenders, two new programs in the series on dealing with sex offenders,

and a broadcast on implementing the Administrative Office’s Monograph ,

Criminal Monetary Penalties: A Guide to the Probation Officer’s Role. A program on
2000 annual report of the federal judicial center 9

techniques for helping offenders obtain education and employment, and thereby

reducing the risk of recidivism, has encouraged several districts to develop employment programs and job fairs for offenders.

The Center’s television magazine programs, Court to Court and Perspectives on

Probation and Pretrial Services, continue to serve as clearinghouses of ideas, innovations, and information for courts to share. For example, the District of Maryland

bankruptcy court used video clips from a Court to Court segment on case management/electronic case filing to prepare staff for upcoming automation changes. The

Eastern District of Virginia adapted some of the financial disclosure and ethics

materials that were developed by the District of Maine and showcased on Court to

Court. The Probation and Pretrial Services Office in the Western District of North

Carolina developed a Presentence Investigation (PSI) Expedited Presentence Program similar to the Southern District of New York’s program, which was featured

in a  edition of Perspectives. Since January , in the North Carolina offices

piloting the program, there has been a decrease in regular presentence office caseloads

and a decrease in PSI preparation time, from  days for all cases to approximately

 days. Because the average incarceration charge in the district is $ per day, cost

savings have been considerable.

Two Center-produced FJTN programs received non-commercial video production awards in . Special Needs Offenders: Introduction to Cyber Crime won the

Aegis Award in the training and education category. Taking the Court Interpreter’s

Oath to Heart: An Introduction to the Requirements for Interpreting in Federal Courts

received a Telly Award and a Council on International Non-theatrical Events

Golden Eagle Award. The latter program was produced at the request of and in

cooperation with the Court Administration and Case Management Committee of

the Judicial Conference and with the Administrative Office.

A combination of audioconferences and on-line conferences provided bankruptcy chief deputy clerks with instruction on technology-related privacy and

public access issues, the impact of proposed changes in bankruptcy law, and strategies for managing electronic case filing. Six three-part videoconferences taught

court training specialists and others how to create task-oriented user guides. The

Center also used videoconferences to deliver orientation training to eighty new

court training specialists.

Seven classes of new probation and pretrial services officers attended the Center’s

regular five-day orientation seminar in Washington. These seminars build on orientation training that the officers receive in their own districts, based on an inhouse training checklist the Center developed. Judges and senior court managers

from district and bankruptcy courts participated in executive team building and

strategic planning workshops. Biennial national conferences for chief probation

and pretrial services officers and for district court clerks, district executives, and

chief deputy clerks provided opportunities for court managers to examine current

and future management, operations, and automation issues. Participants in the

second class of the Federal Court Leadership Program completed their course

requirements at a September workshop. Leadership institutes were conducted for

senior court managers and deputy chief probation officers.
10 2000 annual report of the federal judicial center

distance education

As described above, a variety of distance education technologies enable the Center

to leverage its resources and to make more education and training opportunities

available. The more than , participants in distance education programs in

 received training in their own courts and had minimal or no travel costs.

The most visible of the Center’s distance education initiatives is the Federal

Judicial Television Network, which now consists of more than  satellite downlinks in federal courthouses across the country. The FJTN began operating in

April  and is now on the air almost every business day. In , the FJTN

broadcast more than , hours of educational and informational programming

(including rebroadcasts) from the Center, the Administrative Office, and the Sentencing Commission. FJC staff manage the network for all three agencies, a task

that requires coordinating broadcast schedules, obtaining satellite time, and operating broadcast equipment and the teletraining studio in the Thurgood Marshall

Federal Judiciary Building, from which eighty-seven live programs were broadcast

in . Administrative Office staff manage the judiciary’s contract for satellite and

other telecommunications services and coordinate the installation of downlinks in

the courts.

