Federal Judicial Center
Encyclopedia
The Federal Judicial Center is the education and research agency of the United States federal courts. It was established by an Act of Congress
in 1967, at the recommendation of the Judicial Conference of the United States
.
The main areas of responsibility for the Center include:
By statute, the Chief Justice of the United States
is ex officio chair of the Center's board, which also includes the director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts
and seven judges elected by the Judicial Conference. The Board appoints the Center's director and deputy director; the director appoints the Center's staff. Since its founding in 1967, the Center has had nine directors. Judge Barbara J. Rothstein became director in 2003. She was appointed U.S. district judge for the Western District of Washington in 1980 but has been resident in Washington, D.C.
, since becoming director. The deputy director is John S. Cooke.
and other members of the judiciary who hoped that regular programs of research and education would improve the efficiency of the federal courts and relieve the backlog of cases in the lower courts. Governed by its own board, the Federal Judicial Center offered the courts the benefits of independent social science research and educational programs designed to improve judicial administration.
In the 1950s and early 1960s, the Judicial Conference and the Administrative Office increasingly commissioned research projects to examine problems of judicial administration at the same time that they organized educational programs to help judges manage growing and complicated caseloads. These research and educational programs, however, received no permanent staff or funding. Support for an institutionalized program of judicial research and education increased after the establishment of 60 new district judgeships in 1961 demonstrated that the number of judges alone would not solve all of the problems of overworked courts. A growing number of judges and members of the bar urged the judiciary to establish the formal means to bring improved research and education to the courts.
At the suggestion of Chief Justice Warren, the Judicial Conference in 1966 authorized a committee to examine the research and education requirements of the judiciary. Former Justice Stanley Reed
agreed to Warren’s request to chair the committee. Before the Judicial Conference adopted the Reed committee’s recommendation for establishment of a Federal Judicial Center, President Johnson, at Warren’s request, decided to include the proposal in his highly-publicized message on crime in February 1967. Bills to create the Center were soon submitted in both houses of Congress. With broad support for the concept of a research and education center for the judiciary, discussion in the House and Senate hearings centered on questions about the proper institutional form and leadership for the Center.
The Reed Committee and the director of the Administrative Office, among others, advocated an independent agency with its own governing board to which the Center director would report. The goal was to protect the research and education resources from being absorbed into strictly administrative duties and to insure the objectivity of research. The Federal Judicial Center’s board consists of the Chief Justice, a rotating group of judges selected by the Judicial Conference, and the director of the Administrative Office; no member of the Judicial Conference was to serve on the Center’s board. The statute authorizes the Center to conduct and support research on the operation of the courts, to offer education and training for judges and court personnel, and to assist and advise the Judicial Conference on matters related to the administration and management of the courts. More recent legislation has expanded the Center’s mandate to include, among other things, programs related to the history of the federal judiciary.
The Center includes several offices and divisions.
and exploratory research
on federal judicial processes, court management, and sentencing
and its consequences, often at the request of the Judicial Conference and its committees, the courts themselves, or other groups in the federal system. James B. Eaglin is the current director of the research division.
A nonprofit organization
, the Federal Judicial Center Foundation, solicits support for the Center.
Act of Congress
An Act of Congress is a statute enacted by government with a legislature named "Congress," such as the United States Congress or the Congress of the Philippines....
in 1967, at the recommendation of the Judicial Conference of the United States
Judicial Conference of the United States
The Judicial Conference of the United States, formerly known as Conference of Senior Circuit Judges, was created by the United States Congress in 1922 with the principal objective of framing policy guidelines for administration of judicial courts in the United States...
.
The main areas of responsibility for the Center include:
- conducting and promoting orientation and continuing education and training for federal judges, court employees, and others;
- developing recommendations about the operation and study of the federal courts; and
- conducting and promoting research on federal judicial procedures, court operations, and history.
By statute, the Chief Justice of the United States
Chief Justice of the United States
The Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal court system and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Chief Justice is one of nine Supreme Court justices; the other eight are the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States...
is ex officio chair of the Center's board, which also includes the director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts
Administrative Office of the United States Courts
The Administrative Office of the United States Courts is the administrative agency of the United States federal court system. It was established in 1939.The AO is the central support entity for the federal judicial branch...
and seven judges elected by the Judicial Conference. The Board appoints the Center's director and deputy director; the director appoints the Center's staff. Since its founding in 1967, the Center has had nine directors. Judge Barbara J. Rothstein became director in 2003. She was appointed U.S. district judge for the Western District of Washington in 1980 but has been resident in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, since becoming director. The deputy director is John S. Cooke.
History
The establishment of a separate agency that would conduct research and educational programs for the federal courts marked a further development in the judiciary’s institutional independence. The Federal Judicial Center was established by Congress on the recommendation of Chief Justice Earl WarrenEarl Warren
Earl Warren was the 14th Chief Justice of the United States.He is known for the sweeping decisions of the Warren Court, which ended school segregation and transformed many areas of American law, especially regarding the rights of the accused, ending public-school-sponsored prayer, and requiring...
and other members of the judiciary who hoped that regular programs of research and education would improve the efficiency of the federal courts and relieve the backlog of cases in the lower courts. Governed by its own board, the Federal Judicial Center offered the courts the benefits of independent social science research and educational programs designed to improve judicial administration.
