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Oversight Hearing Shows Increasing Workload is Straining
Resources of Federal Judiciary
An increasing workload is driving a Judiciary-wide need for resources, including
adequate funding and staffing, while prompting a call to address the trend to federalize traditionally state crimes.
"One of the greatest challenges confronting the federal Judiciary is to continue providing
just and timely adjudication of a burgeoning federal docket," Judge Wm. Terrell Hodges (M.D. Fla.) told
the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property. The Subcommittee, chaired
by Representative Howard Coble (R-NC) held the first oversight hearings on the Judiciary since
1993. Judge Hodges, chair of the Judicial Conference Executive Committee, was accompanied by
Administrative Office Director Leonidas Ralph Mecham, and by Federal Judicial Center Director, Judge
Rya Zobel. The Judicial Conference is the principal policy-making body of the U.S. Courts. The AO is
the central administrative support agency for the federal court system and the Federal Judicial Center is
the Judiciary's research and training arm.
Judge Hodges traced the expansion of federal caseloads to new legislation federalizing
additional crimes, such as the pending juvenile justice bills. "The workload of the federal courts keeps
growing," said Judge Hodges. "Despite productivity gains by judges, with no increases in Article III
judgeships since 1990 or bankruptcy judgeships since 1992, compounded by a large number of unfilled
judicial vacancies, many courts are simply congested with too much work and growing backlogs."
Judge Hodges told the subcommittee that the Judiciary needs adequate resources to meet
its burgeoning workload. "[W]e are thankful that Congress has generally appropriated a high percentage
of the funds requested by the federal courts," said Judge Hodges. "The Judiciary also needs
sufficient funding to meet its court security, courthouse facility, and defender services needs." There has been
no funding for the courthouse construction program for two years, which has worsened operational
and security problems in aging and obsolete court facilities. Funds also are needed to increase the
hourly rate for Criminal Justice Act panel attorneys, to attract attorneys with the skills and knowledge to
provide adequate defense services. Most panel attorneys have received only a $5 increase over the past
12 years.
Judge Hodges also addressed a needed 1999 pay adjustment for federal judges and members
of Congress; the Judiciary's need to be reimbursed for its costs related to the Department of
Justice's seizures and forfeitures of criminal assets; and the increasing tendency by Members of Congress
to amend the federal rules by statute, effectively bypassing the Rules Enabling Act. In addition, he
highlighted the efforts the Judiciary has made to identify ways to streamline operations, increase the use
of technology, and ensure that resources are deployed appropriately and used efficiently.
AO Director Mecham, in his testimony before the subcommittee, highlighted many of the
same areas of concern, while focussing on the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Created by
Congress in 1939, the AO supports over 30,000 Judiciary employees, including more than 2,000 Article
III, bankruptcy and magistrate judges, in over 800 locations throughout the U.S. and its territories.
"Our policy and support responsibilities touch on all aspects of judicial operations,"
Mecham told the subcommittee. "I believe no other federal agency has such far-reaching responsibilities as
our own." He pointed to the major strides the AO has made in the last five years, including the delegation
of administrative decision-making to the courts; the improvement of communications with the Data
Communications Network, videoconferencing, intranet sites, and electronic public access to records; and
the technological improvement of systems and processes to ease the courts' workloads. The AO is
aggressively pursuing the use of automated technology to reduce costs and improve productivity and
business practices,
"Despite the successes of recent years," Mecham cautioned, "there are several areas of
concern: the need for additional AO staff, whose number has grown at a considerably slower pace than has
the Judiciary overall; the lack of funding for courthouse construction for the past two years; the erosion
of judges' salaries; and the need for improvements in the employee benefits available to Judiciary
employees."
Mecham concluded his testimony by saying the AO will continue to seek improvements
and efficiencies in Judiciary operations. "We have met the challenge in the past," said Mecham, "and
will continue to do so in the future to ensure equal justice for all Americans."
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