SUMMARY: “The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is
holding a public meeting to gather input to help NARA decide how to
identify post-1970 non-trial civil cases with sufficient historical
value to warrant permanent preservation. Pursuant to the U.S. District Court records schedule issued in 1983, the National Archives preserves all civil cases prior to 1970 and all cases filed after January 1, 1970 that went to trial. Cases filed after January 1, 1970 that did not reach the trial stage are eligible for disposal twenty years after they are transferred to inactive storage. Trial cases are routinely transferred to the legal custody of the National Archives twenty-five years after closure. No non-trial cases in records center storage have been destroyed. NARA must develop a methodology to review a representative portion of the non-trial case files in order to determine which files should be preserved. The meeting is designed to elicit advice from the public, and the legal, judicial, and historical communities on the review methodology.” [Federal Register: December 28, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 249][Notices][Page 78226]