01/19/2012National Security Case Management: An Annotated Guide
Robert Timothy Reagan,
(Publication)
Cases related to terrorism often pose unusual and challenging case-management issues for the courts. Evidence or arguments may be classified; witnesses or the jury may require special security measures; attorneys’ contacts with their clients may be diminished; other challenges may present ...(Read more)
01/17/2012Jurors’ Use of Social Media During Trials and Deliberations: A Report to the Judicial Conference Committee on Court Administration and Case Management
Meghan Dunn,
November 22, 2011 (Publication)
The Judicial Conference Committee on Court Administration and Case Management (CACM) asked the Federal Judicial Center to develop and administer a short survey of district court judges to assess the frequency with which jurors use social media to communicate about cases during trial and ...(Read more)
12/08/2011Managing Multidistrict Litigation in Products Liability Cases: A Pocket Guide for Transferee Judges
Barbara J. Rothstein, Catherine R. Borden,
(Publication)
This guide is intended to help judges who receive multidistrict litigation (MDL) products liability assignments to manage MDL cases and to introduce some of the procedures that transferee judges have developed over the years.

Automatic distribution planned to: U.S. Court Libraries ...(Read more)
11/28/2011Survey of Federal Transferee Judges in MDL Proceedings Regarding Coordination with Parallel State Proceedings: Report to the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation and the Judicial Conference Committee on Federal-State Jurisdiction
Emery G. Lee III,
December 2011 (Publication)
The Judicial Conference Committee on Federal–State Jurisdiction and the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (“JPML”) asked the Federal Judicial Center to survey transferee judges in multidistrict litigation proceedings about their experiences in coordinating with state judges. The purpose of ...(Read more)
11/21/2011National Security Case Studies: Special Case-Management Challenges
Robert Timothy Reagan,
November 2011 (Publication)
Cases related to terrorism often pose unusual and challenging case-management issues for the courts. Evidence or arguments may be classified; witnesses or the jury may require special security measures; attorneys’ contacts with their clients may be diminished; other challenges may present ...(Read more)
11/15/2011Pilot Project Regarding Initial Discovery Protocols for Employment Cases Alleging Adverse Action
Employment Protocols Committee,
November 2011 (Publication)
The Initial Discovery Protocols for Employment Cases Alleging Adverse Action provide a new pretrial procedure for certain types of federal employment cases. As described in the Protocols, their intent is to “encourage parties and their counsel to exchange the most relevant information and documents ...(Read more)
11/09/2011Update on Resolution of Rule 12(b)(6) Motions Granted with Leave to Amend: Report to the Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Civil Rules
Joe S. Cecil, George W. Cort, Margaret S. Williams, Jared J. Bataillon, Jacqueline G. Campbell,
November 2011 (Publication)
In our March 2011 report, we indicated that following the Supreme Court decision in Ashcroft v. Iqbal (2009), Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) motions to dismiss for failure to state a claim were granted more frequently with leave to amend the complaint. We also noted that the ...(Read more)
11/02/2011The Timing of Scheduling Orders and Discovery Cut-Off Dates
Emery G. Lee III,
October 2011 (Publication)
The Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Civil Rules asked the Federal Judicial Center to study the operation of Rules 16 and 26(f) in the district courts.
This report summarizes findings of part of that study. Specifically, this report examines the timing of Rule 16 scheduling orders in civil ...(Read more)
09/28/2011Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, Third Edition
National Academy of Sciences© and the Federal Judicial Center,
(Publication)
The Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, Third Edition assists judges in managing cases involving complex scientific and technical evidence by describing the basic tenets of key scientific fields from which legal evidence is typically derived and by providing examples of cases in ...(Read more)
09/27/2011Federal Securities Law, Third Edition
Thomas Lee Hazen,
(Publication)
The author examines the statutory framework for the issues that federal judges are most likely to encounter in federal securities litigation. The third edition updates case law, including recent Supreme Court cases as well as circuit splits. The monograph includes new material on materiality, ...(Read more)
08/02/2011Maintaining the Public Trust: Ethics for Federal Judicial Law Clerks, Second Edition
Federal Judicial Center, Codes of Conduct Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States,
(Publication)
This pamphlet provides an overview of law clerks' ethical obligations as well as resources they can consult for further information. It covers topics such as confidentiality, conflicts of interest, political activities, online activities, and gifts, and includes examples that illustrate challenges ...(Read more)
06/30/2011Motions for Sanctions Based Upon Spoliation of Evidence in Civil Cases: Report to the Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Civil Rules
Emery G. Lee III,
(Publication)
In 2010, the Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Civil Rules requested a study of motions for sanctions based on an allegation that the nonmoving party had destroyed evidence, especially electronically stored information (ESI). The study examined the electronic docket records of civil cases ...(Read more)
05/12/2011Comparative Study of the Taxation of Costs in the Circuit Courts of Appeals Under Rule 39 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure: Report to the Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules of the Judicial Conference of the United States
Marie Leary,
April 2011 (Publication)
The Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules requested this report on circuit practices for awarding costs under Rule 39 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure. The report describes the variations among the circuits' rules and procedures, compares how the circuits have ...(Read more)