| Bankruptcy Appellate
Panels |
RESOLVED, that the American Bar
Association supports the enactment of federal legislation
urging each circuit to create Bankruptcy Appellate Panels
(BAPs).
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the requirement of
consent by the parties be retained as a precondition to
a BAP's jurisdiction over the case.
Adopted February 1992 |
|
| Bankruptcy Reappointment
Process |
RESOLVED, That the American Bar
Association supports amendment of the Bankruptcy Amendments
and Federal Judgeship Act of 1984 to authorize the US
Courts of Appeals to use a streamlined procedure for bankruptcy
judge reappointments whereby a court of appeals, if it
wishes to consider the reappointment of an incumbent bankruptcy
judge, may evaluate that judge on the basis of his or
her record of performance in office, after public comment,
and without mandatory solicitation of addition applications
for the vacancy.
Adopted August 1996 |
|
| Bias |
RESOLVED, That the American Bar
Association supports the enactment of authoritative measures,
requiring studies of the existence, if any, of bias in
the federal judicial system, including bias based on race,
ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation and disability,
and the extent to which bias may affect litigants, witnesses,
attorneys and all those who work in the judicial branch.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association
urges that such studies should include the development
of remedial steps to address and eliminate any bias found
to exist.
Adopted August 1991 |
|
| Cameras in the
Courts |
RESOLVED, that the American Bar
Association urges the Judicial Conference to authorize
further experimentation with cameras in federal civil
proceedings by re-instituting a pilot project to permit
photographing, recording and broadcasting of civil proceeding
in selected federal courts under guidelines promulgated
by the Judicial Conference.
Adopted February 1995 |
|
| Chancellor |
BE IT RESOLVED, that the American
Bar Association recommends that Congress create a new
administrative position within the federal judiciary to
be filled by a district or circuit judge, in either active
or senior status, to be designated by the Chief Justice,
to perform such duties concerned with administering the
federal judicial system as the Chief Justice may assign,
including president over meetings of the Judicial Conference,
chairing the Board of the Federal Judicial Center, making
inter-circuit assignments of judges, and coordinating
and directing research and long-range planning for the
federal courts.
Adopted February 1986 |
|
| Circuit Restructuring |
RESOLVED, that the American Bar
Association opposes enactment of legislation that mandates
restructuring of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals into
adjudicative divisions, in view of the absence of compelling
empirical evidence to demonstrate adjudicative dysfunction.
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the American Bar Association
opposes the creation of district court appellate panels
within the circuits.
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the American Bar Association
opposes the use of two-judge panels by any federal appellate
court.
Adopted August 1999 |
|
| Continued Federal
Funding for the State Justice Institute |
RESOLVED, that the American Bar
Association urges the Administration and Congress to maintained
federal support for the State Justice Institute.
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the American Bar Association
urges Congress to fund the operations of the State Justice
Institute at adequate and reasonable levels to enable
it to carry out its mandate to award federal grants to
improve the administration and quality of justice in state
courts.
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the American Bar Association
supports the State Justice Institute's request for an
appropriation of $13.55 million for Fiscal Year 2003.
Adopted February 2002 |
|
| Direct Submission
of Judiciary's Budget |
RESOLVED, That the American Bar
Association urges Congress to: (1) authorize the Judicial
Branch to submit its annual budget request, including
its request for court facility construction projects,
directly to Congress; and (2) strengthen the statutory
prohibition against the President altering the Judiciary's
request when he submits the annual, unified federal budget
request to Congress.
Adopted August 1999 |
|
| District
Court of the Virgin Islands |
RESOLVED, that the American Bar
Association urges Congress to establish the District Court
of the Virgin Islands as a district court under Article
III of the United States Constitution.
Adopted February 1999 |
|
| Diversity Jurisdiction |
BE IT RESOLVED, that the American
Bar Association urges the Congress to amend 28 U.S.C.
1332 to provide that in diversity of citizenship cases
the value of the amount in controversy must exceed $50,000.
Adopted August 1987 |
|
| Existing Judicial
Vacancies |
BE IT RESOLVED, that the prompt
filing of existing judicial vacancies in the federal courts
of the United States is essential for the efficient, responsible
and effective administration of justice; and that undue
delays in the nomination and confirmation of candidates
for vacancies in the federal courts of the United States
adversely affects such effective, responsible and timely
administration of justice;
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the American Bar Association
urges
1. the President of the United States promptly to nominate
candidates to fill vacancies in the federal courts of
the United States
2. the Senate Committee on the Judiciary promptly to act
on nominees for full Senate consideration, and
3. the Senate of the United States promptly to advise
and consent to or reject the nominees;
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the American Bar Association
urges its members and state, local, and territorial bar
associations to encourage the President to make prompt
appointments to fill federal judicial vacancies and to
contact the appropriate members of the Senate to urge
prompt hearings and votes on pending nominations for the
federal courts of the United States.
