ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE 

UNITED STATES COURTS 

NEWS RELEASE 

May 1, 1990 

Contact: David Sellers 

202-633-6040 

JUDICIAL CONFERENCE APPROVES PLAN TO IMPROVE CIVIL CASE 

MANAGEMENT 

The Judicial Conference has approved a 14-point program to 

address the problems of cost and delay in civil litigation through 

improved case management in the trial courts. Acting a t the 

recommendation of its Executive Committee, the Conference approved 

the program by special ballot. 

The Conference previously addressed the issue at its March 

1990 session when it unanimously voted to oppose S. 2027, the Civil 

Justice Reform Act of 1990, and its House counterpart, H.R. 3898 

as introduced. Also approved was an analysis of the bill and a 

policy statement on case management. The documents were 

distributed to all federal judicial officers. Over the following 

weeks the district judge representatives to the Conference 
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gathered the views of other trial judges in their circuit, and have 

concluded that there is overwhelming support for the Conference's 

position on case management. 

The newly-adopted 14 point program provides for each district 

court to form an advisory group to study and recommend improvements 

in case management for implementation by the court. The plan also 

calls for evaluation of case management techniques by the Judicial 

Conference and its new Committee on Case Management and Dispute 

Resolution. 

The goals of the program are consistent with Rule 1 of the 

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which states that it should be 

the purpose of the federal system of civil justice "to secure the 

just, speedy and inexpensive determination of every action. It 

Congress will be notified of the Conference's action. 

The special subcommittee of the Conference's Executive 

Committee that has been studying congressional activity involving 

this issue continues to monitor developments. 

The following is the program approved by the Conference: 

1. The Chief Judge of each district court, after consulting the 

other judges of the district, shall appoint an advisory group of 

lawyers and representative clients that shall help the court assess 

current docket conditions and consider different measures that 

might be implemented to reduce cost and delay and to improve case 

management practices. 

2. Working with guidelines that shall be established by the 

Judicial Conference, each advisory group shall promptly complete 

a thorough assessment of the civil and criminal dockets in its 

court, describing not only current conditions, but also trends in 

filings and in demands on the court's resources. 

3. Each advisory group shall attempt to identify the principal 
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sources of cost and delay in civil litigation, focusing not only 

on court procedures, but also on how lawyers and clients approach 

and handle the litigation process. 

4. Having assessed current conditions and identified principal 

sources of cost and delay, each advisory group shall recommend 

measures which it feels, given the particular character of needs 

and circumstances in its district, hold some promise of reducing 

cost and delay and of improving the delivery of case management 

services. These packages of recommendations should be balanced to 

include significant contributions not only by the court, but also 

by lawyers and clients. 

5. Each district court shall carefully consider the report of its 

advisory group and shall implement the recommendations that the 

court concludes would be feasible and constructive and that are 

authorized under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2071. 

6. The reports and recommendations of each advisory group, and a 

copy of the measures implemented by each district court, shall be 

forwarded to the Judicial Conference, the council of the circuit 

in which the district court is located, and to a circuit-wide 

committee composed of the chief district judges of the circuit (or 

a judge designated by them). The committee of chief district 

judges shall review the reports and recommendations, and shall 

consider the measures implemented, then may suggest for the 

district court's consideration additional measures or modifications 

in procedures or programs that have been adopted. 

7. If the Judicial Conference is not satisfied with the way a 

district court has responded to current conditions or to the report 

and recommendations of its advisory group, the Conference may 

request the court to take further action. 

B. The responsibilities that have been the province of the 

Conference's Judicial Improvements Committee will be divided 

between two new committees, one on Automation and Technology and 

the other on Case Management and Dispute Resolution. The Committee 

on Case Management and Dispute Resolution will oversee development 

of the criteria (guides) that will aid the district court advisory 

groups in assessing current conditions. In addition, this 

committee will oversee the preparation of a document that describes 

and explains a wide range of different measures that courts might 

consider adopting in response to cost and delay problems, including 

different approaches to case management, cost containment, and 

alternative dispute resolution programs. As part of this process, 

the committee will develop two or more model civil expense and 

delay reduction plans. After. the reports and recommendations from 

all the district advisory groups have been submitted, and the 

courts have decided which measures to implement, this committee 

will oversee the preparation of a comprehensive report that 

describes current conditions and trends in the district courts, the 
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range of ideas that have been generated for responding to those 

condi tions, and the measures that have been adopted. This 

committee will have continuing responsibility to study and 

recommend ways to improve case management and dispute resolution 

services in the district courts. 

9. The Judicial Conference will conduct a demonstration program in 

up to five volunteer districts of different sizes and case mixes 

to experiment with different methods of reducing cost and delay 

(including ADR programs) and different case management techniques. 

10. The Judicial Conference will arrange to have careful 

evaluations done of as many of the measures adopted by district 

courts as possible. It also will evaluate the results of the 

demonstration programs. Building from these sources, the 

Conference will arrange to have published (and periodically 

updated) a Manual for Litigation Management and Cost and Delay 

Reduction, describing and analyzing the most effective techniques 

and programs. 

11. Every three years, each district court shall reconvene its 

advisory group, which shall evaluate the impact of measures 

previously adopted, reassess current conditions, and recommend 

adjustments or additions to existing practices, rules, or programs. 

These reports and recommendations shall be given due consideration 

by the district courts, shall be reviewed by the circuit-wide 

committees of chief district judges, and shall be forwarded to the 

Judicial Conference, for review by its Committee on Case Management 

and Dispute Resolution. 

12. The Judicial Conference, working through the Federal Judicial 

Center and the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, 

will add substantial new training programs for judicial officers 

and appropriate court staff in case management techniques and in 

other measures that courts could implement to reduce the cost and 

to expedite the processing of civil litigation. These training 

programs will be updated regularly to reflect the most current 

learning from the various measures implemented by the district 

courts and from the Conference's demonstration programs. The 

Director of the Federal Judicial Center, or his designee, shall 

serve as an ~ officio member of the Conference's Committee on Case 

Management and Dispute Resolution. 

13. The Administrative Office of the United States Courts shall 

ensure that the district court's automated dockets provide ready 

access to complete data about the status of each case and the kinds 

of demands it has made on court resources. 

14. The Conference's Committee on Case Management and Dispute 

Resolution should regularly communicate its findings and 

recommendations about programs, procedures and practices to the 
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Conference's Advisory Committee on Civil Rules. The Committee on 

Case Management may suggest possible amendments of the civil rules 

for consideration by the Advisory Committee. For these two 

committees to work together most effectively I a member of the 

Advisory Committee on Civil Rules should also serve as a member of 

the Committee on Case Management and Dispute Resolution. 

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