 Center educational programming on the FJTN consisted of ninety-one programs, accounting for more than  broadcast hours. Of these, forty-five were

live, interactive programs in which judges and court staff at courthouses around

the country could speak directly with faculty in the broadcast studio. Other broadcasts were videotaped programs that the Center produced either in its television

studios or at conferences and workshops, and programs produced by outside organizations, which the Center arranged to broadcast on the FJTN. The latter

programs were a program on new amendments to the federal rules of civil procedure and evidence, which was produced by the American Law Institute–American Bar Association (ALI-ABA) Committee on Continuing Legal Education and

included the Center’s director as a panelist; a program produced by the National

Institute of Corrections on the assessment and supervision of sex offenders; and

several management seminars and teleconferences produced by PBS–The Business

Channel.

The Center also develops packaged curriculum programs, training guides, selfstudy courses, and computer- or Web-based programs to help courts select and

customize curricula that meet their needs and provide training on demand. Court

training specialists typically arrange with the Center to obtain curriculum materials

and schedule Center-trained court faculty to deliver a program. The courts themselves can control what education they receive and when they receive it, rather

than depending on the Center to schedule national programs. The following incourt training materials were released in :

• Writing Skills Workshops (pre-writing strategies, writing clear sentences, and

composing paragraphs);

• Dealing With Noncompliant Behavior (for probation officers);

• Communication for Problem Management (for probation and pretrial services);
2000 annual report of the federal judicial center 11

• Financial Investigation Desk Reference for Probation and Pretrial Services Officers

(December  edition); and

• Special Needs Offender Bulletins (one on reducing risk of recidivism through

employment and education; one on cyber crime).

Also produced in  was a computer-assisted instructional program on cdrom on the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure. Although the program is

intended primarily for clerk’s office staff, several bankruptcy courts are making it

available on computers located in public access areas, and one court is planning to

distribute copies of the cd-rom to local bankruptcy attorneys.

For bankruptcy courts that are introducing electronic case filing, Center staff

are developing an on-line tutorial for release in early  to show attorneys how

to file pleadings and other case-related materials and how to generate reports. The

tutorial, which courts can customize to reflect local practices, is designed to reside

on the court’s public Web site. The Center released a similar tutorial for district

courts in .

Other forms of distance education the Center offers are audioconferences using telephone equipment, videoconferences with two-way audio and video, and

on-line conferences using computers. The introduction of local training and other

forms of distance education, particularly the curriculum packages, have allowed

the Center to increase substantially the number of persons receiving Center education and training, although the number of participants at travel seminars has

remained relatively constant. The chart below, drawn from the report for the

House appropriations subcommittee described at pages –, illustrates this trend. Number of Participants

Participants in FJC Seminars and Workshops, and in Local Programs, by Year

Year

1975 1980 1985 1990 1995

Travel-based program attendance Local program attendance Number of judicial branch personnel

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

40,000

45,000
12 2000 annual report of the federal judicial center

programs for foreign judicial officials

As directed by its statute, the Center responds to requests from representatives of

foreign judiciaries for help through seminars and informational briefings on the

U.S. judicial system and other exchanges of information. These programs are usually carried out at the request of other government and private agencies. Although

Center personnel conduct these occasional briefings and seminars as part of their

regular duties and make written materials available free of charge in response to

foreign and domestic requests, the Center itself pays none of the direct costs of its

foreign programs, such as transportation, lodging, or interpreting services. The

participants, their governments, or public and private U.S. organizations pay these

costs.

In , the Center conducted sixty briefings for over  foreign judges and

officials representing forty countries. It also held five more specialized programs

for forty-five visitors, usually lasting half a day and covering such topics as the

implementation of court-administered alternative dispute resolution, the development of training programs for court staff, and appellate case management. A judge

from the Shanghai High People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China participated in the Center’s Foreign Judicial Fellows Program and studied the role of

judicial law clerks. A research judge from the Korean Supreme Court also participated in the program; he studied various aspects of federal judicial administration.

Over thirty fellows have been in residence at the Center since the program started.

