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          HomeAbout the FJCStatuteThe FJC and What It DoesAnnual ReportsBoard MembersSenior StaffJob VacanciesContact UsResearch About the CourtsReports & StudiesManuals, Monographs & GuidesResearch ProjectsCardone Recommendation StudyFederal Rules MaterialsFederal Court Cases: FJC Integrated Database (IDB)Civil Justice Reform Act of 1990OverviewDocumentsPublicationsLegislationSpecial Topics1980 Hague Convention on International Child Abduction: A Resource for JudgesOverviewRecent CasesSources of Law and InterpretationCase CommentariesSample OrdersArticles and CommentaryFAQsVideo TutorialsChecklistCovid-19 and the Federal Judiciary: Research ResourcesOverviewMaps and DashboardsResearch ReportsTopical WebpagesElection LitigationOverviewCase Studies in Emergency Election LitigationLitigation SubjectsRegistration ProceduresNullifying RegistrationsDistrict LinesFilling VacanciesGetting on the BallotRecall ElectionsBallot MeasuresCampaign ActivitiesElection DatesAbsentee and Early VotingVoter IdentificationPoll HoursVoting ProceduresPolling Place ActivitiesProvisional BallotsVoting IrregularitiesRecountsInteractive Map of Emergency Election CasesFJC Publications on Election LitigationElection Law BibliographyCovid-19Federal and State Court CooperationOverviewTopics for Cooperation Between State and Federal CourtsReducing BiasWhat Is Bias and How Is It Measured?Effectiveness of Implicit Bias TrainingsReducing Bias ReferencesBankruptcy EducationState–Federal Judicial CouncilsExamples of State–Federal Court CooperationSample FormsAdditional ResourcesIllustrative Forms of Class Action NoticesOverviewSecurities NoticesProducts Liability NoticesEmployment Discrimination NoticesNotice Checklist and Plain Language GuideNotes for Use by Attorneys and JudgesOverview of MethodologyDetailed Discussion of MethodologyAcknowledgmentsManaging Capital CasesOverviewManaging Federal Death Penalty TrialsIntroductionResource Guide, Volume IOrders and FormsFederal Death Penalty Resource Counsel AssistanceManaging Habeas Corpus Review of Capital ConvictionsResource Guide, Volume IICapital Defense Network AssistanceAdditional ResourcesNational Security CasesOverviewPublicationsSelected Orders and Other Case DocumentsRelated FJC ResourcesForeign Intelligence Surveillance CourtRules of Practice and ProcedureOverviewVideo TutorialsGuidesResearch ReportsPrint PublicationsOnline-Only Research ReportsScience ResourcesOverviewFingerprint IdentificationNeuroscienceOpioids CrisisDNA TechnologiesWater and the LawTechnology in LitigationOverviewPublicationsThird-Party Litigation FinancingOverviewPublications and ReportsLocal Rules and FormsState LawsIndustry StandardsEducation for the CourtsEducation ProgramsPrograms and Resources for JudgesPrograms and Resources for Court AttorneysPrograms and Resources for Federal DefendersPrograms and Resources for ExecutivesPrograms and Resources for Supervisors and ManagersPrograms and Resources for Experienced Probation and Pretrial Services OfficersPrograms and Resources for All Court EmployeesPrograms and Resources for TrainersCivic Education About the CourtsTalking Points on Judicial HistoryFamous Federal TrialsState and Federal CourtsInside the Federal CourtsManuals, Monographs, & GuidesVideos & PodcastsHistory of the Federal JudiciaryJudgesBiographical Directory of Article III Federal JudgesBankruptcy JudgeshipsMagistrate JudgeshipsDiversity on the BenchJudicial SalariesUnsuccessful Nominations and Recess AppointmentsImpeachments of Federal JudgesJudgeship ReassignmentsCourtsSupreme Court of the United StatesU.S. Courts of AppealsU.S. District CourtsU.S. Circuit Courts, 1789-1911Other Federal CourtsCourts: A Brief OverviewWork of the CourtsCaseloadsThe Contempt Power of the Federal CourtsJurisdictionThe Role of the U.S. Courts of Appeals in the Federal JudiciaryRulesJudicial BranchAdministrative BodiesCongress and the CourtsExecutive Branch and the CourtsCourt Officers and StaffFederal Judicial CircuitsTalking Points on Federal Judicial HistoryCourthousesGalleryDetailed ListList by StateCasesCases that Shaped the Federal CourtsFamous Federal TrialsExhibitsTimelinesGraphs: DemographicsGraphs: CaseloadsMapsNotable Federal TrialsSnapshots of Federal Judicial History, 1790-1990Spotlight on Judicial HistoryThe Justices' Circuit Court OpinionsFor Further StudyCourt History ProgramsGuide to ResearchJudges' Published PapersOral History ResourcesPublished Court HistoriesScholarship on JudgesInternational OfficeAbout IOHistoryInternational ProgramsGlobal ReachBriefing MaterialsTranslated MaterialsContact UsPublications Catalog You are here HomeResearch About the Courts  Selected Current and Recently Completed Research Projects Listed below are selected current and recently completed studies by the Center’s Research Division. For a more complete list of Center research publications, click on Reports and Studies. **Alternative Dispute Resolution in the Federal District Courts**
Update of the Center's 1996 report to include current district court's alternative dispute resolution (ADR) profiles and information regarding their ADR programs.**Bankruptcy Case Weights: 2020 Updates**
