Third Branch News | United States Courts
-
Judiciary Seeks Supplemental Funding
The Judicial Conference of the United States has requested $72.9 million in emergency funding, saying that a supplemental appropriation is needed to "address critical needs resulting from sequestration cuts."
A Congressional resolution for FY 2013 cut the federal courts' budget by nearly $350 million, to about $6.6 billion. A letter outlining the request was sent May 14 to the Office of Management and Budget. It said $41.4 million was needed for the Defender Services account, and $31.5 million was needed for the courts' Salaries and Expenses account.
The letter added, "The Judiciary is
... -
Right Fit for Courts Means Reduced Footprint and Rent Costs
A Judiciary initiative is rewarding courts for reducing their space needs, which will save on future space rental costs. One of the Judiciary's biggest cost-containment successes to date has been in limiting the growth in space rent costs.
When a court releases space back to the General Services Administration (GSA) as marketable, an allotment equal to one year's savings in rent is now available to the chief judge of the district court, bankruptcy court, or court of appeals. The allotment previously went back to the circuit. The Judicial Conference approved this change in September 2012. The court must use the allotment within two years and is encouraged to apply the funding to what is necessary for their operations. The
... -
Southwest Border Courts Continue to Lead in Immigration Cases
Defendants charged with immigration offenses constitute 27 percent of all federal criminal defendant filings nationwide, a total of 25,328 filings in fiscal year 2012. Just five southwestern border district courts—the District of Arizona, the Southern and Western Districts of Texas, the Southern District of California, and District of New Mexico—account for 74 percent of all immigration defendant filings.
*Excludes transfers.
Statistical information on criminal defendants commenced, by offense and district, are available in Judicial Business of the United States Courts, Table
... -
Updated Edition of Benchbook Now Available
The 6th edition (pdf) of the Benchbook for U.S. District Court Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center, is now available online. The book, last updated in 2007, is a concise and practical guide to situations federal judges are likely to encounter on the bench. The Benchbook covers procedures that are required by statute, rule or case law, with detailed guidance from experienced trial judges. And although new judges may benefit the most from the Benchbook, even experienced judges may find useful reminders about how to deal with routine matters,
... -
Bankruptcy Filings Down 14 Percent for March 2013
Business and Non-Business Filings
Year Total Non-Business Business 2013 1,170,324 1,132,772 37,552 2012 1,367,006 1,320,613 46,393 2011 1,571,183 1,516,971 54,212 2010 1,531,997 1,470,849 61,148 2009 1,202,395 1,153,318 49,077
Years Ended March 31, 2009-2013Total Bankruptcy Filings by Bankruptcy Chapter
Chapter Year 7 11 12 13 2013 804,885 9,811 463 355,081 2012 958,757 11,339 606 396,175 2011 1,118,481 13,051 743 438,788 2010 1,100,032 15,251 605 415,966 2009 819,304 11,774 367 370,836 2008 560,015 6,971 343 334,551
Years Ended March 31, 2008-2013Bankruptcy filings for the 12-month period ending
... -
Inspiring Educational Video on Judge Thompson Echoes 2013 Law Day Theme
"When you confront something that you, initially, perceive as an adversity—that's what builds character. That's your glorious moment," according to U.S. District Court Judge Myron H. Thompson, who presides in Montgomery, Ala. His story and message are recounted in a first-person video that ties in with the 2013 Law Day theme—Realizing the Dream: Equality for All.
Judge Thompson, who is African American, says the perception of his physical limitations, imposed by the onset of polio at age two, were even more restrictive than racial bias: "People thought that if you had braces on your leg, you had braces on your brain." From
... -
Statement on Impact of Sequestration on Judiciary, Defender Funding
Statement of Chief Judge William B. Traxler, Jr., Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States.
The Executive Committee of the Judicial Conference is responsible for developing a spending plan for the federal Judiciary’s annual Congressional appropriation. This process involves significant input from Conference committees, and under the best of circumstances, is a difficult and complex task.
The current fiscal year presents unparalleled challenges. Budget sequestration has reduced the Judiciary’s overall funding by nearly $350 million from the level provided in Fiscal Year 2012. The impact of sequestration on the Judiciary is particularly harsh because the courts have no control
... -
OSCAR Update Adds Transparency to Clerkship Process
OSCAR Version 7 Improvements
Judges may indicate if they prefer applicants with bar membership, specialized work experience, or legal experience post-law school. In turn, applicants can identify any of these preferences as part of their profile, which is searchable by judges. Judges and chambers staff can make electronic notes on law clerk applications. Law school applicants can update their law school grade sheets on finalized applications, providing judges with a full set of law school grades. Courts will be able to hire pro se, death penalty, and bankruptcy appellate panel (BAP) law clerks by posting these positions under the OSCAR account of the chief judge. To address the concerns of many judges that applicants... -
Kansas Naturalization Ceremony Blends History
It was a convergence of history at a recent District of Kansas naturalization ceremony. During the 150th anniversary year of the Emancipation Proclamation, standing in the former Monroe Elementary School at the heart of Brown v. Board of Education, the first African American woman to sit on the federal trial bench in Kansas addressed a group completing the process to become U.S. citizens.
Judge Julie Robinson of the District of Kansas congratulated the new citizens who gathered in the former elementary school renovated as the Brown V.
... -
New Bankruptcy Claims Transfer Fee to Take Effect May 1
Federal bankruptcy courts will institute a new $25 fee for filing evidence of claims transfers, transactions in which bankruptcy claims are sold by one creditor to another, usually as part of a speculative investment. The fee, approved last September by the Judicial Conference of the United States, will take effect May 1.
Bankruptcy claim transfers are a thriving, if little-known, part of the bankruptcy process, and constitute a multi-billion-dollar industry.
Although bankruptcy claims can be purchased by individuals, they are more commonly purchased by commercial entities, which routinely buy large numbers of claims, often at a significant discount. The claims are purchased from creditors who are willing to take a
...
