US Courts: “A recently published study on federal death penalty cases offers updated findings on the cost, quality, and availability of defense representation. Among the findings: The median cost of a case in which the Attorney General authorized seeking the death penalty was nearly eight times greater than the cost of a case that was… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Courts
U.S. Courts: Report on Civil Litigation: Education, Training Keys to Improvement
Report to the Chief Justice of the United States on the 2010 Conference on Civil Litigation – Submitted by the Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Civil Rules and the Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure, November 2010 “A report to the Chief Justice says educating lawyers, clients, and judges should be part of the… Continue Reading
Baby Boomers Account for Nearly Half of Bankruptcies Filed
Aging and Bankruptcy, Revisited, September 2010 issue of the American Bankruptcy Institute Journal “The median age for bankruptcy petitioners increased from 37.7 years in 1994 to 41.4 years in 2002 to 44.9 years in 2007. Bankruptcy petitioners over the age of 45 constituted 27 percent of filers in 1994, 39 percent in 2002, and 50… Continue Reading
Long Settlement Battle in 9/11 Case Reaches a Sad Conclusion
NYT: “After a wrenching seven-year battle, more than 10,000 workers who sued New York City over health damages they claimed after the 9/11 recovery efforts have approved a settlement, clearing the way for payouts totaling at least $625 million, lawyers said Friday. Their responses, delivered to a federal judge in Manhattan, ended months of wrangling… Continue Reading
TRAC Report: Immigration Courts Taking Longer to Reach Decisions
Immigration Courts Taking Longer to Reach Decisions “During the past year, Immigration Courts took 20 percent longer to act on cases before them than they did the previous year, according to very timely government enforcement data obtained by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC). The average number of days it took to dispose of cases… Continue Reading
New Edition of Federal Trial Judges Manual Focuses on Managing Civil Cases
“The second edition of the Civil Litigation Management Manual, which was approved by the Judicial Conference of the United States in March 2010, seeks to help judges secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every case. The manual provides trial judges with a handbook, setting out an array of case-management techniques. They include early… Continue Reading
Revisions to Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court's Rules of Procedure
Revisions to Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court’s Rules of Procedure, effective November 1, 2010. [Government Attic] Related postings on FISA Continue Reading
Manual on Recurring Problems in Criminal Trials, Sixth Edition
Manual on Recurring Problems in Criminal Trials, Sixth Edition, Edited by Tucker Carrington, Visiting Clinical Professor, Director, Mississippi Innocence Project, The University of Mississippi School of Law. Kris Markarian Legal Editor, Federal Judicial Center, 2010. “This Manual is not meant to be a comprehensive treatise on criminal law, but rather a basic guide to the… Continue Reading
NYCLU Settlement Ends Restriction on Photography Outside Federal Courthouses
News release: “In settling a lawsuit filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union, the federal government [October 18, 2010] recognized the publics right to take photographs and record videos in public spaces outside federal courthouses throughout the nation. The settlement comes after the NYCLU sued the federal government in April on behalf of a… Continue Reading
Brennan Center for Justice: Criminal Justice Debt: A Barrier to Reentry
Criminal Justice Debt: A Barrier to Reentry, By Alicia Bannon, Mitali Nagrecha, Rebekah Diller, 10/04/10 “Many states are imposing new and often onerous user fees on individuals with criminal convictions. Yet far from being easy money, these fees impose severe and often hidden costs on communities, taxpayers, and indigent people convicted of crimes.… Continue Reading
A Report on Prosecutorial Misconduct in California 19972009
Preventable Error: A Report on Prosecutorial Misconduct in California 19972009, by Kathleen M. Ridolfi and Maurice Possley “To more fully document the scope of the problem, the Northern California Innocence Project (NCIP) engaged in a comprehensive analysis of publicly available cases of prosecutorial misconduct in California, reviewing more than 4,000 state and federal appellate rulings,… Continue Reading
United States Courts Electronic Public Access Program PACER Service Assessment Findings
United States Courts Electronic Public Access Program PACER Service Assessment Findings September 2010: “A year-long assessment of the Federal Judiciarys electronic public access service, PACER, found a high level of satisfaction overall among users.The study, conducted by an independent consulting firm, was designed to gauge users satisfaction with the Public Access to Court Electronic Records… Continue Reading
