NCJ Number
141695
Date Published
1992
Length
59 pages
Annotation
Presented at a conference on long-range planning for judicial circuit councils, these five papers focus on the history and current operation of the judicial council of the Ninth Circuit, the nature of the strategic planning process, and challenges in developing a long-range plan for the circuit.
Abstract
Participants in the conference included the Long-Range Planning Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States, the Long-Range Planning Office of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, and the Federal Judicial Center. A paper providing a historical overview notes that the basic concepts of circuits as units of governance and of some circuit-based agency superintending the courts are contained deep in the structure of our courts. Another paper emphasizes that the challenge for planning is to develop a framework for ongoing decisionmaking that will help the institution maintain and enhance its capacity to perform its mission. It reports that two major trends that will shape the context for any long-range plan for the council are Congress's gradual strengthening of circuit councils and the combined effects of declining resources and rising demands on the courts. Additional papers focus on a framework for Federal court planning, the structure and elements of a long-range plan, and the future nature and role of the Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit. Footnotes, maps, and charts