Report of a Federal Judicial Center study of summary judgment practice in six federal district courts during six time periods over twenty-five years (1975-2000), to determine whether summary judgment activity has increased over time and to what extent changes in summary judgment practice are due to the 1986 Supreme Court trilogy of summary judgment cases. For a 2-page summary of this report see FJC Research Brief, No. 2: Trends in Summary Judgment Practice: 1975-2000.

This report compiles local rules and procedures in the ninety-four district courts on electronic filing by self-represented litigants. More than two thirds of the courts permit self-represented litigants to use the court’s electronic filing system at least on a case-by-case basis. Twenty-nine courts (31%) generally prohibit electronic filing by self-represented litigants. The Northern District of Texas generally requires it. Ten other courts (11%) generally permit it. The remaining fifty-four courts (57%) permit self-represented litigants to request permission to use the electronic filing system.

A 2022 report included a survey of rules and procedures and interviews with court staff in a selection of appellate, district, and bankruptcy courts: Federal Courts’ Electronic Filing by Pro Se Litigants.

This report summarizes a Center study of instances of individuals’ unredacted Social Security numbers appearing in documents filed in federal district and bankruptcy courts in November 2013 and available through the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) service. The presence of Social Security numbers for approximately 75% of these individuals appears to violate rules adopted by the Judicial Conference of the United States. 

In section 302 of the Judicial Improvements Act of 1990, Congress took steps to address long-felt concerns about the capacity of the federal judicial system to provide, within a reasonable time, a uniform construction of federal law where uniformity is needed. Adopting a recommendation of the Federal Courts Study Committee, Congress asked that the Federal Judicial Center undertake a study to determine "the number and frequency of conflicts among the judicial circuits . . . that remain unresolved because they are not heard by the Supreme Court." The Center asked the author to design and conduct the study. The results of the first phase of the research are presented in this report.