Judiciary News

Federal judges presided over naturalization ceremonies at major league ballparks, in a special observation of Constitution Day and Citizenship Day that brought the courts into community settings.

The Judicial Conference of the United States on Tuesday approved a change to its broadcast policy that expands the public’s access to civil and bankruptcy proceedings over the Judiciary’s longstanding pre-COVID policy, which prohibited all remote public access to federal court proceedings.

After decades of very little change, technology and new business practices caused a “seismic shift” in federal appellate courts. Three longtime clerks of court recall the transformation they witnessed.

Four new U.S. Supreme Court Fellows will begin their 2023-2024 fellowships in September.

The Supreme Court Fellows Program, established by the late Chief Justice Warren E. Burger in 1973, provides participants the opportunity to gain a greater understanding of the federal Judiciary. Fellows work alongside top officials in the judicial branch on projects that further the goals of the Judiciary.

Judge José A. Cabranes, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, is the 2023 recipient of the Edward J. Devitt Distinguished Service to Justice Award. Cabranes will receive the award in a Sept. 26 ceremony at the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Judicial Conference has expressed “deep concern” about pending congressional appropriations legislation, saying proposed funding levels that are far below the Judiciary’s request would have detrimental impacts on federal courts and the public.

Personal and business bankruptcy filings rose 10 percent in the twelve-month period ending June 30, 2023, compared with the previous year.

The first female Native American federal judge, Diane J. Humetewa is the subject of a new installment in the Pathways to the Bench video series in which judges talk about challenges they overcame on their way to service as a federal judge.

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.

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).

Federal and state courts reported a combined 7 percent increase in authorized wiretaps in 2022, compared with 2021, according to the Judiciary’s 2022 Wiretap Report. Arrests and convictions in cases involving electronic surveillance decreased.

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.

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 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.

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.