NCJ Number
160280
Journal
Wisconsin Law Review Volume: 1993 Issue: 1 Dated: (1993) Pages: 1-12
Date Published
1993
Length
12 pages
Annotation
The Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court reviews changes in Federal courts over the last 30 years and identifies issues that must be addressed in forging the future of Federal courts.
Abstract
The current Federal courts bear little resemblance to those that existed in 1958. In the late 1950's Federal courts operated on a schedule that was not too demanding, due to the relatively small number of cases coming under Federal jurisdiction. Over the last 30 years, the number and complexity of the cases, both criminal and civil, handled by Federal courts has greatly increased, as Federal law has grown exponentially. The Nation looks to the Federal courts to handle a larger and larger proportion of society's problems. Consequently, the Federal courts have become overburdened, and the system has become clogged. The initial reaction was to expect judges to work much harder while creating new judgeships with a large cast of supporting personnel. Although this strategy has had a great deal of success, it has not kept pace with the ever-increasing demands of the criminal justice system and a litigious citizenry. Last year the Judicial Conference of the United States created a Committee on Long Range Planning, which is currently considering how to guide Federal courts into the future. One issue that must be considered is what cases should be decided in the Federal courts and which should be remitted to other forums; this involves determining the proper allocation of cases between the Federal and State systems. Another issue that must be addressed is how best to accommodate in the Federal judicial system the added cases that will be thrust upon it. Some propose a model of Federal justice centers that steer litigants to a variety of appropriate forums in accordance with case issues. Another model favors "capping" the Federal judiciary at a set level to preserve the traditional role of the Federal courts. Between these extremes is a host of other options which could still change the character of the Federal judiciary.