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Judiciary News

Probation Officers Partner with Community to Help ‘People Change Their Lives’

July 20, 2023
A man and a woman pose in front of the school supplies collected for local school areas.

Probation and pretrial services officers collaborate with their community to help people under supervision fully reintegrate themselves into society. Highlighting how probation and pretrial offices and their community partners are stronger together is the goal of this year’s National Pretrial, Probation, and Parole Supervision Week.

The Right to Counsel: How It Affects You

July 11, 2023

In a new video, federal judges and public defense attorneys discuss the significance of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel and the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in Gideon v. Wainwright (1963).

Florida Courthouse Named for Influential Judge

June 29, 2023

The federal courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida will be named in honor of the late Judge Joseph W. Hatchett, a trailblazing jurist who was among the first African Americans appointed to the federal bench in the South. The naming ceremony for the Joseph Woodrow Hatchett U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building will be held on June 30.

Librarians Trade Books for Databases in the Digital Age

June 27, 2023

While the landscape of court libraries has changed as new information technologies have reduced the need for books, court librarians still play a critical role in providing judges, law clerks and other Judiciary staff with legal resources used to support decision-making. This month, courts are marking the 75th anniversary of the creation of the circuit librarian position, a role that today makes possible a wide variety of services in the digital age.

Judge Mary Rowland Takes Pride in the Progress of LGBTQ People

June 6, 2023

Judge Mary M. Rowland came out in the 1980s, as the HIV epidemic gave rise to a renewed anti-LGBTQ movement across America. In recognition of LGBTQ Pride Month, a new video profile explores Rowland’s experience coming out, her pursuit of a career in law, and the social change she has seen.

Susan Oki Mollway, First Asian American Woman on Federal Bench: ‘Believe in Yourself’

May 16, 2023

As a Japanese American, Judge Susan Oki Mollway never considered herself disadvantaged while growing up in the multicultural environment of Hawaii. So, she was surprised, when she was nominated to the federal bench in 1998, to learn she was the first Asian woman to serve as an Article III federal judge. In recognition of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, a new video profile explores Mollway’s heritage.

Judiciary Ends COVID Emergency; Study of Broadcast Policy Continues

May 11, 2023

The COVID-19 emergency is no longer affecting the functioning of the federal courts, the Judicial Conference’s Executive Committee has found, setting in motion a 120-day grace period in which federal courts may continue to provide the same remote public audio access to civil and bankruptcy proceedings as they did during the emergency.

Judiciary Launches New Federal Ticket Processing Website

May 2, 2023

Individuals can now pay tickets for minor federal violations more easily, using a redesigned website for the Judiciary’s Central Violations Bureau. The website, officially launching in early May, leverages new technologies and best design practices to improve usability and accessibility across devices, including smart phones.

Modern Courthouse in Pennsylvania Opens to Public

April 17, 2023
An outside view of the Sylvia H. Rambo U.S. Courthouse from Reily St.

The public opening of the Sylvia H. Rambo U.S. Courthouse marked the conclusion of a decades-long effort to work with the General Services Administration (GSA) to secure funding to build a safer space for those visiting the federal court in the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Free Summer Court Camps Immerse Students in Legal and Life Skills

April 4, 2023
Students engage with U.S. Second Circuit Judge Joseph F. Bianco at the 2022 Justice Institute in New York.

As summer approaches, middle and high school students can choose from catalogues of camps that promise to improve everything from language skills to layup shots. Federal court camps prepare participants to be informed and engaged citizens in every walk of life, and at no cost.

60 Years Later, Gideon’s Legacy Lives On

March 16, 2023

Clarence Earl Gideon, a Florida drifter who spent time in and out of prisons for nonviolent crimes, was an unlikely individual to help redefine a criminal defendant’s right to counsel 60 years ago in the Supreme Court case Gideon v. Wainwright. Public Defense Week and National Public Defender Day, which occur March 18, commemorate the landmark case and the vital work of public defense lawyers.