Chambers Handbook for Judges - Federal Judicial Center

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This page intentionally left blank to facilitate printing double-sided. xii Chambers Handbook for Judges’ Law Clerks and Secretaries
Chapter 1. Introduction § 1-1. Function and Role of Law Clerks and Secretaries The chambers staff assists with as many administrative and legal tasks as possible, leaving the judge more time for the nondelegable aspects of judging. Law clerks and secretaries have no statutorily defined duties; they carry out their judges’ instructions. Because each judge decides cases in an individual manner and has developed work habits over the course of a professional career, no two judges use their staffs in precisely the same manner. Staff members must adjust to their judge’s style and desires. Each member of the staff must work cooperatively with the other members so that, as a team, they effectively assist the judge in fulfilling his or her judicial responsibilities. In most chambers, law clerks concentrate on legal research and writing, while secretaries have primary responsibility for administrative matters. Typically, law clerks’ broad range of duties include the following: conducting legal research, preparing bench memos, drafting orders and opinions, editing and proofreading the judge’s orders and opinions, and verifying citations. Many judges discuss pending cases with their law clerks and confer with them about decisions. Frequently, law clerks also maintain the library, assemble documents, serve as courtroom crier, handle exhibits during trial, and run errands for the judge. District court law clerks often attend conferences in chambers with attorneys. Secretaries also help maintain the library, assemble documents, serve as courtroom crier, and run errands for the judge. In general, most secretaries assist in the day-to-day conduct of court business. In addition to traditional secretarial duties, a judge’s secretary often deals with lawyers and members of the public on behalf of the judge. Since the secretary is generally the first member of a judge’s staff whom outsiders meet, a pleasant, cheerful manner, together with a sincere effort to help visitors (and other staff), sets the tone for good working relationships. Secretaries must also be sensitive to the many demands made on judges and should help to shield them from unnecessary encroach- Introduction 1
Page 1 and 2: Chambers Handbook for Judges’ Law
Page 3 and 4: Contents Preface xi Chapter 1. Intr
Page 5 and 6: P. Trial 42 Q. Post-Trial Motions a
Page 7 and 8: B. Federal Judicial Center 88 C. Un
Page 9 and 10: Chapter 7. Legal Research and Writi
Page 11: Preface In 1977, the Federal Judici
Page 15 and 16: practice was continued by his succe
Page 17 and 18: mation about case management and th
Page 19 and 20: ing the United States Court Directo
Page 21 and 22: Chapter 2. Conduct, Ethics, and Pro
Page 23 and 24: Moreover, the Judicial Conference o
Page 25 and 26: to political parties, but may not m
Page 27 and 28: ers. This court is a family, and th
Page 29 and 30: appellate argument, law clerks must
Page 31 and 32: In addition, the Judicial Conferenc
Page 33 and 34: Judges who want their law clerks to
Page 35 and 36: Chapter 3. Basic Analysis of Litiga
Page 37 and 38: number 1). The prefix “Cr.” or
Page 39 and 40: A plaintiff electing to serve a sum
Page 41 and 42: • Draft, for the judge’s approv
Page 43 and 44: tinuance of the argument on motions
Page 45 and 46: with the judge to determine when th
Page 47 and 48: cept the decision, the case is term
Page 49 and 50: The Civil Justice Reform Act of 199
Page 51 and 52: 2. Summary Judgment and Amended Ple
Page 53 and 54: N. Pretrial Orders In civil cases o
Page 55 and 56: nient alternative is for the court
Page 57 and 58: is called) is final and may be appe
Page 59 and 60: • Issuance of summons (Fed. R. Cr
Page 61 and 62: prosecution reduce the charge, dism
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tence. If the defendant is not in c
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• Knowingly make a materially fal
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lower than the mandatory minimum, t
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it is illegal, except that the gove
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the United States Code Annotated fo
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and simpler books on bankruptcy are
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added). As the phrase itself implie
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discharge of all dischargeable debt
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Law clerks and secretaries for bank
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§ 3-4. Appeals A. Processing Appea
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ecord on appeal to be filed. The re
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F. Oral Argument If the court does
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number of cases and the burden of w
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after judgment is entered unless a
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§ 3-5. Special Courts The law cler
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declaratory judgments related to th
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Chapter 4. Court Governance and Adm
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arises from its statutory responsib
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temporary assistance from additiona
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agency. The Center and the Administ
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the federal judiciary’s annual re
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Chapter 5. Chambers and Case Manage
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number to be the same. Long-distanc
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abbreviation “cc”) shown at the
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• Case files; • Trial schedules
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With the agreement of a repository,
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assignments and hearing dates. The
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internal operating procedures (IOPs
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B. Calendaring Systems In multijudg
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e one-half of 1% of the number on t
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the judge to probe. In some courts,
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to the Bureau of National Affairs;
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• Try persons accused of, and sen
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decides that oral argument is not n
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The senior active judge on the pane
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Chapter 6. Relations with Other Cou
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The docket clerk (sometimes called
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§ 6-7. Other Law Clerks and Secret
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the legal issues, prepares a memora
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with the parties and counsel in att
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In addition to the usual responsibi
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their designees. The chief pretrial
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terest to chambers’ staff, provid
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• Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)
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Chapter 7. Legal Research and Writi
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• Read the opinions in full. Care
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the court, as well as other decisio
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• Write succinctly, clearly, and
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Richard C. Wydick, Plain English fo
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learn about the issues, and researc
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• The type of memo, or a short su
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tain these files on computer disk,
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as they often surface first during
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nonjury case, announced from the be
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- Outline the opinion. In opinions,
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judges, however, direct their law c
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sentence without clearly articulati
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offenders may seek the same relief
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form, the clerk of court opens a re
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• Check the formal elements - Com
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Appendix Code of Conduct for Judici
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Canon 1 A judicial employee should
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• 18 U.S.C. § 646 (court officer
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(iv) he or she, a spouse, or a pers
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either the staff member or the judg
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(3) A judicial employee should repo
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A judicial employee should make and
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The Federal Judicial Center Board T
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Chambers Handbook for Judges - Federal Judicial Center

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