Notes on 28 U.S.C. § 471 : US Code - Notes

Search Notes on 28 U.S.C. § 471 : US Code - Notes

(Added Pub. L. 101-650, title I, Sec. 103(a), Dec. 1, 1990, 104
Stat. 5090; amended Pub. L. 102-198, Sec. 2(1), Dec. 9, 1991, 105
Stat. 1623.)
AMENDMENTS
1991 - Pub. L. 102-198 substituted "this chapter" for "this
title".
CONGRESSIONAL STATEMENT OF FINDINGS
Section 102 of Pub. L. 101-650 provided that: "The Congress makes
the following findings:
"(1) The problems of cost and delay in civil litigation in any
United States district court must be addressed in the context of
the full range of demands made on the district court's resources
by both civil and criminal matters.
"(2) The courts, the litigants, the litigants' attorneys, and
the Congress and the executive branch, share responsibility for
cost and delay in civil litigation and its impact on access to
the courts, adjudication of cases on the merits, and the ability
of the civil justice system to provide proper and timely judicial
relief for aggrieved parties.
"(3) The solutions to problems of cost and delay must include
significant contributions by the courts, the litigants, the
litigants' attorneys, and by the Congress and the executive
branch.
"(4) In identifying, developing, and implementing solutions to
problems of cost and delay in civil litigation, it is necessary
to achieve a method of consultation so that individual judicial
officers, litigants, and litigants' attorneys who have developed
techniques for litigation management and cost and delay reduction
can effectively and promptly communicate those techniques to all
participants in the civil justice system.
"(5) Evidence suggests that an effective litigation management
and cost and delay reduction program should incorporate several
interrelated principles, including -
"(A) the differential treatment of cases that provides for
individualized and specific management according to their
needs, complexity, duration, and probable litigation careers;
"(B) early involvement of a judicial officer in planning the
progress of a case, controlling the discovery process, and
scheduling hearings, trials, and other litigation events;
"(C) regular communication between a judicial officer and
attorneys during the pretrial process; and
"(D) utilization of alternative dispute resolution programs
in appropriate cases.
"(6) Because the increasing volume and complexity of civil and
criminal cases imposes increasingly heavy workload burdens on
judicial officers, clerks of court, and other court personnel, it
is necessary to create an effective administrative structure to
ensure ongoing consultation and communication regarding effective
litigation management and cost and delay reduction principles and
techniques."
IMPLEMENTATION OF PLANS
Section 103(b), (c) of Pub. L. 101-650, as amended by Pub. L. 102-
572, title V, Sec. 505, Oct. 29, 1992, 106 Stat. 4513; Pub. L. 105-
53, Sec. 2, Oct. 6, 1997, 111 Stat. 1173; Pub. L. 106-518, title
II, Sec. 206, Nov. 13, 2000, 114 Stat. 2414, provided that:
"(b) Implementation. - (1) Except as provided in section 105 of
this Act [set out below], each United States district court shall,
within three years after the date of the enactment of this title
[Dec. 1, 1990], implement a civil justice expense and delay
reduction plan under section 471 of title 28, United States Code,
as added by subsection (a).
"(2)(A) The requirements set forth in sections 471, 472, 473,
474, 475, 477, and 478 of title 28, United States Code, as added by
subsection (a), shall remain in effect for seven years after the
date of the enactment of this title.
"(B) The requirements set forth in section 476 of title 28,
United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall remain in
effect permanently.
"(c) Early Implementation District Courts. -
"(1) Any United States district court that, no earlier than
June 30, 1991, and no later than December 31, 1991, develops and
implements a civil justice expense and delay reduction plan under
chapter 23 of title 28, United States Code, as added by
subsection (a), shall be designated by the Judicial Conference of
the United States as an Early Implementation District Court.
"(2) The chief judge of a district so designated may apply to
the Judicial Conference for additional resources, including
technological and personnel support and information systems,
necessary to implement its civil justice expense and delay
reduction plan. The Judicial Conference may provide such
resources out of funds appropriated pursuant to section 106(a)
[Pub. L. 101-650, title I, Dec. 1, 1990, 104 Stat. 5098].
"(3) Within 18 months after the date of the enactment of this
title [Dec. 1, 1990], the Judicial Conference shall prepare a
report on the plans developed and implemented by the Early
Implementation District Courts.
"(4) The Director of the Administrative Office of the United
States Courts shall transmit to the United States district courts
and to the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and House of
Representatives -
"(A) copies of the plans developed and implemented by the
Early Implementation District Courts;
"(B) summaries of the reports submitted by such district
courts pursuant to section 472(d) of title 28, United States
Code, as added by subsection (a); and
"(C) the report prepared in accordance with paragraph (3) of
this subsection."
DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM
Section 104 of Pub. L. 101-650, as amended by Pub. L. 104-33,
Sec. 1, Oct. 3, 1995, 109 Stat. 292; Pub. L. 104-317, title VI,
Sec. 608(a), Oct. 19, 1996, 110 Stat. 3860, provided that:
"(a) In General. - (1) During the 5-year period beginning on
January 1, 1991, the Judicial Conference of the United States shall
conduct a demonstration program in accordance with subsection (b).
"(2) A district court participating in the demonstration program
may also be an Early Implementation District Court under section
103(c) [set out above].
"(b) Program Requirement. - (1) The United States District Court
for the Western District of Michigan and the United States District
Court for the Northern District of Ohio shall experiment with
systems of differentiated case management that provide specifically
for the assignment of cases to appropriate processing tracks that
operate under distinct and explicit rules, procedures, and
timeframes for the completion of discovery and for trial.
"(2) The United States District Court for the Northern District
of California, the United States District Court for the Northern
District of West Virginia, and the United States District Court for
the Western District of Missouri shall experiment with various
methods of reducing cost and delay in civil litigation, including
alternative dispute resolution, that such district courts and the
Judicial Conference of the United States shall select.
"(c) Study of Results. - The Judicial Conference of the United
States, in consultation with the Director of the Federal Judicial
Center and the Director of the Administrative Office of the United
States Courts, shall study the experience of the district courts
under the demonstration program.
"(d) Report. - Not later than June 30, 1997, the Judicial
Conference of the United States shall transmit to the Committees on
the Judiciary of the Senate and the House of Representatives a
report of the results of the demonstration program."
PILOT PROGRAM
Section 105 of Pub. L. 101-650, as amended by Pub. L. 103-420,
Sec. 4, Oct. 25, 1994, 108 Stat. 4345; Pub. L. 104-317, title VI,
Sec. 608(b), Oct. 19, 1996, 110 Stat. 3860, provided that:
"(a) In General. - (1) During the 5-year period beginning on
January 1, 1991, the Judicial Conference of the United States shall
conduct a pilot program in accordance with subsection (b).
"(2) A district court participating in the pilot program shall be
designated as an Early Implementation District Court under section
103(c) [set out above].
"(b) Program Requirements. - (1) Ten district courts (in this
section referred to as 'Pilot Districts') designated by the
Judicial Conference of the United States shall implement expense
and delay reduction plans under chapter 23 of title 28, United
States Code (as added by section 103(a)), not later than December
31, 1991. In addition to complying with all other applicable
provisions of chapter 23 of title 28, United States Code (as added
by section 103(a)), the expense and delay reduction plans
implemented by the Pilot Districts shall include the 6 principles
and guidelines of litigation management and cost and delay
reduction identified in section 473(a) of title 28, United States
Code.
"(2) At least 5 of the Pilot Districts designated by the Judicial
Conference shall be judicial districts encompassing metropolitan
areas.
"(3) The expense and delay reduction plans implemented by the
Pilot Districts shall remain in effect for a period of 4 years. At
the end of that 4-year period, the Pilot Districts shall no longer
be required to include, in their expense and delay reduction plans,
the 6 principles and guidelines of litigation management and cost
and delay reduction described in paragraph (1).
"(c) Program Study Report. - (1) Not later than June 30, 1997,
the Judicial Conference shall submit to the Committees on the
Judiciary of the Senate and House of Representatives a report on
the results of the pilot program under this section that includes
an assessment of the extent to which costs and delays were reduced
as a result of the program. The report shall compare those results
to the impact on costs and delays in ten comparable judicial
districts for which the application of section 473(a) of title 28,
United States Code, had been discretionary. That comparison shall
be based on a study conducted by an independent organization with
expertise in the area of Federal court management.
"(2)(A) The Judicial Conference shall include in its report a
recommendation as to whether some or all district courts should be
required to include, in their expense and delay reduction plans,
the 6 principles and guidelines of litigation management and cost
and delay reduction identified in section 473(a) of title 28,
United States Code.
"(B) If the Judicial Conference recommends in its report that
some or all district courts be required to include such principles
and guidelines in their expense and delay reduction plans, the
Judicial Conference shall initiate proceedings for the prescription
of rules implementing its recommendation, pursuant to chapter 131
of title 28, United States Code.
"(C) If in its report the Judicial Conference does not recommend
an expansion of the pilot program under subparagraph (A), the
Judicial Conference shall identify alternative, more effective cost
and delay reduction programs that should be implemented in light of
the findings of the Judicial Conference in its report, and the
Judicial Conference may initiate proceedings for the prescription
of rules implementing its recommendation, pursuant to chapter 131
of title 28, United States Code."