Federal
Judges
Who appoints federal judges?
How are new judgeships created?
How do I file a complaint
against a judge?
What are the qualifications
for becoming a federal judge?
How is a chief judge selected?
What is a senior judge?
What are bankruptcy judges?
How are they appointed?
What are federal magistrate
judges?
Document
Request
How do I request a hearing
or a report?
Can I obtain a hearing
on this website?
Can I obtain a report
on this website?
Court
Information
How many courts of appeals
are there?
How many district courts are
there?
Can I connect to U.S. Court
websites from your website?
Committee
Hearings
How
can I attend a Committee Hearing? Are they open to the
public?
How do I obtain Witness
Testimony given at a hearing?
Is there a difference between
a witness' Prepared Statement and a witness' testimony?
The
Judicial Conference
What is the Judicial Conference
of the United States? When was it established?
What are the duties and
responsibilities of the Judicial Conference?
Who are the members of
the Judicial Conference?
When and where does the
Judicial Conference meet?
How does the Judicial
Conference do its work?
Who are the committee
members and how are they appointed?
Q:
Who appoints federal judges?
Supreme
Court justices, court of appeals judges, and district
court judges are nominated by the President and confirmed
by the United States Senate, as stated in the Constitution.
The names of potential nominees often are recommended
by senators or sometimes members of the House who are
of the President's political party. The Senate Judiciary
Committee typically conducts confirmation hearings for
each nominee. Article III of the Constitution states
that these judicial officers are appointed for a life
term. The federal Judiciary, the Judicial Conference
of the United States, and the Administrative Office
of the U.S. Courts play no role in the nomination and
confirmation process.
Q:
How are new judgeships created?
Court
of appeals and district court judgeships are created
by legislation that must be enacted by Congress. New
judgeships were created in December 1990, under Public
Law 101-650, which established 11 new court of appeals
and 74 new district court judgeships. In 1999, nine
additional District Court (Article III) judgeships were
created, and under the appropriations bill for FY2001
the creation of 10 new district courts were authorized.
The Judicial Conference (through its Judicial Resources
Committee) surveys the judgeship needs of the courts
every other year. A threshold for the number of weighted
filings per judgeship is the key factor in determining
when an additional judgeship will be requested. Other
factors may include geography, number of senior judges,
and mix of cases. The Judicial Conference presents its
judgeship recommendations to Congress.
Q:
What are the qualifications for becoming a federal judge?
The
Constitution sets forth no specific requirements. However,
members of Congress, who typically recommend potential
nominees, and the Department of Justice, which reviews
nominees' qualifications, have developed their own informal
criteria.
Q:
How is a chief judge selected?
One
is not nominated or appointed to the position of chief
judge (except for the Chief Justice of the United States);
they assume the position based on seniority. The same
criteria exists for circuit and district chiefs. The
chief judge is the judge in regular active service who
is senior in commission of those judges who are (1)
64 years of age or under; (2) have served for one year
or more as a judge; and (3) have not previously served
as chief judge.
Q:
What is a senior judge?
The
"Rule of 80" is the commonly used shorthand for the
age and service requirement for a judge to assume senior
status, as set forth in Title 28 of the US. Code, Section
371(c). Beginning at age 65, a judge may retire at his
or her current salary or take senior status after performing
15 years of active service as an Article III judge (65+15
= 80). A sliding scale of increasing age and decreasing
service results in eligibility for retirement compensation
at age 70 with a minimum of 10 years of service (70+10=80).
Senior judges, who essentially provide volunteer service
to the courts, typically handle about 15 percent of
the federal courts' workload annually.
Q:
What are bankruptcy judges? How are they appointed?
A
U.S. bankruptcy judge is a judicial officer of the U.S.
district court who is appointed by the majority of judges
of the U.S. court of appeals to exercise jurisdiction
over bankruptcy matters. The number of bankruptcy judges
is determined by Congress. The Judicial Conference of
the United States is required to submit recommendations
from time to time regarding the number of bankruptcy
judges needed. Bankruptcy judges are appointed for 14-year
terms.
Q:
What are federal magistrate judges?
A
U.S. magistrate judge is a judicial officer of the district
court and is appointed by majority vote of the active
district judges of the court to exercise jurisdiction
over matters assigned by statute as well as those delegated
by the district judges. The number of magistrate judge
positions is determined by the Judicial Conference of
the United States, based on recommendations of the respective
district courts, the judicial councils of the circuits,
and the Director of the Administrative Office of the
U.S. Courts. A full-time magistrate judge serves a term
of eight years. Duties assigned to magistrate judges
by district court judges may vary considerably from
court to court.
