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statement relating appropriation estimates to current appropriations— other courts and services-Continued

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Total.

Total estimate for 1951..

16,000

7,900

879, 000

886,000

16,000

15, 600

-400

7,900

6, 200

-1,700

879,000

879,000

886, 000 1,035, 400 +149, 400

21, 370, 600 229, 500183, 570 21, 783, 670 23, 350, 750 1,, 567,080 $1,567, 080

23, 350, 750

ROONEY. The next estimate, gentlemen, is entitled, "Other and services." It is found at page 15 of the committee print page 70 of the justifications. We shall insert in the record at int pages 70 and 71 which show the items now consolidated in propriation.

material referred to is as follows:)

ROONEY. This over-all statement of the requested appropriander the title, "Other courts and services," shows there is a red increase for all the items contained within that title of $1,0 over and above the base figure of $21,783,670.

have with us Mr. Henry P. Chandler, Director, Administrative United States Courts, who, I believe, has a general statement te with regard to the United States courts.

Chandler, have you such a statement?

GENERAL STATEMENT

CHANDLER. I have such a statement. I would ask leave to t inserted in the record. With your permission I would rather t rather briefly, because I can do it briefly.

?

ROONEY. That is the question in my mind. Can you do it

CHANDLER. Yes.

ROONEY. We shall insert at this point in the record Mr. ller's general statement.

e statement referred to is as follows:)

STATEMENT BY HENRY P. CHANDLER, DIRECTOR OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES COURTS

Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the subcommittee, my general statement preceding the discussion of the individual estimates for the appropriations for the United States courts in 1951 will be brief. Your subcommittee is composed of the same members who conducted the hearing on the appropriations for the courts last year, and the general condition in the Federal courts, except for one or two changes which I shall mention, is not greatly altered.

THE BUSINESS OF THE FEDERAL COURTS IN THE LAST YEAR

In reporting on the business of the Federal courts I shall begin with the district courts in which most cases start. There was an increase of something over 7 percent in the number of criminal cases, due mainly to cases of illegal entry of immigrants in a few border districts and these cases can be quickly decided. Generally speaking, the volume of criminal cases was about stationary in 1949. The number of civil cases brought in the district courts in 1949 went up more than 14 percent over the previous year. United States cases increased more than 33% percent, and in this the largest single factor was a near doubling of cases of the Office of the Housing Expediter which consisted almost entirely of cases under the Rent Control Act. Private cases went up only about 3 percent. But the number of cases brought on account of diversity of citizenship went up from 10,818 in 1948 to 12,347 in 1949, an increase, it will be observed, of about 1,500 cases. It is rather interesting that the number of private cases brought in the Federal courts on account of diversity of citizenship in 1949 was not far short of twice the number brought on account of a Federal question. Also, of the cases based on diversity of citizenship, more than two-thirds were originally brought in the Federal courts by the plaintiffs and less than a third were removed there. By far the largest single class of private civil cases brought in the Federal courts in 1949 consisted of suits for personal injuries caused by motor vehicles which increased from 2,916 in the previous year to 3,707, more than 27 percent.

The district courts in 1949, as before, handled their criminal calendars generally promptly and the backlogs of cases available for trial were kept small. On June 30, 1949, the number of such cases pending was approximately 6,000 which, at the current rate of disposition, could be disposed of in 2 months. The number of pending civil cases carried over was much larger. The number of civil cases terminated during the year was slightly less than the number in 1948, 48,396 compared with 48,791. It was more than 5,000 less than the number filed, so that the number of pending cases went up during the year from 49,215 to 54,240. The latter number would take approximately 13 months to dispose of at the current rate of disposition. The principal reason for the increase in pending cases has been the rise in the number filed requiring a high proportion of time on the part of the judges. There has been a marked increase in recent years in the number of civil jury trials. The number last year was 2,277 compared with 1,952, the year before, an increase of more than 16 percent.

In consequence of the increase in the backlog of pending civil cases, the median time from filing to disposition of normal civil cases disposed of after trial went up from 9.9 months in 1948 to 10.4 months in 1949 in the 86 districts having purely Federal jurisdiction included in chapter 5 of the Judicial Code of 1948. The time was 10.6 months for cases tried by the court without a jury and 10.1 months for cases tried with a jury.

The increasing weight of private civil litigation has been bearing more or less heavily for some time on the district courts in most of the districts. This has restricted the extent of assignments of judges outside of their circuits. Judges who had formerly given help of this kind had all they could do to keep up with their own calendars. It became plain that the only remedy for the congestion and delay which had been growing in a number of districts distributed throughout the country, mainly districts in metropolitan communities, was an increase in the number of resident judges. This was provided for by the Congress by legislation which will be mentioned presently. In the greater number of districts it was true in 1949 as before, notwithstanding the increasing weight of the judicial load, that parties who wanted trial in the Federal courts could obtain it within a reasonable time.

