RESEARCH
The Center conducts empirical and evaluative research on the federal courts, primarily for Judicial Conference committees, and reports most research in print, on its Web sites, or both. In 2003, the Center completed ten major research projects, continued work on thirty-three others, completed nine reports, and responded to more than ninety informational requests for research-related assistance from the courts, Judicial Conference committees, state and federal agencies, individuals from academic institutions and associations, and others.
Civil Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution
The Center worked on three projects for the Judicial Conference’s Advisory Committee on Civil Rules.
A survey of plaintiffs’ and defense attorneys in recently concluded class action cases to assess whether recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions have had any discernible effect on the rate and type of federal class action filings
Spanish language versions of the class action notices on the Center’s Internet site, which illustrate how lawyers and judges might comply with the December 1, 2003, change to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(c)(2)(B), requiring that class action notices be written in plain, easily understood language
An analysis of local rules governing filing of sealed settlements, including the incidence of sealed settlement agreements in the district courts and the circumstances surrounding the sealing of settlement agreements
The Court of Federal Claims asked for an evaluation of its recently implemented ADR program. Although the Center does not typically conduct studies for individual courts, the Claims Court’s program provides a unique opportunity to examine the use of senior judges as ADR providers and the use of ADR in cases in which the federal government is a party.
Criminal Litigation
A Center study for the Advisory Committee on Criminal Rules identified state court procedures that let judges enter pre-verdict judgments of acquittal, and whether such judgments can be appealed. The Department of Justice has proposed amending Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 29 to provide the government an opportunity to appeal a directed acquittal ordered by a judge before the jury’s verdict.
The Committee on Court Administration and Case Management requested an evaluation of the Judicial Conference’s Criminal Case Files Pilot Program, in which ten district courts and one appellate court provide remote public electronic access to documents filed in criminal cases. The Center did not find any problems or instances of abuse during the period studied, and the Conference approved continuation of the program, with Center monitoring, until it approves specific guidelines for system-wide implementation. At the request of the Criminal Law Committee, the Center is analyzing information in the Administrative Office’s National Treatment Data Base about the federal courts’ post-conviction substance abuse treatment program. It is also assessing the substance abuse and mental health treatment needs of Native American offenders under supervision in fourteen federal district courts.
Bankruptcy Courts
The Center is helping the Judicial Conference’s Bankruptcy Committee develop guidelines, model questionnaires, and alternative approaches that bankruptcy judges can use to obtain interim reviews from attorneys regarding their performance in areas that the courts of appeals are to consider, by statute, when reappointing bankruptcy judges. It also organized a small conference of judges and attorneys to identify research that will help the committee’s work on venue and management of mega cases.
The Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules requested a survey of bankruptcy judges on mandatory disclosure practices in adversary proceedings. It will use the results in considering whether certain categories of adversary proceedings should be exempt from the mandatory disclosure requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26 and Bankruptcy Rule 7026.
Courtroom and Litigation Technology
As a follow-up to its 2001 manual on the effective use of courtroom technology (produced with the National Institute for Trial Advocacy), the Center surveyed district court clerks to determine the extent to which courtroom technology is used in each district court, the purpose and frequency of usage, and the types of equipment that are available.
The Center continues to assemble materials on electronic discovery and evidence on its Web sites, including materials from Center-sponsored judicial workshops, relevant local rules and sample orders, and a regularly updated bibliography of case law and articles. It assisted the Discovery Subcommittee of the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules in planning a February 2004 conference on electronic discovery. Other projects in this ongoing effort to conduct and stimulate research on the use of courtroom technologies include designing studies that will examine the increasing use and support of videoconferencing in criminal proceedings and the increasing use of videoconferencing in the courts of appeals for oral arguments and for conferences among judges located in different cities.
Estimating Judgeship Needs
The Center is helping the Statistics Subcommittee of the Committee on Judicial Resources prepare revised district court “case weights” for determining judgeship needs. Data indicating the judicial time required to dispose of difference case types comes from regularly maintained court records and judges’ consensus estimates. New district court case weights are scheduled for completion by June 2004.
To help the Committee on the Administration of the Bankruptcy System revise the bankruptcy case weights, the Center surveyed all bankruptcy judges about various aspects of the current case weights and is incorporating information from the survey and other docket information to identify bankruptcy case types and events. Judges will begin recording time spent on a sample of bankruptcy cases in 2004, so revised case weights can be ready for the 2006 new judgeship cycle.