Vol. 37, Number 12—December 2005

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

First Session Legislation Waits for 2006
— "New judgeships, jurisdiction clarification, habeas reform, rent relief, broadcast access to court proceedings, and security for judges, among other issues, were considered by the 109th Congress in its first session..."

• Federal Courts Seek New Judgeships
• House Budget Bill Links Judgeships With Split of Ninth Circuit
• Court Security Bill Passes House With Cameras in Courtroom Provision
• Senate Considers Allowing Broadcast Media in Courtrooms
• Conference Proposes Legislation to Reduce Needless Litigation
• Judiciary Has Concerns over Habeas Corpus Legislation

Judiciary Gets Funding Increase, But Cuts May Still Come
— "The federal Judiciary overall received a 6.1 percent increase for Fiscal Year 2006 over the FY 2005 appropriations level, while the courts’ Salaries and Expenses Account received a 5.4 percent increase. The Judiciary’s appropriation, however, may be reduced as Congress considers across-the-board reductions to all spending bills..."

Electronic Case Filing in Federal Courts Reaches Milestone
— "The world’s most comprehensive court electronic case filing system turned 10 years old in November 2005, after processing more than 24 million federal court cases and serving hundreds of thousands of attorneys and litigants..."

Realtime Court Reporting Grows in Popularity
— "Realtime court reporting, which can make nearly-instant text delivery of court proceedings available to judges and lawyers, continues to grow in use and popularity in federal courts..."

New Locator Map Eases Finding Courts

ECI Adjustment for Judges

Sentencing Commission Feels the Effect of Booker and Blakely

Judicial Milestones

Judicial Boxscore