Center staff also provided technical and other assistance in eight foreign countries

at the request of governmental or private organizations.
2000 annual report of the federal judicial center 13

Research

Center staff perform empirical and exploratory research on federal judicial processes and court management, much of it at the request of the Judicial Conference

and its committees. The Center makes its research available within and outside the

federal judiciary and, when appropriate, transmits reports of its research to the

various committees of both the House and the Senate. Some unpublished reports,

memoranda, and other work produced for Judicial Conference committees are

also made available either by the committees themselves or by the Center, after it

consults with the committee or committees for whom the information was originally prepared.

In , the Center completed thirteen research and evaluation projects, continued work on twenty-two others, completed seven reports, and responded to

more than  informal requests for research assistance from the courts, Judicial

Conference committees, federal and state agencies, individuals from academic

institutions and associations, and others. The range of activities of the Center research staff is shown in the items below.

appellate litigation

The judiciary’s Long Range Plan calls for the courts of appeals to exchange casemanagement information. At the request of a subcommittee of the Judicial

Conference’s Court Administration and Case Management Committee, the Center gathered information on and analyzed case-management practices in the thirteen courts of appeals and compiled its findings in a manual, Case Management

Procedures in the Federal Courts of Appeals. Center staff also arranged a conference for

chief circuit judges and circuit executives on the management and administrative

responsibilities of the chief judge and the circuit council, with the goal of producing a desk reference for chief judges. Because administrative procedures in the

thirteen circuits are sufficiently diverse to make impractical a common desk reference for all of them, the Center produced a template to assist each circuit in

preparing its own chief judge’s deskbook.

bankruptcy litigation

The Center published a report on case studies of mass tort limited fund class action

settlements and bankruptcy reorganizations and one on alternative structures for

bankruptcy appeals. The latter report was a by-product of earlier work the Center

performed for the Commission on Structural Alternatives for the Federal Courts

of Appeals, which issued its final report in .

civil litigation

The second edition of the Center’s Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence was released in . It has been republished by several legal publishing companies and

is widely available. Other new reference materials produced by the Center are a
14 2000 annual report of the federal judicial center

guide to assist courts in creating and administering visiting judge programs that

meet their specific needs and a guide to help judges manage cases in alternative

dispute resolution.

At the request of the Court Administration and Case Management Committee, the Center and the Administrative Office, working with an advisory group of

district and magistrate judges and with designated committee members, developed

a civil litigation management manual. The manual is one of the few requirements

of the Civil Justice Reform Act that did not sunset in . The committee is

reviewing a draft of the manual; its recommendations regarding the manual will be

considered by the Judicial Conference at its March  meeting.

The Class Action Subcommittee of the Civil Rules Advisory Committee asked

the Center to develop model notice forms for consumer, securities, employment,

personal injury, and property class actions. The subcommittee’s request was an

outgrowth of previous Center work on class actions for the committee. The Center has developed a proposed notice for class action litigation, which will be the

subject of further research in .

criminal litigation

At the request of the Judicial Conference’s Criminal Law Committee, the Center

completed research to determine whether the Risk Prediction Index (RPI), a

statistical instrument for predicting an offender’s risk of recidivism, which the

Center developed and the Judicial Conference adopted for post-sentence supervision of offenders, is also a valid tool for pretrial supervision. Based on this research

the committee adopted the RPI for use by probation and pretrial services officers

in structuring the pretrial supervision of offenders.

To assist judges who are assigned to federal death penalty cases, the Center is

compiling a summary of procedures and documents used in handling capital cases,

which will be available on the Center’s site on the judiciary’s intranet (http://

jnet.fjc.dcn). The site includes jury questionnaires and instructions, verdict forms,

scheduling orders, and other materials developed by judges who have handled

federal death penalty cases.

federal judicial history

The Center carries out its statutory mandate to conduct, coordinate, and encourage programs related to the history of the federal judicial branch by making available the results of its own historical research, by preparing guides to judicial historical resources, and by advising judges and the courts on historical projects.

