Federal Courts Improvement Act of 2004

Bill: 108-s-2396
Sponsor: Sen. Hatch, Orrin G. [R-UT]
Introduced: 2004-05-10 in the Senate
Policy area: Law
Subjects: Administration of justice
Alabama
Aliens
Annuities
Appellate courts
Appellate procedure
Arkansas
Armed Forces and National Security
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy courts
Change of venue
Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
Civil procedure
Civil service retirement
Commerce
Conferences
Confidential communications
Congress
Cost of living adjustments
Court records
Court reporting
Courthouses
Crime and Law Enforcement
Debtor and creditor
Delegation of powers
Disability insurance
Disability retirement
Disabled
District courts
Donation of organs, tissues, etc.
Drug abuse
Drug abuse treatment
Economics and Public Finance
Education
Electronic government information
Emergency Management
Employee benefit plans
Families
Federal aid to education
Federal employees
Federal officials
Federally-guaranteed loans
Fees
Finance and Financial Sector
Fines (Penalties)
Fire fighters
Foreign Trade and International Finance
Foreign corporations
Fraud
Government Operations and Politics
Government employees' health insurance
Government employees' life insurance
Government lending
Government paperwork
Government publicity
Guam
Health
Higher education
Identification devices
Immigrants
Immigration
Imprisonment
Investment of public funds
Judges
Judicial compensation
Judicial districts
Judicial officers
Judicial reform
Judicial review
Juries
Jurisdiction
Labor and Employment
Law libraries
Leave of absence
Legal education
Legal fees
Legal services
Liens
Local officials
Magistrates
Members of Congress
Military personnel
New York State
North Carolina
Northern Mariana Islands
Parole
Police
Probation
Public defenders
Right of privacy
Salaries
Scholarships
Science, Technology, Communications
Security measures
Sick leave
Signs and signboards
Social Welfare
Social security numbers
Speedy trial
State officials
Student loan funds
Survivors' benefits
Tennessee
Texas
Transportation and Public Works
Travel costs
Trusts and trustees
Virgin Islands
Warrants (Law)
Wiretapping

Summary:
action_date: 2004-05-10
text: 
Federal Courts Improvement Act of 2004 - Sets forth or amends various judicial, criminal, and bankruptcy code provisions to address the Federal judicial process, including: (1) bankruptcy administrator authority to appoint and serve as bankruptcy trustees; (2) places of holding court in, and changes in the composition of, specified districts; (3) jury matters; (4) conditions of probation and supervised release; (5) the scope of diversity citizenship for resident aliens and corporations with foreign contacts; (6) wiretap order reporting requirements; (7) emergency authority to conduct court proceedings outside a court's territorial jurisdiction; and (8) certain privacy concerns in bankruptcy cases.
 
Amends various Federal judicial code, Higher Education Act, Organic Act of Guam, Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands, civil service, and other provisions to address Federal judicial personnel matters, including: (1) annuities for territorial judges; (2) compensation for Federal Judicial Center employees; (3) annual leave limits for judicial branch executives; (4) supplemental benefits for judicial branch employees; (5) student loan forgiveness for Federal defenders and student loan deferment for law clerks; (6) inclusion of judicial branch personnel in the organ donor leave program; (7) transportation and subsistence expenses for Criminal Justice Act defendants; (8) compensation in excess of the statutory maximum for defense counsel and for services other than counsel; (9) judicial branch security requirements; (10) life insurance for bankruptcy, magistrate, and territorial judges; and (11) health insurance for surviving family and spouses of judges. 
Prohibits knowingly recording fictitious liens against the property of Federal judges.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2004-05-10
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S5080-5084)
action_date: 2004-05-10
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S5080)
action_date: 2004-05-10
text: Introduced in Senate