This manual provides trial judges a handbook on managing civil cases. It sets out a wide array of case-management techniques, beginning with case filing and concluding with steps for streamlining trials and discusses a number of special topics, including pro se and high visibility cases, the role of staff, and automation that supports case management.

In response to requests from chief judges and as a follow-up to a 2000 conference for appellate judges, the Center developed this common template that each circuit could use to develop its own deskbook for chief judges. It provides a comprehensive list of activities that chief judges and others undertake pursuant to statute, to Judicial Conference policies, or simply because of the imperatives of administering a circuit. 

This monograph, revised as of December 16, 2002, describes the statutes, case law, and policies applicable to federal capital case-management issues such as appointment of counsel, case budgeting, and jury selection, and summarizes procedures judges have used in capital cases at each stage of the proceedings.

A detailed reference for chief judges of federal district courts. The Deskbook describes the position of chief judges within the system of federal judicial administration as well as their specific roles and responsibilities with respect to national and regional bodies of judicial administration; other judges, officers, and employees of the district court; various functions of the court; and external groups such as the bar, media, and public.