In February  the Center launched the History of the Federal Judiciary

Web site on its Internet and intranet homepages. The site presents for the first

time anywhere information about the service records, careers, and education of

the more than , district and appellate judges and justices who have served

since . The site also contains the legislative histories of courts and circuits

within the federal judiciary, lists of judges who served on each court, and information on the location of official court records. Other sections present the text of key
2000 annual report of the federal judicial center 15

statutes related to the organization and administration of the judiciary and an exhibit of historical courthouse photographs. More than , visitors have used

the site since the Center placed it on line. The Center maintains current information about judges’ service and will add the results of future historical research

projects to the site. For example, it is conducting a bibliographical search of scholarly books and articles about federal judges who have served since . The

results of the search will be included in the judges’ biographies on the site.

Also completed in  was a survey of historical programs in the federal courts.

The results of the survey will help the Center to advise courts that want to establish historical programs and will form the basis of a forthcoming reference guide

describing the publications, exhibits, oral histories, and other activities that courts

can undertake to preserve and explain their histories.

The Center is preparing a research report on the history of the position of clerk

of court. The report will provide an institutional history of the office since its

establishment in  and will be the first in a projected series of reports on the

components of the federal court system.

Judges and their staffs continued to consult with the Center in  regarding

the disposition of historically important records among judges’ chambers papers.

Media Programs & Publications

educational media programs

For many years Center media programs—audiotapes and videotapes and, more

recently, satellite broadcasts and interactive CD-ROMs—have provided education without travel. Some media programs complement training packages for incourt education. Others, accompanied by written materials, stand alone as selfinstructional educational programs or for broadcast on the FJTN.

The Center’s media library contains almost , audio and video programs,

including audiotapes of workshops and seminars, Center-produced video programs, and some  commercially produced video programs. In , the Center

loaned on request more than , copies of programs from its media library to

federal judges and judicial branch personnel and sent more than , copies of its

media and multimedia programs directly to the courts for them to keep and use in

local education and training programs. Many Center-produced media programs

are available to the public through the National Technical Information Service of

the Department of Commerce.

In , the Center produced the following programs on videotape, most of

which were broadcast on the FJTN:

• Bankruptcy Law Update (February and September )

• Chapter  Reorganization: The Basics and the Judicial Role (for use in orientation seminars for new bankruptcy judges)

• Chapter  Reorganization: Confirming a Plan the Hard Way (for use in orientation seminars for new bankruptcy judges)
16 2000 annual report of the federal judicial center

• Charging and Sentencing After Apprendi

• Communication for Problem Management (for use in a packaged program on

offender supervision)

• Court Moves (produced for the Administrative Office)

• Court Records: Public Access v. Privacy

• Court to Court (March, June, and October )

• Dealing with Noncompliant Behavior Analysis (for use in a packaged program

on offender supervision)

• Effective Writing and Effective Editing for Law Clerks

• Federal Courts’ Teachers Institute  (produced with the Administrative Office)

• Hot Topics in Removal Jurisdiction

• A Page of History: A Brief Look at the Evolution of the Circuits

• Perspectives on Probation & Pretrial Services (April, August, and December )

• Recurring Issues in Federal Death Penalty Cases

• Sentencing and Guidelines: A Conversation with Judge Diana Murphy (produced

with the U.S. Sentencing Commission)

• Social Security: Process and Problems

• Special Needs Offenders: FCI Butner Sex Offender Treatment Program (Part One)

• Subject-Matter Jurisdiction: An Overview for Law Clerks

• Supreme Court ‒: The Term in Review

• Taking the Court Interpreter’s Oath to Heart: An Introduction to the Requirements

for Interpreting in Federal Courts (produced with the Administrative Office)

publications

Center publications consist of manuals for judges on aspects of litigation management, monographs and outlines on areas of substantive law, reports of the Center’s

empirical research, handbooks or other reference guides on federal court administration and history, periodicals for judges and probation officers on sentencingrelated case law, and catalogs and bulletins of Center educational programs and

services. In , the Center distributed more than , copies of its publications. Some , of these were catalogs of Center publications, media programs, and course offerings, such as its bimonthly guide to FJTN broadcasts, FJTN

Bulletin.

