News and Announcements

This year, as part of the U.S. courts’ annual, national initiative, federal judges swore in thousands of new citizens at more than 40 ceremonies throughout the country, including at many national historic places and national parks. 

Juries play a unique and central role in America’s justice system. But for many prospective jurors who are summoned, federal jury service is anything but exalting. Instead, it can be a long, listless day of waiting, only to be told that the court has more than enough candidates to fill the panel. In the District of Connecticut, that has changed dramatically. 

Students participated in real-life civics lessons at naturalization ceremonies scheduled at iconic places from Ellis Island to Pearl Harbor, in celebration of Constitution Day and Citizenship Day on Friday, September 16.

Two pilot programs – one that will allow pro se prisoners to file certain federal court documents electronically from a kiosk in a prison and a second that will provide judicial assistance to select district courts with unusually high civil caseloads – were approved today by the Judicial Conference at its biannual meeting in Washington, D.C.

Four new Supreme Court Fellows will begin their 2016-2017 fellowships in August.

Proposed updates of the rule governing class-action lawsuits, and a proposal to mandate electronic filings by lawyers, highlight a broad array of proposed amendments to the Federal Rules of Practice and Procedure. 

Citizen naturalization ceremonies are among the happiest and most inspirational events that take place in federal courtrooms, and now the Middle District of Alabama has found a way to make sure that the children of immigrants don’t miss out on a cherished rite of passage.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Newman, of the Southern District of Ohio, takes over in September as the new president of the Federal Bar Association, comprised of federal legal practitioners and judges.

Bankruptcy filings fell 6.9 percent for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2016, compared with the year ending June 30, 2015, according to statistics released by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

Two high school students were honored as winners in the 2016 Ninth Circuit Civics Contest, which focused on the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1966 decision in Miranda v. Arizona.