In the 1950s and early 1960s, the Judicial Conference and the Administrative Office increasingly commissioned research projects to examine problems of judicial administration at the same time that they organized educational programs to help judges manage growing and complicated caseloads. These research and educational programs, however, received no permanent staff or funding. Support for an institutionalized program of judicial research and education increased after the establishment of 60 new district judgeships in 1961 demonstrated that the number of judges alone would not solve all of the problems of overworked courts. A growing number of judges and members of the bar urged the judiciary to establish the formal means to bring improved research and education to the courts.
At the suggestion of Chief Justice Warren, the Judicial Conference in 1966 authorized a committee to examine the research and education requirements of the judiciary. Former Justice Stanley Reed
Stanley Forman Reed
Stanley Forman Reed was a noted American attorney who served as United States Solicitor General from 1935 to 1938 and as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1938 to 1957. He was the last Supreme Court Justice who did not graduate from law school Stanley Forman Reed (December 31,...
agreed to Warren’s request to chair the committee. Before the Judicial Conference adopted the Reed committee’s recommendation for establishment of a Federal Judicial Center, President Johnson, at Warren’s request, decided to include the proposal in his highly-publicized message on crime in February 1967. Bills to create the Center were soon submitted in both houses of Congress. With broad support for the concept of a research and education center for the judiciary, discussion in the House and Senate hearings centered on questions about the proper institutional form and leadership for the Center.
The Reed Committee and the director of the Administrative Office, among others, advocated an independent agency with its own governing board to which the Center director would report. The goal was to protect the research and education resources from being absorbed into strictly administrative duties and to insure the objectivity of research. The Federal Judicial Center’s board consists of the Chief Justice, a rotating group of judges selected by the Judicial Conference, and the director of the Administrative Office; no member of the Judicial Conference was to serve on the Center’s board. The statute authorizes the Center to conduct and support research on the operation of the courts, to offer education and training for judges and court personnel, and to assist and advise the Judicial Conference on matters related to the administration and management of the courts. More recent legislation has expanded the Center’s mandate to include, among other things, programs related to the history of the federal judiciary.
The Center includes several offices and divisions.
Director's Office
The Director's Office is responsible for the Center's overall management and its relations with other organizations. Its Office of Systems Innovation and Development (OSID) provides technical support for Center education and research. Communications Policy and Design (CPD) edits, produces, and distributes all Center print and electronic publications, operates the Federal Judicial Television Network, and through the Information Services Office maintains a specialized library collection of materials on judicial administration.Research Division
The Research Division undertakes empiricalEmpirical
The word empirical denotes information gained by means of observation or experimentation. Empirical data are data produced by an experiment or observation....
and exploratory research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
on federal judicial processes, court management, and sentencing
Sentence (law)
In law, a sentence forms the final explicit act of a judge-ruled process, and also the symbolic principal act connected to his function. The sentence can generally involve a decree of imprisonment, a fine and/or other punishments against a defendant convicted of a crime...
and its consequences, often at the request of the Judicial Conference and its committees, the courts themselves, or other groups in the federal system. James B. Eaglin is the current director of the research division.
Federal Judicial History Office
The Federal Judicial History Office develops programs relating to the history of the judicial branch and assists courts with their own judicial history programs.Education Division
The Education Division plans and organizes educational sessions for federal judges and court staff. Bruce Clarke is the current director of the Education Division.Interjudicial Affairs Office
The Interjudicial Affairs Office caries out the Center's statutory mission to provide information about federal courts to officials of foreign judicial systems and to acquire information about foreign judicial systems that will help the Center perform its other missions.Board of the Center
The Center's board consists of:- John G. Roberts, Jr., Chief Justice of the United States, chair.
- Judge Susan H. BlackSusan H. BlackSusan Harrell Black is an American lawyer and federal judge. She currently sits on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit....
, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit - Judge David O. CarterDavid O. CarterDavid O. Carter is a United States District Court Judge for the Central District of California.-Biography:...
, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California - Magistrate Judge Karen Klein, U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota
- Judge Loretta A. PreskaLoretta A. PreskaLoretta A. Preska is the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and a former nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.-Background:...
, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York - Judge Philip Martin ProPhilip Martin ProPhilip Martin Pro is a United States federal judge.Born in Richmond, California, Pro received an A.A. from Contra Costa Community College in 1966, a B.A. from San Francisco State University in 1968, and a J.D. from Golden Gate University School of Law in 1972. He served in the U.S. Naval Reserve...
, U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada - Judge Stephen Raslavich, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
- Judge William B. Traxler Jr., U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and
- James C. DuffJames C. DuffJames C. Duff is the president and CEO of the Freedom Forum, the nonpartisan foundation dedicated to the First Amendment and media issues and which runs Washington, D.C.’s Newseum, the First Amendment Center, and the Diversity Institute at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.-Education...
, Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
A nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
, the Federal Judicial Center Foundation, solicits support for the Center.