Many of the bankruptcies filed immediately before the October 2005 effective date for several provisions of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 were filed pro se—literally “for oneself,” without the assistance of legal representation. Since then, the number of pro se bankruptcy filings has continued to grow. The Administrative Office’s Bankruptcy Judges Advisory Group (BJAG), has produced a helpful guide especially for bankruptcy courts, Assisting Pro Se Parties in Bankruptcy Cases.

JRent, a software module, provides court unit executives and their designees with a simple, searchable database of past and current rent bill information.

Defendants must routinely submit reports on their status to the probation and pretrial services office as a condition of bail or post-conviction supervision. Starting in December, a three-month pilot program will test whether there is a better way to receive and use those reports.

Five provisions will affect attendance fees, jury summons, jury wheels, juror penalties, and ensure a juror’s right to serve without retaliation.

Beginning this month, potential jurors in the U.S. District Courts for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and the Western District of Kentucky have the option of submitting their juror qualification questionnaire and summons information forms on-line through the eJuror system, a new component to the federal Judiciary’s Jury Management System (JMS).

Over the next few months, members of the Training Program Planning Team will identify specific training needs in five areas: circuit rent caps, courtroom technology and communications, asset management planning, rent validation, and basic space and facilities planning. The materials will be developed into a comprehensive training curriculum.

The U.S. Sentencing Commission has undertaken a data analysis of federal prisoner escape cases to determine whether the crime of escape qualifies as a “violent felony” for sentencing purposes.