Chambers Handbook for Judges - Federal Judicial Center

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made. To this end, some courts have adopted a rule that provides the following: Upon certification by a moving party that there has been no previous extension of time to plead and that the opposing party has not filed in the record an objection to an extension of time, then on an ex parte motion and order, the court will allow one extension for a period of 20 days from the time the pleading would otherwise be due. Further extensions will not be granted by stipulation but only after motion noticed for hearing according to the regular motion procedure. Motions relating to third-party practice or to jurisdiction over or sufficiency of a counterclaim or cross claim may be filed at this stage of the proceedings. They are processed in the same manner as preliminary motions. J. Alternative Dispute Resolution Courts have developed several forms of court-annexed Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) over the past decade, primarily to promote settlement. (Litigants may, of course, agree to avail themselves of private ADR programs that are not affiliated with the court.) The Civil Justice Reform Act of 1990, which directs all courts to consider the adoption of an ADR program (28 U.S.C. § 473(a)(6)), has led to increased use of these programs. Both this act and other statutes have established ADR pilot programs in courts. Some ADR programs may be more suitable for certain types of cases than others. Following is a brief description of the principal court-annexed programs. Law clerks and secretaries should inquire which (if any) ADR programs are used in their courts, exactly what involvement their judges tend to have with such programs, and what assistance is expected. 1. Arbitration The litigants present their cases to an outside neutral (or panel of neutrals) called an arbitrator (or arbitrators). Attorneys from the local community generally serve as the arbitrators. The presentations are generally less formal than a trial, and the rules of evidence are suspended. The arbitrator issues a nonbinding decision. If the parties ac- 34 Chambers Handbook for Judges’ Law Clerks and Secretaries
cept the decision, the case is terminated with no right to appeal. If the parties do not accept the decision, they may proceed to trial or may agree on an outcome different from the arbitrator’s decision. Arbitration promotes settlement, even when parties reject the arbitrator’s decision, by suggesting the likely outcome should the parties proceed in court. Currently twenty courts are authorized to have court-annexed arbitration programs. Ten are designated as mandatory arbitration courts, in which certain classes of cases (generally those involving money damages under $100,000) automatically go to arbitration unless a party files and the court grants a motion for exemption. See Barbara Meierhoefer, Court-Annexed Arbitration in Ten District Courts (Federal Judicial Center 1990). Ten other courts are authorized to have voluntary arbitration, in which parties use arbitration if they choose to. The statute authorizing the twenty arbitration courts (28 U.S.C. §§ 651– 658) expires December 31, 1994, and it is not clear at this time what action Congress will take. 2. Mediation The litigants meet with an outside neutral, either court-appointed or selected by the litigants, for in-depth settlement discussions. Mediators, who are sometimes but not always experts in the subject matter of the case and who are usually attorneys, do not render a decision. They assist the litigants in identifying key issues and developing a settlement package. If the case does not settle, the parties may proceed to trial. 3. Early Neutral Evaluation (ENE) Early in the case, the court refers the litigants to an outside neutral, who is an attorney with expertise in the subject matter of the case. The parties each present their side to the early neutral evaluator, who then offers an opinion about the case’s likely outcome. Settlement is facilitated by enhancing communication and providing litigants with a more realistic assessment of their prospects. Even if settlement does not occur, the issues for trial may be narrowed and the cost and duration of litigation reduced. Basic Analysis of Litigation Conducted in U.S. Courts 35
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 and 12: Preface In 1977, the Federal Judici
Page 13 and 14: Chapter 1. Introduction § 1-1. Fun
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: with the judge to determine when th
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
Page 63 and 64: tence. If the defendant is not in c
Page 65 and 66: • Knowingly make a materially fal
Page 67 and 68: lower than the mandatory minimum, t
Page 69 and 70: it is illegal, except that the gove
Page 71 and 72: the United States Code Annotated fo
Page 73 and 74: and simpler books on bankruptcy are
Page 75 and 76: added). As the phrase itself implie
Page 77 and 78: discharge of all dischargeable debt
Page 79 and 80: Law clerks and secretaries for bank
Page 81 and 82: § 3-4. Appeals A. Processing Appea
Page 83 and 84: ecord on appeal to be filed. The re
Page 85 and 86: F. Oral Argument If the court does
Page 87 and 88: number of cases and the burden of w
Page 89 and 90: after judgment is entered unless a
Page 91 and 92: § 3-5. Special Courts The law cler
Page 93 and 94: declaratory judgments related to th
Page 95 and 96: Chapter 4. Court Governance and Adm
Page 97 and 98:
arises from its statutory responsib
Page 99 and 100:
temporary assistance from additiona
Page 101 and 102:
agency. The Center and the Administ
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the federal judiciary’s annual re
Page 105 and 106:
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
Page 111 and 112:
• Case files; • Trial schedules
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With the agreement of a repository,
Page 115 and 116:
assignments and hearing dates. The
Page 117 and 118:
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
Page 123 and 124:
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)
Page 151 and 152:
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
Page 157 and 158:
• Write succinctly, clearly, and
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Richard C. Wydick, Plain English fo
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learn about the issues, and researc
Page 163 and 164:
• The type of memo, or a short su
Page 165 and 166:
tain these files on computer disk,
Page 167 and 168:
as they often surface first during
Page 169 and 170:
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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