New Law Authorizes ADR In All District Courts

Most Provisions Anticipated by Federal Courts

The Alternative Dispute Resolution Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-315) was signed into law by the President at the end of October. The new law requires district courts to have an ADR program, but how that program is structured is left up to the individual courts, and in fact, most courts already meet the new law's requirements.

Each district court is required to implement its own ADR program and to authorize the use of at least one form of ADR. Forms of ADR include but are not limited to mediation, early neutral evaluation, minitrial, and voluntary arbitration

The Judicial Conference has long supported the use of voluntary ADR by district courts. Recommendation 39 of the Long Range Plan for the Federal Courts encouraged district courts to "make available a variety of alternative dispute resolution techniques, procedures, and resources to assist in achieving a just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of civil litigation." In the district courts, the first mediation and arbitration programs date from the 1970s. According to a 1996 resource guide by the Federal Judicial Center and the CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution, mediation programs are the most common with arbitration as the second most frequently authorized ADR program. Nearly 80 district courts have authorized or established at least one court-wide ADR program. Almost all courts, even those with no formal ADR programs, frequently use district judge- or magistrate judge-hosted settlement conferences.

Each district court is required to adopt local rules requiring litigants in civil cases to consider the use of an ADR process and providing for the confidentiality of ADR processes.

Many local court rules already require attorneys to discuss ADR options with their clients. In the initial case management conference, attorneys may also be expected to help determine, with the judge, whether ADR would be effective in the case, and, if so, what type of ADR process. A number of courts provide brochures on ADR at filing to help parties learn about their options.

Districts may exclude cases or categories of cases that would not be appropriate for ADR.

The Act recognizes that there may be cases or types of cases that are not suitable for ADR. Districts have the flexibility to exclude these cases from the ADR process.

Each district is required to designate an employee or judicial officer to oversee its ADR program.

Nearly a dozen courts have ADR administrators or directors whose full-time responsibility is to manage and monitor the ADR programs, and others have assigned these duties to the clerk's office staff. In some courts, magistrate judges run successful ADR programs.

All districts, if they so desire, are now allowed to use voluntary arbitration as a form of ADR in cases where damages do not exceed $150,000. Only those districts that were previously authorized to conduct mandatory arbitration are still permitted to do so.

The new Act permits all courts, if they so wish, to establish voluntary arbitration programs for cases where damages do not exceed $150,000. However, mandatory arbitration programs are still limited to those courts that were previously authorized under the Judicial Improvements and Access to Justice Act of 1988, P.L. 100-72.

New Member Named to Executive Committee Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist has named Chief Judge Edward R. Becker (3rd Cir.) to the Executive Committee of the Judicial Conference. Becker replaces Judge Henry A. Politz (5th Cir.), who recently stepped down as chief judge of the Fifth Circuit. The eight-member Executive Committee, chaired by Judge Wm. Terrell Hodges (M.D. Fla.), acts on behalf of the Conference between regular meetings held in March and September. The Committee also reviews the jurisdiction of Conference committees, reviews and approves the Judiciary's annual financial plans, prepares proposed discussion and consent calendars for Conference meetings, and establishes and publishes procedures for assembling agendas and schedules of events in preparation for Conference sessions. Chief Judge Edward R. Becker (3rd cir.)

New AO Chiefs Named

Two new chiefs have been named to head divisions at the Administrative Office: Michael W. Dolan in the Article III Judges Division and Robert Lowney in the District Court Administration Division.

Dolan was previously deputy chief of the Article III Judges division, a position he has held since 1994. From 1985 to 1994, he worked with the Washington office of Winthrop, Stimson, Putnam & Roberts, a Wall Street law firm. From 1971 to 1985, he held positions in the Office of Legislative Affairs of the Department of Justice. During the last six years with the Department, he served as career Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs.

Joining Dolan in April will be his new deputy chief, Bob Wily, previously clerk of the bankruptcy court in the Eastern District of Virginia.

The Article III Judges Division addresses the needs and concerns of judges through the operations of the Judicial Compensation and Benefits Branch, which handles payroll and personnel for all judges, along with several retirement systems and the Financial Disclosure Office, which annually processes over 3,000 reports submitted by judges and staff, and through assistance to the Judicial Conference committees dealing with financial disclosure, international relations, and intercircuit assignments. The division also is responsible for the orientation to the AO of new chief judges and the introduction to the federal court system of individuals nominated to Article III judgeships.

Michael W. Dolan

Robert Lowney

Lowney, the new chief of the District Court Administration Division (DCAD), has been involved in clerk of court issues since his arrival at the AO in 1988. Before joining the AO, he was deputy clerk in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and in the Northern District of California. He began at the AO as a program specialist in the Court Administration Division, then served as special assistant to the division's chief. When the division was reorganized, Lowney was appointed special assistant for court administration to the Assistant Director, Office of Court Programs. In addition to his new responsibilities, Lowney will continue his role as Deputy for Court Administration in the Office of Court Programs, a position he has held since 1995.

DCAD's support of district courts, includes the allocation of staffing and other resources, the management of projects such as the deployment of a new case management system with electronic filing capability, the jury management system, and programs such as court reporting and interpreting. The division also helps support three Judicial Conference committees, the Judicial Resources Committee, the Committee on Court Administration and Case Management, and the Committee on Automation and Technology.

FJTN in March

The Judiciary's internal broadcasting network, the Federal Judicial Television Network (FJTN) is already the second-largest network of its kind in the federal civilian government. Judiciary employees can access programs on everything from the impact of the new ADR Act to how WordPerfect works. March brings a special report on Y2K, with the first showing on March 1. On March 16, there's a live show on the Judiciary Benefits Initiative, using viewer response systems. Airing every Monday and Tuesday, this month's In Camera features a conversation with Judge Norman Stahl (1^st Cir) on courthouse construction. And throughout the month News Breaks keeps you up to date on news from the Hill and around the country affecting the Judiciary. For the latest schedule check the Judiciary's J-Net at http://156.132.47.230/docs/EDUPROG/Calendar.html and the insert in this month's Third Branch newsletter.