Vol. 37, Number 3 —March 2005

Sentencing Appeals and Class Action Lawsuits Will Cost the Judiciary

President Bush has forwarded to Congress the Judiciary's request for $101.8 million in supplemental funding for the current fiscal year as a gesture of comity.

A recent Supreme Court ruling on sentencing and newly enacted class action legislation together are expected to cost federal courts in excess of $100 million.

"The Judiciary has neither the financial nor personnel resources to cover these new workload requirements," said Leonidas Ralph Mecham, director of the Administrative Office, in a letter to President Bush.

Acting on the letter, the President sent the request to Congress on March 2.

"Federal courts lost the services of about 1,350 employees in fiscal year 2004 as a result of budget constraints, face sharply increasing rental payments to the General Services Administration, and are finding it very difficult to cope with the effects of their existing caseloads this fiscal year, let alone this new, additional workload," Mecham said. "The requested supplemental appropriation for fiscal year 2005 is a critical lifeline."

The Supreme Court's twin majority opinions on January 12, 2005, in United States v. Booker and United States v. Fanfan (Booker/Fanfan) made federal sentencing guidelines advisory and declared certain enhancements to the guidelines unconstitutional. In addition to an increased workload associated with pending and new cases, a significant number of inmates likely will seek relief by asking district and appellate courts to reconsider sentences imposed before Booker/Fanfan.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the newly enacted class action legislation will move a projected 300 complex class action lawsuits from the states into the federal courts over the coming months. The impact of this additional workload was not taken into account when Congress passed the Judiciary's fiscal year 2005 appropriations bill.

The $101.8 million for projected cost increases includes: $40.5 million for district and appellate courts; $60 million for defense counsel services; $400,000 for Federal Judicial Center training workshops for judges, probation officers, federal defenders, and other court personnel; and $900,000 for the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

Mecham's letter to the President was accompanied by a detailed description of the cost impact of both the Booker/Fanfan opinions and the class action legislation. To read the letter and the Judiciary's cost estimate of Booker's impact, visit www.uscourts.gov/Press_Releases/index.html.