Terrorism Threats, Increasing Caseload Shape FY 03 Request

An increase in the federal courts' workload coupled with the Judiciary's continued response to the threat of terrorism attacks will have long-term resource implications for the federal Judiciary, a representative of the Judicial Conference told Congress this month.

Chief Judge John G. Heyburn II (W.D. Ky.), chair of the Judicial Conference Budget Committee, appeared before both the Senate and the House Appropriations Subcommittees on Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary and Related Agencies in March to request $5.2 billion in appropriations for fiscal year 2003, a 10.7 percent increase over FY 2002. Heyburn was accompanied in the Senate by Judge M. Blane Michael (4th Cir.) and Leonidas Ralph Mecham, Director of the Administrative Office. In the House, Magistrate Judge Thomas B. McCoun III (M.D. Fla.) and Judge Fern Smith, Director of the Federal Judicial Center, joined Heyburn and Mecham.

Three quarters of the Judiciary's requested increase-$375 million-is required to continue current operations in the federal courts, such as pay and benefit adjustments, inflationary adjustments, increase in GSA space rental costs, an increase in filled Article III judgeships, and continuation of the enhanced security measures taken since the September 11 terrorist attacks and the anthrax threat.

"In response to terrorist attacks, the Judiciary is taking steps to protect against future incidents that could disrupt the operations of the Judiciary," Heyburn told House and Senate subcommittee members. "Also in the long-term, the workload of the Judiciary is expected to increase. As additional resources are provided to the various law enforcement agencies of the Department of Justice and additional assistant U.S. attorneys are hired to combat terrorism, the result will be continued growth in the workload of the Judiciary."

Heyburn cited increased security that includes the development of a nationwide continuity-of-operations plan, studying the feasibility of establishing a court operations center outside of Washington, D.C., and the continued use of technology to decrease the courts' reliance on mail to perform routine business. Since the September 11th attacks, the Judiciary has significantly enhanced security at Judiciary facilities.

"The additional resources appropriated by Congress in the fiscal year 2002 emergency supplemental," said Heyburn, "will enable the Judiciary to maintain the level of court security officer (CSO) coverage recommended by the U.S. Marshals Service, procure upgraded X-ray machines for courthouse loading docks and mailrooms, create 106 new deputy marshal positions to coordinate security in each circuit and district, begin to address the mail handling and screening needs of the courts, and provide increased protection both for CSOs and court facilities, especially those with high-profile terrorist cases." The 2003 budget request for Court Security will continue the higher level of security in the courts for FY 2003.

Heyburn told the subcommittee that the remainder of the request --$132 million--would address such programmatic and workload-related needs as additional bankruptcy court staff to process an all-time high number of bankruptcy filings, additional probation staff to supervise a record number of offenders released from prisons, and an increase in district court staff to handle the projected growth in criminal filings as the number of Department of Justice prosecutors continues to grow. The number of criminal defendants in the district courts is projected to increase by 9 percent in FY 2002 over FY 2001; probation and pretrial services officers already supervise 139,797 offenders and defendants, and this number continues to increase every year.

The Judiciary was unable to fully fund its staffing formulas in fiscal year 2002, despite an increasing workload. In FY 2003, without sufficient staff, Heyburn cautioned, "judicial processes are short-changed, civil and bankruptcy cases are delayed, support provided to judges and the public deteriorates, and offenders and defendants living in our communities are not adequately supervised."

He assured the members of the appropriations subcommittees that the funding already provided by Congress to the federal courts is used responsibly.

"The Judicial Conference of the United States recognizes that the responsibility for budgetary oversight requires stewardship and fiscal responsibility in both providing for the Judiciary's requirements while considering the needs of the nation," Heyburn said. He also asked the subcommittees to fully fund the AO, calling the agency "the manager of change in the Judiciary."

The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts

The FY 2003 budget request for the Administrative Office is $66.9 million, an increase of 3.7 percent above FY 2002 available appropriations.

"More than three-fourths of the requested increase for the AO is necessary to fund standard pay and benefit cost adjustments and general inflationary increases to maintain our current level of service to the courts," Mecham told Congress. "The remaining increase is requested to strengthen our programmatic oversight role, enhance crisis response, security and safety programs, and allow us to fund an increase in the transit subsidy benefit for AO employees."

On the day of the Program, Judge John G. Heyburn II (W.D. Ky.), Photo left, invited students into his cahmbers and responded to their questions about his work as a federal judge. Students (photo right) also had the oportunity to ask questions and give their views of the Bill of Rights in their lives.

The AO has assisted the courts in implementing better management practices, developing and supporting innovative technologies that enhance operations, and collecting and analyzing statistics for planning and determining resource needs. One of the largest initiatives managed by the AO in recent years is the Case Management/Electronic Case Files project, which permits courts to receive documents over the Internet and maintain electronic case filings.

Among other initiatives Mecham highlighted were the Bankruptcy Noticing Center, which produces and mails 84 million notices at a fraction of the time and cost it would take if performed by local courts, and the electronic Jury Management System which now streamlines jury administration in 74 courts and will soon be in all district courts. The AO also has provided the courts with policy guidance on the congressionally mandated collection of DNA samples from violent offenders; on civil dispute resolution; on fiscal stewardship and management, and on offsite court operations and continuity of operations planning.

The Federal Judicial Center

Judge Smith requested a FY 2003 appropriation of $21.8 million for the Federal Judicial Center (FJC), an 8.7 percent increase over the FY 2002 appropriation.

The FJC, said Smith, remains committed to distance education; the great majority of the nearly 50,000 users of FJC services in 2001 participated through the Federal Judicial Television Network and other non-travel programs.

She emphasized, however, that judges need to meet face-to-face with colleagues to learn from FJC faculty and one another about changes in laws and procedures and how to adapt to them. The FJC's fiscal year 2003 request seeks funds to place the FJC's continuing education judicial workshops back on the former 12-month cycle, rather than the 18-month cycle in place since 1999. Heyburn noted that "the Board of the Center took the unusual step of adding its own statement to supplement Judge Smith's justification for this increase."

Smith described FJC programs to help court managers deal with increased challenges since September 11. Heyburn said "in these troubled times of employee unease and uncertainty, Center management training . . . has never been more important."

Smith described recent additions to the FJC's educational manuals on subjects such as courtroom technology and redistricting and its research for Judicial Conference committees. She also summarized the FJC's efforts to help judiciaries in emerging democracies, emphasizing that these activities are not funded from the FJC's appropriations.