Many of these items are available on the Center’s server on the judiciary’s

intranet (http://jnet.fjc.dcn) and on its World Wide Web page (http://

www.fjc.gov), including the Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, Second Edition;

Manual for Complex Litigation, Third; Guideline Sentencing: An Outline of Appellate

Case Law on Selected Issues; and current issues of Guideline Sentencing Update. Visitors to the Center’s sites can read descriptions of Center publications and view

copies of publications on screen or print them in an exact replica of the published

version.
2000 annual report of the federal judicial center 17

For persons who rely on more traditional forms of computer-assisted research,

more than fifty Center publications are available on the WESTLAW legal research

service. Several publications are reprinted by commercial publishers for sale to the

public, including the Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, Second Edition; Manual

for Complex Litigation, Third; Manual for Litigation Management and Cost and Delay

Reduction; and Chambers Handbook for Judges’ Law Clerks and Secretaries. The Government Printing Office also carries several Center titles in its public sales program.

The following manuals, monographs, and reports were either released or in

production in :

• Alternative Structures for Bankruptcy Appeals

• Benchbook for U.S. District Court Judges, Fourth Edition (revised March )

• Case Law Divergence from the Federal Rules of Evidence

• Case Management Procedures in the Federal Courts of Appeals

• Case Studies of Mass Tort Limited Fund Class Action Settlements and Bankruptcy

Reorganizations

• Expert Testimony in Federal Civil Trials: A Preliminary Analysis

• Guideline Sentencing: An Outline of Appellate Case Law on Selected Issues (September )

• International Insolvency

• Judicial Guide to Managing Cases in ADR

• Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, Second Edition

• Special Masters’ Incidence and Activity: Report to the Judicial Conference’s Advisory Committee on Civil Rules and Its Subcommittee on Special Masters

• The Use of Visiting Judges in the Federal District Courts: A Guide for Judges &

Court Personnel.

The Center also produces the following periodicals:

• FJTN Bulletin—Provides descriptions of programs being broadcast by the

Center, the Sentencing Commission, and the Administrative Office; broadcast schedules; and other news about the Federal Judicial Television Network.

• Guideline Sentencing Update—Presents summaries of recent decisions interpreting the Sentencing Reform Act and Sentencing Guidelines. A companion publication, Guideline Sentencing: An Outline of Appellate Case Law on

Selected Issues, is a periodic cumulative outline that synthesizes the cases reported in Guideline Sentencing Update.

information services

Drawing from a specialized collection of books, journals, and published and unpublished documents on the work of the federal courts, the Center serves as a

national clearinghouse for information on federal judicial administration. Last year,

it answered nearly , written or telephone requests for information from judges

and court staff, libraries, government agencies, academic institutions, research organizations, bar groups, and the media.
18 2000 annual report of the federal judicial center

Federal Judicial Center Foundation

The Federal Judicial Center Foundation is a private, nonprofit corporation established by Congress to receive gifts to support the work of the Center. By statute,

the foundation has sole authority to decide whether to accept gifts to support the

work of the Center, and thereby to determine the suitability of would-be donors.

The foundation may not accept gifts earmarked for projects that have not previously been approved by the Center’s Board, and the Center has sole control over

the design and conduct of research or education programs supported by donations.

The foundation is governed by a seven-person board appointed by the Chief Justice, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of

Representatives. The members of the foundation’s board during  were

• Dianne M. Nast, Esq., Lancaster, Pa., chair

• Richard D. Casey, Esq., Sioux Falls, S.D.

• Laurie L. Michel, Esq., Washington, D.C.