In the courts of appeals the number of cases commenced in 1949 went up something more than 8 percent over the number in the previous year. It is to be expected that in time the greater weight of cases in the district courts will be

nore and more in the courts of appeals as cases tried in the district ch those courts for review. The courts of appeals terminated more 949 than in 1948 but more than 200 less than the number filed, so that er pending at the beginning of the year, 1,673, rose to 1,909 at the end, 14 percent. As in the district courts, the increase in the number of ing was accompanied by a lengthening of time required for the disposies that were terminated after hearing or submission. The median time untry went up from 6.3 months in 1948 to 7.1 months in 1949.

LAW PROVIDING FOR ADDITIONAL CIRCUIT AND DISTRICT JUDGES

lic Law 205 approved August 3, 1949, the Congress made provision for udgeships and 19 district judgeships, all of which are permanent, and judgeships which are temporary. The six circuit judgeships are three strict of Columbia circuit and one each for the third, seventh and tenth The 19 permanent district judgeships are 4 for the southern_district ork, 1 for the district of New Jersey, 2 for the eastern district of Pennsylor the District of Columbia, 1 for the northern district of Georgia, 1 for ern and southern districts of Florida, 1 for the southern district of Texas, northern district of California, 2 for the southern district of California, district of Oregon, and 1 for the district of Kansas. The two temporary udgeships are 1 for the western district of Pennsylvania and 1 for the district of Texas.

of the new judgeships provided for were filled by interim appointments appointees have begun to function at various times, beginning last fall. ions for permanent appointment have been sent to the Senate and are ading confirmation. It will be some time before the increase in the of judges can be reflected in any substantial increase of the output of s to which they have been named. Eventually it is hoped that the connd delay in the courts affected, which in some instances have been very will be greatly reduced and even overcome.

THE BANKRUPTCY SYSTEM

umber of bankruptcy cases filed in the Federal courts in 1949, 26,021, 5 percent more than in 1948. This was almost identical with the perof increase in 1948 over 1947, 40.54 percent. The number of cases being he current fiscal year, 1950, is higher and it is estimated that the number ear will fall somewhere between 32,000 and 34,000 cases. This, although han anything in recent years, will be well below the number in 1941, the plete fiscal year before the war, which was upward of 56,000. 49, 20,546 bankruptcy cases were terminated, nearly twice the number ted the year before. But the number terminated fell short by more than f the number filed, so that the number of cases pending at the end of the 30,539, which at the current rate of handling would require approximately nd a half to dispose of. In a time when the number of bankruptcy cases ed is increasing, it is almost inevitable that the number of pending cases ise also. Every effort is being put forth to bring about as rapid a closing ases as the circumstances will permit, and the increase of almost 100 percases closed in 1949 over the previous year shows effective work by the in this direction.

rally the increase in the volume of bankruptcy business which in 1949 was double that of 1947 when the referees' salary system was set up by the Conference, has called for some increase in the personnel in the referees' But the increase has been mainly in the clerical force of the referees. mber of referees' positions authorized at the beginning of the system was sisting of 49 full time and 114 part time. Presently there are 54 full-time Opart-time positions, or a total of 164. Salary increases have been authorce the beginning of the fiscal year 1949, for 8 full-time referees and for 30 ne referees. The policy has been as far as possible to enable the referees zed at the beginning of the salary system to handle the increased volume ness by providing for them larger clerical staffs, and also by raising the sation of clerks, particularly those who are on a part-time basis, on account greater amount of work and time required. The number of clerks' positions en since the beginning of the fiscal year 1949 from 215, consisting of 133 e and 82 part time, to 279 as of December 31, 1949, comprising 199 fullnd 80 part-time employees.

30785-50-pt. 2- -4

The cost of the referee system continues to come well within the annual receipts into the referees' salary and expense funds from charges paid by the parties to bankruptcy proceedings. The surplus of receipts over expenditures in the salary fund in 1949 was $240,026.56, which, after the subtraction of the deficit in 1948 of $89,503.69, left a surplus at the end of 1949 of $150,522.87. This surplus rose as of December 31, 1949, to $223,236.79. There was a surplus in the expense fund of $276,988.55 at the end of 1949 representing the excess of receipts over expenditures from the fund for the 2 years 1948 and 1949. There was a surplus in the expense fund for the first half of the current fiscal year of $29,686.19, making a net surplus in that fund, after 30 months of operation on December 31, 1949, of $306,674.74.

