18 U.S.C. § 3174 : US Code - Section 3174: Judicial emergency and implementation

Search 18 U.S.C. § 3174 : US Code - Section 3174: Judicial emergency and implementation

(a) In the event that any district court is unable to comply with
the time limits set forth in section 3161(c) due to the status of
its court calendars, the chief judge, where the existing resources
are being efficiently utilized, may, after seeking the
recommendations of the planning group, apply to the judicial
council of the circuit for a suspension of such time limits as
provided in subsection (b). The judicial council of the circuit
shall evaluate the capabilities of the district, the availability
of visiting judges from within and without the circuit, and make
any recommendations it deems appropriate to alleviate calendar
congestion resulting from the lack of resources.
(b) If the judicial council of the circuit finds that no remedy
for such congestion is reasonably available, such council may, upon
application by the chief judge of a district, grant a suspension of
the time limits in section 3161(c) in such district for a period of
time not to exceed one year for the trial of cases for which
indictments or informations are filed during such one-year period.
During such period of suspension, the time limits from arrest to
indictment, set forth in section 3161(b), shall not be reduced, nor
shall the sanctions set forth in section 3162 be suspended; but
such time limits from indictment to trial shall not be increased to
exceed one hundred and eighty days. The time limits for the trial
of cases of detained persons who are being detained solely because
they are awaiting trial shall not be affected by the provisions of
this section.
(c)(1) If, prior to July 1, 1980, the chief judge of any district
concludes, with the concurrence of the planning group convened in
the district, that the district is prepared to implement the
provisions of section 3162 in their entirety, he may apply to the
judicial council of the circuit in which the district is located to
implement such provisions. Such application shall show the degree
of compliance in the district with the time limits set forth in
subsections (b) and (c) of section 3161 during the twelve-calendar-
month period preceding the date of such application and shall
contain a proposed order and schedule for such implementation,
which includes the date on which the provisions of section 3162 are
to become effective in the district, the effect such implementation
will have upon such district's practices and procedures, and
provision for adequate notice to all interested parties.
(2) After review of any such application, the judicial council of
the circuit shall enter an order implementing the provisions of
section 3162 in their entirety in the district making application,
or shall return such application to the chief judge of such
district, together with an explanation setting forth such council's
reasons for refusing to enter such order.
(d)(1) The approval of any application made pursuant to
subsection (a) or (c) by a judicial council of a circuit shall be
reported within ten days to the Director of the Administrative
Office of the United States Courts, together with a copy of the
application, a written report setting forth in sufficient detail
the reasons for granting such application, and, in the case of an
application made pursuant to subsection (a), a proposal for
alleviating congestion in the district.
(2) The Director of the Administrative Office of the United
States Courts shall not later than ten days after receipt transmit
such report to the Congress and to the Judicial Conference of the
United States. The judicial council of the circuit shall not grant
a suspension to any district within six months following the
expiration of a prior suspension without the consent of the
Congress by Act of Congress. The limitation on granting a
suspension made by this paragraph shall not apply with respect to
any judicial district in which the prior suspension is in effect on
the date of the enactment of the Speedy Trial Act Amendments Act of
1979.
(e) If the chief judge of the district court concludes that the
need for suspension of time limits in such district under this
section is of great urgency, he may order the limits suspended for
a period not to exceed thirty days. Within ten days of entry of
such order, the chief judge shall apply to the judicial council of
the circuit for a suspension pursuant to subsection (a).