2001 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary (cont.)

The federal Judiciary continues to play a vital role in the development of independent judicial systems in countries around the world. This year over 800 representatives from more than 40 foreign judicial systems formally visited the Supreme Court of the United States seeking information about our system of justice.

On September 25, 2001, I led a small delegation representing the federal Judiciary on a judicial exchange in Guanajuato, Mexico. The visit was at the invitation of Genaro David Góngora Pimentel, President of the Mexican Supreme Court, and followed a similar visit to Washington by a Mexican delegation in November 1999. Our traveling to Mexico within two weeks of the September 11 attacks underscored the importance of this exchange. I am grateful to President Góngora Pimentel and his colleagues for their invitation to meet with them in Mexico and for their commitment to strengthening cross-border judicial relations in North America.

The visit brought home not only the close connections of our two countries, but the importance of working with other judiciaries to improve the functioning of all judicial systems. The Federal Judicial Center, the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, and the International Judicial Relations Committee of the Judicial Conference have also provided many international visitors with information, education, and technical assistance to improve the administration and independence of foreign courts and enhance the rule of law. Through these judicial exchanges, we also gain valuable insights into our own judicial system by exchanging information with foreign visitors and by visiting foreign courts. Improving the administration of justice —here and in other courts around the world—has become even more important in the age of the global economy.

The Supreme Court of the United States

The work of the Supreme Court continues to grow modestly, putting an increasing strain on the Supreme Court’s building, the infrastructure of which has not been changed in any basic way since the building was opened in 1935. I wish to thank Chairman Byrd, Ranking Minority Member Stevens, Chairman Young, Ranking Minority Member Obey, Chairman Hollings, Ranking Minority Member Gregg, Chairman Wolf, and Ranking Minority Member Serrano for their efforts to secure funds to modernize our Supreme Court building. I am hopeful that the remaining funds necessary to implement our building modernization program, which has been in the planning stage for several years, will be included in our Fiscal Year 2003 appropriation. Significant safety and security upgrades to the Supreme Court building are included in the project and should not be delayed.

The total number of case filings in the Supreme Court increased from 7,377 in the 1999 Term to 7,852 in the 2000 Term—an increase of 6.4 percent. Filings in the Court’s in forma pauperis docket increased from 5,282 to 5,897—an 11.6 percent rise. The Court’s paid docket decreased by 138 cases, from 2,092 to 1,954—a 6.6 percent decline. During the 2000 Term, 86 cases were argued and 83 were disposed of in 77 signed opinions, compared to 83 cases argued and 79 disposed of in 74 signed opinions in the 1999 Term. No cases from the 2000 Term were scheduled for re-argument in the 2001 Term. Although the closing of our building did not delay any scheduled arguments, the interruption in mail delivery in the Washington area may have an impact on the number of cases heard by the Court this Term.

The Federal Courts’ Caseload

In Fiscal Year 2001, filings in the 12 regional courts of appeals rose 5 percent to 57,464—a new all-time high.1 Civil filings in the U.S. district courts fell 3 percent to 258,517,2 and, after six consecutive years of growth, the number of criminal cases and defendants declined slightly.3 The essentially static level of criminal filings was reflected in a 1 percent gain in the number of defendants activated in the pretrial services system.4 The number of persons on probation and supervised release went up by 4 percent to an all-time high of 104,715.5 Filings in the U.S. bankruptcy courts climbed 14 percent from 1,262,102 to 1,437,354, following two years of decline. 6

1Original proceedings surged 48 percent, largely as a result of a rise in habeas corpus petitions filed by prisoners. Criminal appeals grew 5 percent, administrative agency appeals increased 2 percent, and civil appeals rose 1 percent. Bankruptcy appeals fell 5 percent. Appeals filings have increased 22 percent since 1992.

2Filings of criminal cases dropped by 37 cases to 62,708, and the number of defendants decreased 1 percent to 83,252. As a result of the creation of 10 additional Article III judgeships, criminal cases per authorized district judgeship declined from 96 to 94. This was the first decrease in cases per judgeship since 1994, when the effects of a hiring freeze on assistant U.S. attorneys was being felt. In succeeding years, federal courts saw increases in criminal filings, primarily due to immigration and drug law-related cases in districts along the Southwestern border of the United States. This year, drug cases rose 5 percent to 18,425, firearms cases rose 9 percent to set yet another record at 5,845, traffic cases rose 6 percent to 4,958, robbery cases rose 8 percent to 1,355, and sex offense cases rose 8 percent to 1,017. Immigration filings fell by 873 cases, a 7 percent decline over last year due to fewer immigration cases reported by the Western District of Texas, the Southern District of California, and the District of New Mexico. However, in the Western District of Texas and in the Southern District of California, the decline in immigration filings was offset by a rise in drug filings. As a result, overall criminal filings increased 2 percent in the Western District of Texas and declined 3 percent in the Southern District of California. Criminal filings since 1992 have increased 30 percent.

3Filings with the United States as plaintiff seeking the recovery of student loans dropped 47 percent. New administrative procedures implemented by the Department of Education led to fewer such filings in the federal courts. Excluding student loan filings, total civil filings increased 1 percent. Total private case filings fell less than 1 percent. Filings related to federal question litigation were consistent with the total decline in private cases, falling less than 1 percent to 138,441. Diversity of citizenship and civil rights filings each rose less than 1 percent. Filings related to federal question litigation and diversity of citizenship were greatly affected by the stabilization of personal injury/product liability case filings related to breast implants, oil refinery explosions, and asbestos. Despite an 11 percent decrease in total filings with the United States as plaintiff or defendant, filings with the United States as defendant increased 10 percent to 40,644. This was mostly due to a 23 percent surge in federal prisoner petitions and an 8 percent rise in social security filings. Motions to vacate sentences filed by federal prisoners grew by 36 percent. Social security filings related to disability insurance and supplemental security income rose 9 percent and 6 percent, respectively. Civil filings have increased 9 percent since 1992.

4In 2001, the number of defendants activated in the pretrial services system increased 1 percent to 86,140, and the number of pretrial reports prepared rose 1 percent. During the past five years, pretrial services case activations and pretrial reports prepared each rose 24 percent, persons interviewed grew 16 percent, and defendants released on supervision increased 25 percent. Pretrial case activations have risen each year since 1994, and this year's total is 54 percent higher than that for 1994.

5There is an average lag of several years before defendants found guilty and sentenced to prison appear in the probation numbers. Supervised release following a period of incarceration continues to account for a growing percentage of those under supervision and now stands at 65 percent of this total. In contrast, the number of individuals on parole is small and declining, composing only 4 percent of those under supervision. Of the 104,715 persons under probation supervision, 42 percent had been charged with a drug-related offense. The number of persons on probation has increased 22 percent since 1992.

6Nonbusiness petitions rose 14 percent and business petitions increased 7 percent. Filings increased under all chapters except Chapter 12, jumping 17 percent under Chapter 7, rising 7 percent under Chapter 11, and increasing 8 percent under Chapter 13. Bankruptcy filings under Chapter 12, which constituted 0.03 percent of all petitions filed, fell 31 percent. This decrease resulted from the expiration of the provisions for Chapter 12 on July 1, 2000. Subsequently, Public Law 107-8 extended the deadline for filing Chapter 12 petitions to June 1, 2001, and Public Law 107-17 extended the deadline further to October 1, 2001. Bankruptcy filings have increased 47 percent since 1992.

 

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