Q:
How many courts of appeals are there?
There
are 13 judicial circuits, each with a court of appeals.
The smallest court is the First Circuit with six judgeships,
and the largest court is the Ninth Circuit, with 28
judgeships. A list of the states that compose each circuit
is set forth in Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Section 41.
The number of judgeships in each circuit is set forth
in Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Section 44.
Q:
How many district courts are there?
There
are 89 districts in the 50 states, which are listed
with their divisions in Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Sections
81-144. District courts also exist in Puerto Rico, the
Virgin Islands, the District of Columbia, Guam, and
the Northern Mariana Islands. In total there are 94
U.S. district courts. Some states, such as Alaska, are
composed of a single judicial district. Others, such
as California, are composed of multiple judicial districts.
The number of judgeships allotted to each district is
set forth in Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Section 133.
Q:
How do I file a complaint against a judge?
The
complaint process is not intended to address complaints
related to the merits of a case or a court's decision.
Any person alleging that a judge of the United States
has engaged in conduct prejudicial to the effective
and expeditious administration of the business of the
courts, or that such officer cannot discharge all the
duties of the office because of physical or mental disability,
may file a complaint with the clerk of the court of
appeals for that circuit or applicable national court.
The statute governing this complaint mechanism is set
out at Title 28, U.S. Code, Section 372(c).
Q: Can I connect to the U.S. Courts
that have websites?
Yes, you can access the individual United States Court
websites by clicking here.
This will take you to the page with World Wide Web links
that relate to the law or legislation.
Q:
How do I request a hearing or a report?
The
Senate Judiciary Committee will send to you free
of charge any Senate Judiciary Committee hearing
or report that is currently in print and available.
To obtain the correct document, when you write us please
describe which document you are interested in by Senate
Hearing # or Senate Report #.
Please
find our hearing link on the homepage with numbers/dates
listed on this website. Please send any written requests
for documents to the committee at this address:
United
States Senate
Committee on the Judiciary
Attention: Documents Clerk
Washington, DC 20510-6275
Can I obtain a hearing on this
website?
The
U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary website lists
mailing information to request printed hearings there
are some 106th Congress and earlier hearings that are
available electronically in adobe .PDF format. Hearings
held prior to January 1999 are not available online
on this website.
Can I obtain a report on this
website?
The
U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary lists the Senate
Judiciary Committee's Reports through the link on the
homepage.
Reports produced prior to the 104th Congress (before
January 1995) are not available online.
How
can I attend a Committee Hearing? Are they open to the
public?
Our hearings are open to the public. Attending a committee
hearing is very simple. A person should arrive early
because admission is on a first come first serve basis.
Typically seating is limited due to the room accomodations.
Hearings are held in both the morning and/or the afternoon.
Check our "Hearings" button for our weekly schedule.
How do I obtain Witness Testimony
submitted in a hearing?
Prepared Testimony is made available on this website
through the hearings link on the navigation bar. They
are arranged by hearing date. Click on the name of
the witness to the right of the witness list to view
testimony IF THE WITNESS PROVIDED the Committee with
an electronic version of their submitted testimony.
Is there a difference between
witnesses' Prepared Statements and a transcript?
Yes,
there is a difference between the two. Witnesses who
appear before the committee and give testimony will
provide the committee a copy of the written testimony
also known as a prepared statement. They will
often read this prepared statement into the record.
After the witnesses have all had an opportunity to
deliver their prepared statements, the Senators will
engage the witnesses in a period of Question and Answer.
The transcript is made up of the prepared statements
of witnesses plus the Question & Answer period. Official
printed hearings can take up to 12 months to be printed.
Q: What is the Judicial Conference
of the United States? When was it established?
The
Conference of Senior Circuit Judges was created by Congress
in 1922, to "serve as the principal policy making body
concerned with the administration of the United States
Courts." In 1948, Congress enacted Section 331 of Title
28, U.S. Code, changing the name to the Judicial Conference
of the United States. District judges formally were
added to the Conference in 1957.
Q:
What are the duties and responsibilities of the Judicial
Conference?
