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Reports & Studies

Below is a list of a number of past published studies conducted by the Research Division. Some Center reports are not published or made publicly available due to restrictions in place from the source of the research request. Most research reports can be downloaded and in some instances, a hardcopy publication can be requested. See also Manuals, Monographs, & Guides.

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Titlesort descending Date
Sentencing Options of Federal District Judges [Superseded]

A description of the statutory sentencing alternatives in the federal courts. Addressed primarily to newly appointed district judges, the report relates sentencing alternatives to the policies of the agencies that carry out the sentences, particularly the Bureau of Prisons and the Parole Commission.

Superseded by Sentencing Options of Federal District Judges (1985).

January 1, 1983
Settlement Strategies for Federal District Judges

A discussion of various techniques for settlement, such as judicial mediation, court-annexed arbitration, the use of special masters, summary jury trials, minitrials, and settlement conferences conducted by magistrate judges. The report is based on a conference of judges experienced in different types of settlement, interviews with court personnel, and literature in the field.

January 1, 1986
Small-Group Decision Making and Complex Information Tasks

A report on a search of the psychological literature for information about the competence of jurors to find the facts in complex, protracted civil trials. The author noted that little research had focused directly on this issue and concluded that in legal fact-finding in complex civil trials, groups had advantages over individuals as decision makers.

January 1, 1981
Social Security Numbers in Federal Court Documents

Memorandum to the Privacy Subcommittee of the Judicial Conference Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure, April 5, 2010.

April 5, 2010
Special Masters' Incidence and Activity: Report to the Judicial Conference's Advisory Committee on Civil Rules and Its Subcommittee on Special Masters

The Special Masters' Subcommittee of the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules of the Judicial Conference asked the Center to examine how often judges appointed special masters and what functions they asked masters to perform. This report documents the incidence of recent special master consideration and appointment. The authors found that such activity was rare and occurred primarily in high-stakes cases that were especially complex. Party initiative, consent, or acquiescence provided the foundation for appointments and the basis for authorizing activities not contemplated by Rule 53. The subcommittee used the report along with other information in framing a proposed revision of Rule 53 that was published in August 2001.

August 9, 2000
Staff Report and Recommendations to the Board of the FJC on the Federal Court Library System

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January 1, 1978
Stalking the Increase in the Rate of Federal Civil Appeals

This report concludes that the increase in civil appeals has resulted mainly from the increased volume of litigation in the district courts. The growth in appellate caseloads has been principally attributable to increasing rates of appeal in prisoner actions and, to a lesser extent, civil rights cases. No evidence of an across-the-board increase in the likelihood of appeal was detected. This report is reprinted at 18 Justice System Journal 233.

January 1, 1995
Standards for Publication of Judicial Opinions: A Report of the Committee on Use of Appellate Court Energies of the Advisory Council on Appellate Justice

A report on procedures for determining whether an opinion should be published and whether an unpublished opinion may be cited to or by a court. The report recommends that opinions be published only if certain defined standards are satisfied. A proposed model court rule is included.

January 1, 1973
Standards Governing Attorney Conduct in the Bankruptcy Courts: Report to the Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules

Bankruptcy courts are different from the district courts in the attorney conduct area in that attorneys who practice in bankruptcy courts are subject to a complex statutory system, which includes bankruptcy-specific conflict of interest criteria and other standards directly governing attorney conduct. The Judicial Conference Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure in conjunction with the Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules requested the Federal Judicial Center to conduct a study of attorney conduct issues in the bankruptcy courts. In December 1998, the Center sent 317 questionnaires to all chief bankruptcy judges (including bankruptcy judges in districts with only one bankruptcy judge) and to all other bankruptcy judges. This report presents the results of the survey.

March 1, 1999
Standards of Attorney Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures: A Study of the Federal District Courts

The Judicial Conference Committee on Rules and Practice and Procedure studied the effect of having multiple standards of professional conduct for attorneys practicing in the federal district courts. The Federal Judicial Center assisted by reporting on the experiences of federal districts with local rules that govern attorney conduct, and procedures used by the courts to address alleged misconduct.

June 1, 1997

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