Adopted August 2002 |
|
| Funding for
Courthouse Construction |
BE IT RESOLVED, that the American
Bar Association urges the Administration to support FY
1999 funding for federal court facility construction projects;
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the American Bar Association
urges the appropriate committees of Congress, if necessary,
to act on their own initiative to further the construction
of federal court facility projects determined to be most
urgent.
Adopted September 1998 |
|
| FY2000
Funding for Courthouse Construction |
BE IT RESOLVED, that the American
Bar Association urges the Administration to support FY
2000 funding for federal court facility construction projects;
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the American Bar Association
urges the appropriate committees of Congress, if necessary,
to act on their own initiative to authorize and appropriate
funds for the construction of federal court facility projects
determined to be most urgent;
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the American Bar Association
urges the Administration to transmit without modification
to Congress, as part of its annual budget submission,
funding requests for federal court facility projects that
have been prepared by the General Services Administration
and approved by the Judicial Conference of the United
States.
Adopted April 1999 |
|
| Impeachment |
BE IT RESOLVED, That the American
Bar Association urges the house of Representatives promptly
to consider impeaching any federal judge who is convicted
of a felony and who has exhausted his appeals but who
has failed to resign from office forthwith.
Adopted August 1986 |
|
| Judicial Discipline |
BE IT RESOLVED, that the American
Bar Association supports in principle the Judicial Discipline
and Impeachment Reform Act of 1989 (Title II of H.R. 1620)
which provides for a National Commission on Judicial Impeachment
to report to the Chief Justice, the Congress and the President.
Adopted February 1990 |
|
| Judicial
Independence (Report of the Commission on Separation of
Powers and Judicial Independence) |
RESOLVED, that the American Bar
Association supports the following principles to preserve
and strengthen federal judicial independence and separation
of powers, derived from the July 4, 1997 Report of the
ABA Commission on Separation of Powers and Judicial Independence,
An Independent Judiciary:
1. Public officials should refrain from threatening to
initiate judicial impeachment proceedings because of disagreement
with isolated decision of a federal judge;
2. State and local and territorial bar associations should
develop effective mechanisms for evaluating and, when
appropriate, promptly responding to misleading criticism
involving judges and judicial decisions;
3. Congress should enact legislation to exclude from the
presidential line-item veto authority budgetary items
involving the federal judiciary's appropriations;
4. Congress should de-link congressional pay from judicial
pay and make judicial salaries subject to the same periodic
and automatic cost-of-living adjustments granted career
federal employees.
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the American Bar Association
should take the lead in the formation of a consortium
of organizations dedicated to an independent judiciary
and impartial system of equal justice to (a) continue
research into the causes of eroding confidence in the
judicial and justice systems throughout the country; and
(b) develop and implement long-term educational programs,
both in the schools, as well as for the public generally,
with defined goals and strategies, focused upon improving
public understanding of our system of justice and within
it the vital concept of an independent judiciary.
Adopted February 1998 |
|
| Long Range Plan for
the Federal Courts |
RESOLVED, That the American Bar
Association supports efforts by the Judicial Conference
of the United States to plan for the future of the Federal
Courts and adopts the policy positions set forth in Appendix
C in response to the Proposed Long Range Plan for the
Federal Courts which was submitted to the Judicial Conference
of the United States in March 1995.
Adopted August 1995 |
|
| National Vaccine
Injury Compensation |
BE IT RESOLVED, that the American
Bar Association urges the Congress to repeal those provisions
of the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program of
1986 (PL 99-660) that involve the federal courts in rendering
advisory opinions and performing inappropriate administrative
functions, before funding the program.
Adopted August 1987 |
|
| Office for Improvements
in the Administration of Justice |
BE IT RESOLVED, that the American
Bar Association supports the reestablishment in the United
States Department of Justice of the Office for Improvements
in the Administration of Justice (OIAJ) with broad authority
to pursue a range of programs and projects relating to
the entire justice system.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Office be headed
by an Assistant Attorney General, under the direction
of the Attorney General.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that OIAJ be authorized
and responsible for developing ways to improve the operation
of the civil and criminal justice system and to enhance
citizen access to justice.
Adopted February 1992 |
|
| Permanent and
Temporary Judgeships |
RESOLVED, that the American Bar
Association supports the enactment of legislation to authorize
needed permanent and temporary judgeships, as requested
by the Judicial Conference of the United States, for the
five district courts situated along the border between
the United States and Mexico.
FURTHER RESOLVED, that all existing and future
vacancies in these affected courts should be filled promptly
to enable these courts to adjudicate all their cases in
a fair, just and timely manner.