• Charles B. Renfrew, Esq., San Francisco, Cal.

• Marna S. Tucker, Esq., Washington, D.C.

• John B. White, Jr., Esq., Spartanburg, S.C.

• Benjamin L. Zelenko, Esq., Washington, D.C.

Grants to the foundation provide important financial assistance for Center programs in specialized areas. Foundation gifts were used for the following purposes

in :

• A grant from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants supported seminars to help judges analyze financial statements presented as evidence.

• A grant from the Georgetown University Law Center supported a seminar

for judges on environmental law that the Center presented in cooperation

with the law center.

• A grant from the Ford Foundation supported a visiting judge from China in

the Center’s Visiting Judicial Fellows program.

• Undesignated funds were used to support several judicial seminars on special topics, such as intellectual property law; a program for senior court

managers; and in-court judicial education programs.

Under a  agreement between the Center’s Board, the foundation’s Board,

and the Judicial Conference, the Center presents education programs for foreign

judges and other legal officials to assist them in improving the administration of

justice in their countries, and the foundation receives gifts designated for the Judicial Conference’s use for this purpose. The Center and foundation boards and

the Conference expanded the agreement in  to include education programs

for state and federal judges and other programs to improve the administration of

justice. Foundation funds related to these agreements were not used in .
2000 annual report of the federal judicial center 19

Advisory Committees

Center advisory committees provide guidance on education programs and publications. Center Board members serve on each of the judicial education advisory

committees as well as on the Benchbook committee and on the board of editors for

the Manual for Complex Litigation. These groups, which typically meet by telephone conference or during other Center programs, had the following membership during .

committee on appellate judge education

Judge Kenneth F. Ripple (7th Cir.), Chair

Judge Bobby R. Baldock (10th Cir.)

Judge Stanley Marcus (11th Cir.), Center Board Representative

Judge Pauline Newman (Fed. Cir.), Center Board Representative

Judge Karen J. Williams (4th Cir.)

committee on bankruptcy judge education

Bankruptcy Judge Elizabeth L. Perris (D. Or.), Chair

Chief Bankruptcy Judge James B. Haines, Jr. (D. Me.)

Chief Bankruptcy Judge David S. Kennedy (W.D. Tenn.)

Bankruptcy Judge Mary Davies Scott (E. & W.D. Ark.)

Bankruptcy Judge A. Thomas Small (E.D.N.C.), Center Board Representative

Professor S. Elizabeth Gibson (University of North Carolina Law School)

Francis F. Szczebak (Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts), ex officio

committee on the benchbook for u.s. district court judges

Judge A. David Mazzone (D. Mass.), Chair

Judge William O. Bertelsman (E.D. Ky.)

Judge Edward C. Prado (W.D. Tex.)

Judge Louis L. Stanton (S.D.N.Y.)

Judge William H. Yohn, Jr. (E.D. Pa.), Center Board Representative

Hon. John R. Steer (U.S. Sentencing Commission)

committee on district judge education

Judge David W. McKeague (W.D. Mich.), Chair

Judge Garrett E. Brown, Jr. (D.N.J.)

Judge Robert J. Bryan (W.D. Wash.), Center Board Representative

Judge James C. Cacheris (E.D. Va.)

Judge W. Royal Furgeson, Jr. (W.D. Tex.)

Chief Judge Jean C. Hamilton (E.D. Mo.), Center Board Representative

Chief Judge Paul A. Magnuson (D. Minn.)

committee on magistrate judge education

Chief Magistrate Judge John L. Carroll (M.D. Ala.), Chair

Magistrate Judge Jonathan W. Feldman (W.D.N.Y.)

Magistrate Judge Karen K. Klein (D.N.D.)

Magistrate Judge Virginia M. Morgan (E.D. Mich.), Center Board Representative

Chief Magistrate Judge John F. Moulds (E.D. Cal.)

Magistrate Judge Peggy E. Patterson (E.D. Ky.)

