[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 75 (Tuesday, May 18, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H3500-H3501]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 1530
FEDERAL JUDICIARY ADMINISTRATIVE IMPROVEMENTS ACT OF 2010
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (S. 1782) to provide improvements for the operations of
the Federal courts, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
S. 1782
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Judiciary
Administrative Improvements Act of 2010''.
SEC. 2. SENIOR JUDGE GOVERNANCE CORRECTION.
Section 631(a) of title 28, United States Code, is amended
in the first sentence by striking ``(including any judge in
regular active service and any judge who has retired from
regular active service under section 371(b) of this title,
when designated and assigned to the court to which such judge
was appointed)''.
SEC. 3. REVISION OF STATUTORY DESCRIPTION OF THE DISTRICT OF
NORTH DAKOTA.
Chapter 5 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by
striking section 114 and inserting the following:
``Sec. 114. North Dakota
``North Dakota constitutes one judicial district.
``Court shall be held at Bismarck, Fargo, Grand Forks, and
Minot.''.
SEC. 4. SEPARATION OF THE JUDGMENT AND STATEMENT OF REASONS
FORMS.
Section 3553(c)(2) of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by striking ``the written order of judgment and
commitment'' and inserting ``a statement of reasons form
issued under section 994(w)(1)(B) of title 28''.
SEC. 5. PRETRIAL SERVICES FUNCTIONS FOR JUVENILES.
Section 3154 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraph (14) as paragraph (15); and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (13) the following:
``(14) Perform, in a manner appropriate for juveniles, any
of the functions identified in this section with respect to
juveniles awaiting adjudication, trial, or disposition under
chapter 403 of this title who are not detained.''.
SEC. 6. STATISTICAL REPORTING SCHEDULE FOR CRIMINAL WIRETAP
ORDERS.
Section 2519 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``Within thirty days
after the expiration of an order (or each extension thereof)
entered under section 2518, or the denial of an order
approving an interception, the issuing or denying judge'' and
inserting ``In January of each year, any judge who has issued
an order (or an extension thereof) under section 2518 that
expired during the preceding year, or who has denied approval
of an interception during that year,'';
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``In January of each
year'' and inserting ``In March of each year''; and
(3) in paragraph (3), by striking ``In April of each year''
and inserting ``In June of each year''.
SEC. 7. THRESHOLDS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW OF OTHER THAN
COUNSEL CASE COMPENSATION.
Section 3006A of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (e)--
(A) in paragraph (2)--
(i) in subparagraph (A), in the second sentence, by
striking ``$500'' and inserting ``$800''; and
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``$500'' and
inserting ``$800''; and
(B) in paragraph (3), in the first sentence, by striking
``$1,600'' and inserting ``$2,400''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(5) The dollar amounts provided in paragraphs (2) and (3)
shall be adjusted simultaneously by an amount, rounded to the
nearest multiple of $100, equal to the percentage of the
cumulative adjustments taking effect under section 5303 of
title 5 in the rates of pay under the General Schedule since
the date the dollar amounts provided in paragraphs (2) and
(3), respectively, were last enacted or adjusted by
statute.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Georgia (Mr. Johnson) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Rooney) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Georgia.
General Leave
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include
extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Georgia?
There was no objection.
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, the Federal Judiciary Administrative Improvements Act of
2010 makes a number of changes to increase the efficiency and
effectiveness of the Federal courts. The House passed a substantially
similar version of this legislation last October.
H.R. 3632, which I introduced, was cosponsored by Chairman John
Conyers, Ranking Member Lamar Smith, and Ranking Member Howard Coble of
the Subcommittee on Courts and Competition Policy, which I also chair.
S. 1782 would make a number of modest changes to the law and to the
administrative operations of the Federal judiciary.
First, it will fix a minor conflict in the law and make clear that
senior judges with a reduced workload are permitted to participate in
the selection of magistrate judges.
Second, the bill incorporates a proposal supported by my friend and
colleague from North Dakota, Earl Pomeroy, to place North Dakota in a
single judicial district. This will allow for a more even distribution
of the workloads of the Federal courts in North Dakota.
Third, the bill makes some minor adjustments for criminal matters. It
requires separating the Statement of Reason from other information
relating to the case, enabling confidential information to be more
carefully controlled and protected.
The bill also clarifies the scope and authority of Federal Pretrial
Service officers to supervise and assist juveniles awaiting delinquency
disposition in Federal court as an alternative to incarceration.
Further, the bill adjusts the deadline for both State and Federal
judges to file their wiretap totals with the Administrative Office of
the Courts so that the annual wiretap report to Congress is accurate
and does not later require a later addendum.
Finally, the bill increases the statutory amount that can be paid for
experts without requiring approval by the chief judge. This raises the
current threshold to accurately reflect the impact of inflation.
[[Page H3501]]
While I strongly support passage of the Senate bill, I note that some
provisions in the House bill are not included in this bill.
For example, the House bill would have adjusted the disability
requirement and cost-of-living annuities of four territorial judges,
thereby reducing existing inequities between them and other term judges
such as magistrate and bankruptcy judges.
The House bill would have changed the annual lead limit for the
judicial branch and adjusted the pay scale.
Finally, the House bill would have allowed four Federal Judicial
Center Division directors to receive a salary commensurate with their
responsibilities and on par with similar AO personnel.
I intend to introduce new legislation that will include these
provisions from my version of the Federal Judiciary Administrative
Improvements Act, but let me be clear that passage of the legislation
before us today is an important step to improving our Federal judiciary
and helping it function in the most efficient way. This legislation is
bipartisan and noncontroversial. It passed the Senate under unanimous
consent and has the full backing of the Judicial Conference. I ask my
colleagues to join me in supporting this important legislation.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ROONEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, the purpose of S. 1782 is to implement noncontroversial
administrative provisions that the Judicial Conference and the House
Judiciary Committee believe are necessary to improve the operations of
the Federal judiciary and provide justice for the American people. The
bill retains most of the content of H.R. 3632, which we passed in
October of 2009.
The Judicial Conference is the policymaking body of the Federal
judiciary and through its committee system evaluates court operations.
The conference endorses all the provisions in this bill.
S. 1782 affects a wide range of judicial branch programs and
operations, including those pertaining to financial administration,
process improvements, and personnel administration. The bill
incorporates five separate items.
First, it clarifies that senior judges must satisfy minimum work
thresholds to participate in court government matters, including the
selection of magistrates.
Second, the bill eliminates the references to divisions and counties
in the statutory description of the Judicial District of North Dakota,
which enables the court to better distribute the workload between two
active district judges and reduce travel for litigants in the northern
central area of the district.
Third, it authorizes the Statement of Reasons that judges must issue
upon sentencing to be filed separately with the court. Current law
requires that the statement be bundled with other information in the
case distributed to the Sentencing Commission, where it can be
difficult to maintain a seal related to confidential information.
Fourth, it specifies that the Federal Pretrial Service officers can
provide the same services to juveniles as they do for adult offenders,
such as drug treatment.
And, finally, it applies an inflationary index to the threshold
amount requiring approval by the chief judge of reimbursements for the
cost of hiring expert witnesses and conducting investigation for
indigent defendants.
The dollar thresholds are statutorily fixed and erode over time. This
means chief justices must devote greater time approving what are
otherwise not genuine high-dollar requests.
Mr. Speaker, S. 1782 is necessary to improve the functioning of the
U.S. courts, which will ultimately benefit the American people. This is
a noncontroversial bill, and I urge my colleagues to support it.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my
time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Johnson) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, S. 1782.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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