As
in 1922, the fundamental purpose of the Judicial Conference
today is to make policy with regard to the administration
of the United States courts. Section 331 of Title 28
specifically provides that the Conference shall:
- make
a comprehensive survey of the conditions of business
in the courts of the United States;
- prepare
plans for the assignment of judges to or from courts
of appeals or district courts, where necessary;
- submit
suggestions to the various courts in the interest
of promoting uniformity of management procedures and
the expeditious conduct of court business;
- exercise
authority provided in 28 U.S.C. Section 372(c) for
the review of circuit council conduct and disability
orders filed under that section and carry on a continuous
study of the operation and effect of the general rules
of practice and procedure in use within the federal
courts, as prescribed by the Supreme Court pursuant
to law.
The
Judicial Conference also supervises the Director of
the Administrative Office of the United States Courts
in the performance of his duties as the administrative
officer of the courts of the United States under 28
U.S.C. Section 604. In addition, certain statutes authorize
the Judicial Conference to act in a variety of specific
areas dealing with the administration of the courts.
The
Chief Justice is required to submit to Congress an annual
report of the proceedings of the Judicial Conference
and its recommendations for legislation.
Q:
Who are the members of the Judicial Conference?
The
Chief Justice of the United States is the presiding
officer of the Judicial Conference. Membership is comprised
of the chief judge of each judicial circuit, the chief
judge of the Court of International Trade, and a district
judge from each regional judicial circuit, who is elected
for a term of not less than three nor more than five
successive years as established by majority vote of
all circuit and district judges of the circuit represented
(28 U.S.C. Section 331).
Q:
When and where does the Judicial Conference meet?
The
statute requires the Chief Justice to summon the Judicial
Conference into session annually, at such time and place
in the United States as he may designate. Traditionally
the Chief Justice has convened two meetings of the Conference
each year, one in September and one in March. The members
are required to attend each session unless excused by
the Chief Justice, who will then designate a replacement.
The Conference generally meets in Washington, D.C.,
at the Supreme Court Building.
Q:
How does the Judicial Conference do its work?
The
Conference operates through a network of committees
created to address and advise on a wide variety of subjects,
such as automation, personnel, probation and pretrial
services, sentencing, space and security, and judicial
salaries and benefits. The seven-member Executive Committee
of the Judicial Conference serves as the senior executive
arm of the Conference, acting on its behalf between
sessions on matters requiring emergency action. Among
it responsibilities, the Executive Committee reviews
the jurisdiction of Conference committees, and establishes
and publishes procedures for assembling Conference and
committee agendas.
The
Director of the Administrative Office of the United
States Courts serves as Secretary to the Judicial Conference.
The assistant director of the Office of the Judicial
Conference Executive Secretariat in the Administrative
Office coordinates administrative support to the Conference
itself and its Executive Committee, and also coordinates
the activities of the Executive Secretariat, which consists
of senior members of the Administrative Office's professional
staff, who dedicate all or a substantial portion of
their time to the work of the Judicial Conference and
its committees.
Q:
Who are the committee members and how are they appointed?
The
Chief Justice has sole authority to make committee appointments.
The Director of the Administrative Office and the assistant
director, Judicial Conference Executive Secretariat
collate the expressed interests of judicial officers
and their recommendations of others who may be considered
for appointments, and the Director forwards the suggestions
to the Chief Justice. Committee chairpersons may appoint
subcommittees composed of members of the committee.
Appointment of subcommittees composed of non-committee
members requires the approval of the Chief Justice.
As
a general rule, committee appointments are for a term
of three years, subject to one reappointment. Terms
are staggered to minimize turnover each year. Judges
who desire committee service, or wish to recommend others
for assignments, may make their interests or recommendations
known at any time, in writing, to the Director of the
Administrative Office (Attention: Judicial Conference
Executive Secretariat). A permanent file is maintained
for reference during the annual appointment process.
Q:
How do I find out about employment opportunities in the
federal courts?
The
federal court system's personnel decisions are decentralized.
This means that each court unit does its own advertising
and hiring for job positions. Court unit heads generally
control the hiring within their office so that chief
probation officers, staff attorneys, circuit executives,
clerks of court, and circuit librarians each exercise
such authority within their offices. Judges select and
hire their own chambers staff. Some employment opportunities
are available on this web site but often the clerk's
office of the court of appeals, district, or bankruptcy
court is the best source for a complete listing. The
federal Judiciary is committed to the national policy
of ensuring equal employment opportunity to all persons.
|