Judges Tacha and Arnold to Head Judicial Branch Committee

Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist has appointed Chief Judge Deanell R. Tacha (10^th Cir.) and Judge Richard Arnold (8^th Cir.) as chair and co-chair, respectively, of the Judicial Conference Committee on the Judicial Branch. They succeed Judge David R. Hansen (8^th Cir.), who served as chair of the committee since 1997.

In its work, the Judicial Branch Committee addresses issues affecting the Judiciary as an institution, particularly those affecting the status of federal judicial officers.

One of the most pressing issues facing the federal judicial branch, as the Chief Justice noted in this 2000 Year End Report on the Judiciary, is the need to increase judicial salaries. It is anticipated that Tacha and Arnold will continue to focus their committee's efforts on a three-part plan for improving the compensation of judges and other high-level federal officials. These initiatives were en-dorsed by the Judicial Conference last month at its semi-annual meeting.

Tacha previously was a member and chair of the Committee on the Judicial Branch from 1989 to 1994, and served on the Conference Committee on Court Security from 1987 to 1989. She was a member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission from 1994 to 1997. Arnold served as chair of the Conference Committee on the Budget from 1987 to 1996 and was a member of the Executive Committee from 1992 to 1998. He also served on the Ad Hoc Committee on Regulatory Reform Legislation, from 1981 to 1984, and the Subcommittee on Judicial Improvements, from 1983 to 1987.

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