Update to bankruptcy court case weights using data from CM/ECF and bankruptcy judge estimates of time expended on case events.**Bankruptcy Courtroom Technology**
Develop a ‘best practices’ guide for bankruptcy judges when using technology to conduct bankruptcy hearings and trials, with a focus on teleconferencing and videoconferencing. The goal is to encourage the use of these technologies to promote access to the courts, make best use of existing judicial resources, and contain costs while maintaining the quality of court proceedings and compliance with the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, the Federal Rules of Evidence, and other legal authority.**Bankruptcy Noticing Distribution**
Examination of the number of notices in bankruptcy cases that are sent via postal mail rather than electronically as it pertains to reducing mailing costs.**Bankruptcy Pro Se Data Visualization**
Assist Bankruptcy Courts, per request, with its efforts to understand and better visualize their data for pro se and consumer bankruptcy cases.**Best Practices in Defense of Trade Secrets Act**
As required by passage of Section 6 of the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA), the Center developed recommended 'best DTSA practices' regarding the seizure and securing of information and media-storing information following an*ex parte* seizure hearing in which an owner of a trade secret requests the seizure of property necessary to prevent the propagation or dissemination of the trade secret.**Certification of Questions of State Law**
Examination as to whether there is available data on the number of certified questions of state law that are sent to the state courts.**Consumer Bankruptcy Issues**
Exploration of various consumer bankruptcy-related issues, including choice of bankruptcy chapter given the means-test requirements and other pro se litigation-related issues.**Cost Containment: Shared Administrative Services**
Design and administer a major comprehensive survey aimed at measuring the extent of shared administrative services, the reasons courts share, and any associated cost-savings and obstacles to implementing sharing arrangements.**Cost Containment: Vertical Consolidations**
Develop and administer a survey to assess instances of consolidation of bankruptcy and district clerks’ offices within districts.**Demographic Survey of CJA Attorneys**
Limited survey to generate data on the race and gender of CJA (Criminal Justice Act) Attorneys.**Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act: Assistance to AOUSC in Response to a Congressional Mandate**
Participate in the Administrative Office of the United States Courts (AOUSC) Working Group to produce reports on the insolvency of financial institutions as required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and to help develop a database of information about bankruptcy cases involving institutions as debtors.**Effect of Opt-In Regulations on the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act**
Report on the likely effect of the Department of Justice's opt-In Regulations under Chapter 154 of Title 28 (the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996) on the district courts in states with certified procedures.**Evaluation of Bankruptcy Judgeship Vacancy Pilot Program**
Under the bankruptcy judgeship vacancy pilot program, one circuit will fill two vacant bankruptcy judgeships and transfer the appointed judges to districts in other circuits that have a high need for judicial resources. Evaluation will examine all phases of the program, from the implementation process to its final outcomes and impacts.**Evaluation of Pretrial Diversion Program**
Provide evaluation-related assistance to the District of Arizona in its implementation of a post-guilty plea pretrial diversion program.**Evolution of U.S. Bankruptcy Law: A Timeline**
Review and update of the FJC's 'Evolution of U.S. Bankruptcy Law' timeline pamphlet and poster.**Examination of Electronic Filing Deadline**
Assist a special subcommittee to study whether the midnight (12:00 am) electronic filing deadlines for all the Rules of Procedure should be changed to 5:00 pm.**Federal and State Court Programs Addressing Implicit Bias**
Assist the Center’s Education Division with 1) review of its educational programs on the topic of implicit and unconscious bias and 2) creation of a repository of implicit and unconscious bias materials and programs used and designed by the Division.**Federal-State Cooperation on Bankruptcy Issues**
Update of the bankruptcy chapter in the Manual for Cooperation Between State and Federal Courts (1997).**FRCP Rule 42(a) Consolidated Case Study**
Identify a universe of civil cases consolidated under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 42(a), to assist with a response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 invitation in *Hall vs. Hall* to look at the operation of the rule.**Funding for Conversion of Temporary and New Bankruptcy Judgeships**
Study to re-examine the feasibility of raising necessary revenue via an increased fee for Mega Chapter 11 cases.**Horizontal Consolidation Pilot and Evaluation**
