Tag Archives: Federal Courts

New Bill Proposes Free Access to PACER.

19 Wednesday Sep 2018

Posted by in Recent Links and Articles

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Proposed Bill Would Eliminate PACER Fees, by Joshua Tashea, ABA Journal Blog

http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/new_bill_wants_to_end_pacer_fees?icn=most_read

States have already made the leap to provide free access to cases on their judges’ dockets. You can read all documents filed by the parties and the assigned judge, the date of any hearing or trial date and their outcome, and access every document (for the most part) filed with the all state courts. Not so with the federal district, appellate, or bankruptcy courts. Your only access is through PACER, a completely different system.

The proposed Electronic Court Records Reform Act is long overdue and removes the fee to access these documents. -CCE

Federal Research Honey Pot.

14 Wednesday Mar 2018

Posted by in Federal Law, Legal Analysis, Legal Writing, Research, SSRN, Statutory Interpretation

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Comparing Methods of Statutory Interpretation Used By The Lower Federal Courts and The Supreme Court, by Joe Hodnicki, Law Librarian Blog

http://bit.ly/2pd4k2t

Joe Hodnicki calls this article “recommended,” which means we just found a honey pot for those who research federal case law and statutory interpretation. -CCE

“Here’s the abstract for Aaron-Andrew P. Bruhl’s very interesting Statutory Interpretation and the Rest of the Iceberg: Divergences between the Lower Federal Courts and the Supreme Court, Duke Law Journal, Forthcoming:

‘This Article examines the methods of statutory interpretation used by the lower federal courts, especially the federal district courts, and compares those methods to the practices of the U.S. Supreme Court. This novel research reveals both similarities across courts and some striking differences. The research shows that some interpretive tools are highly overrepresented in the Supreme Court’s decisions while other tools are much more prevalent in the lower courts. Another finding, based on a study of forty years of cases, is that all federal courts have shifted toward more textualist tools in recent decades but that the shift was less pronounced as one moves down the judicial hierarchy.

The divergence between the interpretive practices of different federal courts has implications for both descriptive and normative accounts of statutory interpretation.’ . . .” Continue reading →

Why Circuit Courts Reassign Cases To Different District Judges On Remand.

24 Tuesday Feb 2015

Posted by in Appellate Judges, Civil Procedure, Court Orders, Federal Civil Procedure, Federal Judges, Judges

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Standards For Reassignment To A Different Judge On Remand, by Raymond P. Ward, Louisiana Civil Appeals

http://raymondpward.typepad.com/la-appellate/2015/02/standards-for-reassignment.html

In U.S. ex rel. Little v. Shell Exploration & Production Co., 14-20156 (5th Cir. Feb. 23, 2015) (unpublished), the Fifth Circuit not only reversed a summary judgment, but also ordered that, on remand, the case be reassigned to a different district judge. Why? Here is the sequence of events in a nutshell:

  1.  The district court rendered summary judgment in defendants’ favor.
  2.  On appeal, the Fifth Circuit reversed, holding that the district court applied the wrong legal standard. The Fifth Circuit remanded with instructions for the district court to apply the correct legal standard.
  3.  A year later, the district court again rendered summary judgment in defendants’ favor, apparently applying the same legal standard that the Fifth Circuit had rejected. The Fifth Circuit concluded that, in rendering this judgment, the district court disregarded the Fifth Circuit’s instructions on remand.

Starting at page 25, the decision includes a survey of case law enunciating various standards applied by circuit courts in deciding whether to reassign a case to a different judge on remand. So this decision is worth tucking away for future reference in case you ever find yourself in need of similar relief.

Journalist’s Guide to Federal Courts.

17 Thursday Apr 2014

Posted by in Bankruptcy Law, Courts, U.S. Courts of Appeal, United States Supreme Court

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A Journalist’s Guide to the Federal Courts, Administrative Office of the United States Courts

http://www.uscourts.gov/News/JournalistsGuide.aspx

Federal judges and the journalists who cover them share much common ground. One clear area of mutual interest is accurate and informed coverage of federal courts. A Journalist’s Guide to the Federal Courts is intended to assist reporters assigned to court coverage. It is the media who inform and educate the public about the courts, spark discussion and debate about their work, instill public trust and confidence in the institution and its function, and help protect judicial independence. These are worthwhile and important pursuits.

There are justifiable and distinct differences between the three branches of government and the access they grant the news media. Most of the work of federal courts is performed in open court and decisions, and in most cases court filings are available on the Internet. This primer is aimed at helping reporters who cover federal appellate, district, and bankruptcy courts – the cases, the people, and the process.

Download full report (pdf)