The surpluses in the salary and expense funds stated are over and above the advancements from the Treasury to those funds in the fiscal years 1948 and 1949. The amounts appropriated for advancements to the salary fund were $350,000 for 1948 and $170,000 for 1949, making a total of $520,000. The amounts appropriated for advancements to the expense fund were $350,000 for 1948 and $150,000 for 1949, making a total of $500,000. Payments to the Treasury on account of these advances have been made shortly after July 1, 1949, and in the current month aggregating $270,000 on account of advances to the salary fund and $250,000 on account of the advances to the expense fund. These payments leave still to be repaid $250,000 on account of the advances to each fund. In order that there may be ample working capital in the two funds it is requested that the time for the payment of the advances in full be extended to the end of the coming fiscal year 1951. No appropriation from the general funds for either salaries or expenses of referees is made for 1950 or is being asked for 1951, and it is believed that, barring some unusual change in the present conditions, the advancements can be completely repaid without strain to the salary and expense funds within that time.

STATUTES INCREASING THE COST OF OPERATION OF THE COURTS

Within the last year four statutes have been enacted, all of which were generally recognized to be just and desirable, but which have substantially increased the cost of operation of the Federal courts. These are the law providing for additional circuit and district judges explained above (Public Law 205), the law increasing the fees of jurors (Public Law 168), the Travel Expense Act of 1949 affecting the reimbursement for travel of all nonjudicial personnel of the courts (Public Law 92) and the Classification Act of 1949 (Public Law 429). The estimates submitted at this time for 1951 are larger than the annual appropriations for the current year, but the reason, barring a few relatively small exceptions, is the inclusion of amounts needed to comply with the first three statutes named above and to put the salaries for the nonjudicial personnel of the courts upon a parity with the amounts established for personnel in the executive branch of the Government by the fourth statute. The statute providing for additional judges involves as you will realize not only an increase in the appropriation for judges' salaries but increases in the appropriations for supporting personnel and facilities, namely, clerks' salaries, allowances to jurors, salaries of criers and reporters, miscellaneous salaries for the payment of secretaries and law clerks to judges, miscellaneous expenses for judges' office equipment, supplies, and law books, and expenses of official travel.

The administrative office and the courts are giving increasing attention to the avoidance of unnecessary expense. While the accomplishments are not as yet conspicuous, effort is being made to bring about reduction in the number of jurors called consistently with efficient jury service, to close branch offices of clerks where the business is insufficient to warrant maintaining them, and to adopt space-saving and labor-saving devices and practices in the offices of the clerks. Economy is something that, if it is accomplished, has to come from the accumulation of numerous small savings in many places. Every effort is being made to bring about savings of this nature and they are going on, although on account of the new and necessary statutes mentioned above which involve increased cost, they will not appear in the estimates for 1951 which are before you. These estimates are undoubtedly lower than they would be had it not been for the care in expenditures for the courts which is being exercised.

In the amounts submitted the estimates are believed to be only a reasonable estimate of what is requisite for the effective functioning of the courts in the coming fiscal year.

COONEY. Will you tell us briefly about this item, Mr. Chandler? HANDLER. I will undertake to deal with the three matters I shall refer without stating the figures, which are contained ritten statement.

that because the subcommittee is the same as that which I d before last year. The general conditions in the courts t greatly changed, except in respect to three or four matters I shall refer. I shall be very brief.

ROONEY. You must appreciate the fact that one of our troubles ve to listen year after year to repetition. We are primarily ed in the new items and the new problems.

ND OF BUSINESS OF THE DISTRICT COURTS AND COURTS OF APPEALS

CHANDLER. First, just a word as to what has been the trend in siness of the district courts and the court of appeals in the last

as to the district courts. The volume of criminal business p a little, about 7 percent, but almost solely on account of an ed number of illegal entry cases filed in border districts. In I it would be a fair statement that the volume of criminal cases Federal courts remained about stationary. civil cases went up during the last year. There was a considercrease in the United States civil cases mainly because of rent1 cases brought by the Office of the Housing Expediter. There little increase in private civil cases, which as I pointed out last ake proportionately a larger amount of time for disposition, an se of about 3 percent.

will be interested to know, I think, that about twice as many e civil cases filed in the Federal courts were based upon diversity zenship in 1949 as were based upon a Federal statute. It is nteresting, I think, that of the cases brought in the Federal son account of diversity of citizenship or heard there, twoof them were brought in the Federal courts in the first instance e plaintiffs instead of being cases which were removed by the dants, as used to be the case. I think this is somewhat creditable Federal courts in that they are in general regarded as a desirable

1.

PENDING CASES

word as to the rate of disposition of cases by the courts. The ct courts are handling the criminal cases very promptly.

e number pending at the end of the year would represent only t 2 months' work at the current rate of disposition.

e courts fell behind in the disposition of civil cases for the reasons h I stated at some length last year, namely, the increase in the ortion of private civil cases and the inadequacy of judge power. degree of that loss is reflected in the written statement.

rtunately, the greater part of that occurred in a comparatively 1 proportion of the districts. It is true still that in most of the

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