Vol. 37, Number 7—July 2005

Two New Chairs
Begin Duties July 1

	Judge D. Brock Hornby (D. Me.)

Two new chairs of Judicial Conference committees began their terms on July 1, 2005. Judge D. Brock Hornby (D. Me.) succeeds Chief Judge Deanell Reece Tacha (10th Cir.) as chair of the Committee on the Judicial Branch, and Judge Robert H. Henry (10th Cir.) takes over from Judge Fern M. Smith (N.D. Calif.) as chair of the Committee on International Judicial Relations. Both appointments were made by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, who also determines tenure.

Hornby was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine in 1990, serving as chief judge of the district from 1996 to 2003. He previously has served as a member of the Conference's Executive Committee and as chair of the Committee on Court Administration and Case Management. Henry was appointed to the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in 1994.

The Committee on the Judicial Branch addresses problems affecting the Judiciary as an institution and affecting the status of federal judicial officers. The Committee has been particularly active on the issues of pay increases for judges, relations with Congress, and judicial independence.

Judge Robert H. Henry (10th Cir.)

The Committee on International Judicial Relations coordinates the Judiciary's relationship with foreign judiciaries and with agencies and organizations interested in international judicial relations. It also is involved in the establishment and expansion of the rule of law and the administration of justice.

Conference committee chairs, with the exception of those serving on the Executive, Judicial Branch, and Budget Committees, usually serve for a term of three years. Six years of cumulative committee service, including past committee assignments, generally is considered the maximum a member may serve. For more on the Judicial Conference of the United States, visit www.uscourts.gov/judconf.html on the Judiciary's website.