Develop procedures for piloting instances of consolidation/sharing of clerks’ offices (bankruptcy court with another bankruptcy court or district court with another district court).**Impact of Increased Chapter 11 Quarterly Fee**
Examination of whether imposing increased fees in Chapter 11 cases with quarterly disbursements exceeding $1 million has a chilling effect on large Chapter 11 case filings and whether it precludes certain mid-to large-sized Chapter 11 debtors from successfully reorganizing.**Interlocutory Appeals - 28 USC 1292(b)**
Expanded study on how many additional multidistrict litigation (MDL) interlocutory appeals would be generated if there was a rule providing for more interlocutory appeals of case-determinative MDL transferee court rulings.**Judicial Conference Recommendations Re the Criminal Justice Act**
Studies on the implementation of the Judicial Conference's approved interim recommendations of the Cardone Committee (Report of the Ad Hoc Committee to Review the Criminal Justice Act) about the operation and administration of the Criminal Justice Act in the federal courts.**Juror Utilization Pilot Program**
Assist with the design and evaluation of an alternative approach to measuring juror usage. Pilot program will be deployed in a select number of district courts.**Managing Federal Death Penalty Trials**
Monitor best practices on managing federal death penalty trials and integrate new materials on and descriptions of these practices into the content of the Center's ‘Federal Death Penalty’ webpage.**Mandatory Initial Discovery Pilot Project (MIDP) in Civil Cases**
Pilot study with district courts regarding initial disclosures (Fed. R. Civ. P. 26) to help reduce costs and delays in civil litigation in the federal courts.**Multidistrict Litigation Judicial Interest Survey**
Survey of district judges regarding their interest in serving as transferee judges for MDL cases.**Multidistrict Litigation Transferee Judges’ Exit Survey in Closed Proceedings**
Short exit survey of multidistrict litigation (MDL) transferee judges upon completion of their MDL case duties.**National Security Case Studies: Special Case-Management Challenges**
Development and preservation of resources for judges on litigation involving national security issues.**National Sentencing Policy Institute – 2020**
Event planning for the 2020 National Sentencing Policy Institute. The program will focus on judge-involved supervision, other evidence-based supervision programs, as well as the recently enacted First Step Act**A New Judge's Introduction to Federal Judicial Administration**
Update of the Center's 1982 publication *Origins of the Elements of Federal Court Governance*.**Patent Reform Act: Mandated 10-Year Pilot Study**
A ten-year pilot study of patent case assignments in response to Pub. L. No. 111-349 mandate. Tentatively scheduled to conclude in 2021.**Performance Feedback for Court Unit Executives**
Voluntary survey of court employees (Clerks of Courts and Chief Probation Officers) to obtain feedback for court unit executives.**Plaintiff Fact Sheets**
Study and pocket guide for judges regarding the use of plaintiff fact sheets in multidistrict litigation proceedings.**Potential Harm Involving Government Cooperators in Federal Criminal Matters**
Study of the nature, frequency and extent of threats and/or harm to individuals ('government cooperators') who cooperate with the government in federal criminal matters.**Representation Differences: Federal Public Defenders vs Criminal Justice Attorneys**
Evaluation of the differences in representation costs and efficiencies between federal public defenders from capital habeas units (CHU) and criminal justice panel attorneys (CJA).**Resource Guide for Chief Circuit Judges’ Deskbooks**
Update of the Center’s 2001 chief judges’ deskbook template for U.S. circuit courts to assist the circuits to create a deskbook for their respective chief judges.**Revision of Wire Tap Reporting Forms**
Facilitation of regional focus groups for district, state and local courts regarding the reporting requirements of Chapter 119 of Title 18 USC (Wire and Electronic Communications Interception and Interception of Oral Communications) and options for amending AOUSC's wire tap reporting forms.**Rule 23(f) Petitions Re Permission to Appeal Class Certification Rulings**
Study on the incidence and duration of Rule 23(f) appeals of district court rulings or orders granting or denying class-action certification.**Understanding the Implications of the Opioid Crisis**
Development of a series of videos and interactive materials regarding the opioid crisis as an addition to the Center’s Scientific Evidence Resources special topics webpage.**Voluntary Judge Sharing Pilot Project Evaluation**
Evaluate and analyze the experiences of the districts and judges who will participate in a three-year judge sharing pilot.**Voluntary Review Procedures for District and Magistrate Judges**
Assist the District of Arizona with implementation and administration of its voluntary judicial performance program.
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