The Judicial Conference received updates today on the progress of three important Judicial Branch initiatives – modernization of the case management system used by the federal courts, the Branch’s request for authority to directly manage mission-essential Judiciary properties, and its effort to address policy questions on the use of artificial intelligence.
The report was delivered by the Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Judge Robert J. Conrad, Jr., Secretary of the Judicial Conference of the United States.
“We are moving forward with a sense of urgency and focus,” Conrad said.
Case Management Modernization (CMM)
The Judiciary has fast-tracked a fundamental redesign of its Case Management/Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) system, which has become outdated and vulnerable to security breaches.
Conrad said the new system will use the latest cybersecurity tools to protect documents and cases. He said the first component is on track to be released before the end of 2026. “By year end 2027, we will move all new district court cases into CMM. The appellate and bankruptcy courts will follow,” Conrad said.
Real Property Authority
Conrad also cited progress on another important front — the Judiciary’s request for authority to directly manage properties essential to the Branch’s constitutional mission. The Judiciary requested the authority, known as Real Property Authority (RPA), in late February. Courthouse properties currently are managed by the General Services Administration.
On July 30, a bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation to authorize a pilot project involving select court properties in a maximum of 10 judicial districts, as a first step toward a larger transfer of property authority.
“The proposed legislation would give us the opportunity to demonstrate operational capability while providing Congress with necessary oversight and evaluation opportunities before considering a broader expansion of authority.”
Conrad added that the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO) has hired key staff to help guide planning and has developed criteria for selecting up to 10 districts for the pilot, if the RPA bill is approved by Congress.
“Just as important as these concrete steps, we are developing a consensus within the Judicial Branch in support of this transformational initiative,” Conrad said.
Conrad noted that the Judiciary has a long history of managing complex business operations, including budgets and technology. This has been true since Congress created the AO in 1939 to perform business operations that enable judges to focus on court cases.
“We were created to do the Judiciary’s administrative work, enabling our judges to concentrate on the law,” Conrad said.
Artificial Intelligence
In 2025, Conrad appointed an advisory task force to organize and coordinate the Judiciary’s efforts to address the significant questions raised by the emergence of AI and its impact on the federal courts. He said the task force has identified more than 60 distinct issues, prioritized them for review, and formed seven subject-matter subgroups to guide further study.
Conrad noted that he has issued interim guidance to the courts, developed by the Task Force, regarding use of AI. The Judiciary will roll out additional guidance as issues are resolved. In particular, courts have been cautioned not to delegate core judicial functions to AI, including decision-making or case adjudication. And all Judiciary users have been reminded that they are accountable for all work performed with the assistance of AI.
“I’m confident that the end result will be a better equipped, stronger, more effective Judiciary,” Conrad said.
The Conference also received an update from the Chair of the AI Task Force Judge Sidney R. Thomas, of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, on the task force’s examination of the questions raised by AI.
Conference Actions
The Judicial Conference also approved a recommendation from its Committee on the Administration of the Magistrate Judges System to authorize an additional magistrate judge position in the District of Columbia. The Committee noted that magistrate judges in the district are heavily utilized, ranking first nationally in total duties per magistrate judge and first in felony preliminary duties. The court also has the lowest ratio of magistrate judges to authorized district judgeships in the country, with just four authorized full-time magistrate judge positions to support 15 district judgeships.
In another development, the Judicial Conference approved a report from its Committee on Information Technology that updates the Judiciary’s Long-Range Plan in this area. As part of the plan update for 2027, the Judiciary added a goal to enhance the security of Judiciary IT systems by ensuring they are covered by the continuous diagnostics and mitigation (CDM) program, an IT best practice that delivers cybersecurity tools, integration services, and dashboards to help improve security posture.
In his remarks, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., also thanked Sixth Circuit Chief Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton for his service as chair of the Conference’s Executive Committee since 2024 and his service as a member of the Judicial Conference since 2021. Chief Judge Sutton has announced that he will take senior status effective Oct. 1, 2026.
“Chief Judge Jeffrey Sutton has served with great distinction for the past two and a half years as Chair of the Executive Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States. In that time, he has overseen significant improvements in the communications between our Branch’s 25 Judicial Conference Committees, facilitating important projects that cut across multiple committee jurisdictions, such as cybersecurity and case management modernization. All of us in the Judiciary owe Chief Judge Sutton a large debt of gratitude for his transformative leadership,” Chief Justice Roberts said.
The Judicial Conference is the policy-making body for the federal court system. By statute, the Chief Justice of the United States serves as its presiding officer and its members are the chief judges of the 13 courts of appeals, a district judge from each of the 12 geographic circuits, and the chief judge of the Court of International Trade.
The Conference convenes twice a year to consider administrative and policy issues affecting the court system and make recommendations to Congress concerning legislation involving the Judicial Branch.
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