Adopted August 2001 |
|
| Racketeer Influenced
and Corrupt Organizations Act |
BE IT RESOLVED, that the American
Bar Association urges Congress to limit statutorily the
availability in civil cases of the Racketeer Influenced
and Corrupt Organizations Act by amending it to:
a. Change the Act's definition of "pattern of racketeering
activity" to require that alleged acts of racketeering
be shown to be part of a continuing scheme or plan of
criminal activity, increase to five the number of acts
of criminal activity which must be alleged in wire and
m ail fraud cases, and reduce to five years the time period
in which the alleged acts must have occurred;
b. Provide that a person who brings a frivolous, unreasonable
or bad faith suit, or a suit for the purpose of harassing
one's business competitors, shall be subject to costs
and reasonable attorneys' fees expended by the defendant
in defending the action; and
c. Make applicable to the Act the provisions of Rule 65
of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedures with respect
to the granting of injunctive relief under the Act.
Adopted August 1986 |
|
| Removal |
BE IT RESOLVED, that the American
Bar Association supports enactment of federal legislation
such as H.R. 2446, 99th Congress, providing that a federal
court to which an action is removed from state court will
not be barred from hearing and determining a claim because
the state court lacked jurisdiction over it.
Adopted February 1986 |
|
| Science and Technology |
RESOLVED, That the American Bar
Association supports in principle the following conclusions
and recommendations set forth in the March 1993 Report
of the Carnegie Commission on Science, Technology and
Government entitled Science and Technology in Judicial
Decision Making:
1. The present adversarial process is competent to manage
the problems associated with the complex issues of science
and technology which come before the Court.
2. Judges should take an active role in managing the presentation
of scientific and technological issues in litigation whenever
appropriate.
3. Scientific and technical issues should be integrated
into traditional judicial education programs.
4. Institutional linkages between the judicial and scientific
communities should be developed to facilitate judicial
education and to further understanding between such communities.
5. An independent non-governmental Science and Justice
Council of judges, lawyers, scientists and others should
be established to monitor changes that may have an impact
on the ability of the courts to manage and adjudicate
scientific and technological issues; it should also initiate
improvements in the courts' access to and understanding
of scientific and technological information.
Adopted February 1994 |
|
| Social Security Administration
Nonacquiescence |
BE IT RESOLVED, That the American
Bar Association urges the Social Security Administration
to observe, in all states of administrative proceedings,
the applicable decisions of the United States Court of
Appeals for the circuit in which the matter has arisen,
subject to the agency seeking review in the United States
Supreme Court.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association
urges that, in the event the Social Security Administration
continues its nonacquiescence policy, in its former or
present form, Congress enact legislation to mandate the
agency to observe fully within each circuit the decisions
of the Court of Appeals within that circuit, subject to
the agency seeking review in the United States Supreme
Court.
Adopted August 1985 |
|
| Space and Facilities |
RESOLVED, that the American Bar
Association supports in principle legislation which provides
the federal judiciary with control over its space and
facilities.
Adopted August 1992 |
|
| Three Judge
District Courts |
RESOLVED, That the American Bar
Association opposes enactment of legislation which would
require: 1) a three-judge district court to hear applications
for interlocutory or permanent injunctions when the constitutionality
of a state or territory law passed by referendum is challenged
and; 2) direct appeal of such actions to the US Supreme
Court.
Adopted August 1995 |
|
| Supporting Bipartisan Commissions to Recommend Candidates for Nomination to the Federal Bench |
RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association supports the selection as federal judges of men and women of diverse backgrounds and experiences, whose professional competence, integrity, and judicial temperament, including commitment to equal justice under law, fully qualify them to serve in the federal judiciary;
FURTHER RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association supports the practice of federal judges providing advance notice of their intention to leave active federal judicial service in order to facilitate the timely nomination of individuals to vacant judgeships;
FURTHER RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association encourages the senators in each state jointly and the delegates in each territory to appoint (in cooperation with others not of their party when appropriate) bipartisan commissions of lawyers and other leaders, reflecting the diversity of the profession and the community, to evaluate the qualifications of prospective district judges and to recommend possible nominees whom their senators or delegate might suggest for the President’s consideration;
118 17 18 19 20
FURTHER RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association endorses the use of bipartisan commissions to consider and recommend prospective nominees for the United States Courts of Appeals;
FURTHER RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association recommends that the President consult with Senate leaders of both parties and the home state senators or delegate in advance of submitting nominations;
FURTHER RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association urges the President and Senate to promptly fill judicial vacancies and act expeditiously, especially with respect to nominees recommended by bipartisan commissions; and
FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution supersedes the August 1977 resolution (appended) concerning the judicial nomination and confirmation process.
Adopted August 2008
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