Thomas C. Hnatowski (Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts), ex officio
20 2000 annual report of the federal judicial center

board of editors for the manual for complex litigation

Judge Stanley Marcus (11th Cir.), Chair

Judge John G. Koeltl (S.D.N.Y.)

Chief Judge J. Frederick Motz (D. Md.)

Judge Lee H. Rosenthal (S.D. Tex.)

Judge Barefoot Sanders (N.D. Tex.)

Sheila Birnbaum, Esq. (New York, N.Y.)

Frank A. Ray, Esq. (Columbus, Ohio)

defender services advisory group panel on defender education

Judy Clarke (Community Defender, E.D. Wash. & D. Idaho), Chair

Henry J. Bemporad (Assistant Federal Public Defender, W.D. Tex.)

David Beneman (Panel Attorney, D. Me.)

Thomas W. Hillier II (Federal Public Defender, W.D. Wash.)

Henry A. Martin (Federal Public Defender, M.D. Tenn.)

Jon M. Sands (Assistant Federal Public Defender, D. Ariz.)

advisory committee on appellate court education

Thomas K. Kahn (Clerk of Court, 11th Cir.), Chair

Molly C. Dwyer (Sr. Staff Attorney/Chief Deputy Clerk, 9th Cir.)

Karen M. Moss (Librarian, 1st Cir.)

Gregory A. Nussel (Circuit Executive, 5th Cir.)

Elisabeth Shumaker (Chief Deputy Clerk, 10th Cir.)

Mark Zanchelli (Chief Deputy Clerk, 4th Cir.)

advisory committee on district court education

Geri M. Smith (Clerk of Court, N.D. Ohio), Chair

Lawrence K. Baerman (Clerk of Court, N.D.N.Y.)

Sherri R. Carter (Clerk of Court, C.D. Cal.)

Michael W. Dobbins (Clerk of Court, N.D. Ill.)

Gregory J. Leonard (Clerk of Court, M.D. Ga.)

Elizabeth H. Paret (Chief Deputy Clerk, D.D.C.)

William G. Putnicki (Clerk of Court, W.D. Texas)

advisory committee on bankruptcy court education

Richard C. Donovan (Clerk of Court, Bankr. D. Md.), Chair

Lawrence T. Bick (Clerk of Court, Bankr. W.D. Tex.)

Kenneth Gardner (Chief Deputy Clerk of Court, Bankr. S.D. Cal.)

Teresa R. Jacobs (Bankruptcy Administrator, 11th Cir., Bankr. M.D. Ala.)

Marcia C. Martin (Clerk of Court, Bankr. W.D. Wis.)

Dana C. McWay (Clerk of Court, Bankr. E.D. Mo.)

Susan M. Thurston (Clerk of Court, Bankr. D.R.I.)

advisory committee on probation and pretrial services education

Joseph A. Giacobbe (Chief U.S. Probation Officer, W.D.N.Y.), Chair

Magdeline E. Jensen (Chief U.S. Probation Officer, D. Ariz.)

Ellen J. Krause (Chief U.S. Probation Officer, D. Del.)

Wilma V. McNeese (Chief U.S. Pretrial Services Officer, W.D. Pa.)

David E. Miller (Chief U.S. Probation Officer, S.D. Ohio)

Elaine Terenzi (Chief U.S. Probation Officer, M.D. Fla.)

Hence Williams, Jr. (Chief U.S. Pretrial Services Officer, D. Or.)
board of the federal judicial center

The Chief Justice of the United States, Chair

Judge Stanley Marcus, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

Judge Pauline Newman, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

Chief Judge Jean C. Hamilton, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri

Senior Judge Robert J. Bryan, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington

Judge William H. Yohn, Jr., U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Judge A. Thomas Small, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina

Magistrate Judge Virginia M. Morgan, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

Leonidas Ralph Mecham, Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
Federal Judicial Center

Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building

One Columbus Circle, N.E.

Washington, DC -