Judicial Reporting Under the Civil Justice Reform Act: Look, Mom, No Cases!

Authors

R. Lawrence Dessem, University of Missouri School of LawFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Spring 1993

Abstract

This article addresses the new reporting provision of the Civil Justice Reform Act. Part II analyzes the reporting requirement and the requirement's legislative history. Part III describes the implementation of the requirement by the federal judiciary, while Part IV discusses the initial reports filed pursuant to the provision and the media coverage of those reports. Part V next analyzes the wisdom of the reporting requirement, concluding that, on balance, the requirement may be helpful in furthering public accountability of an independent federal judiciary. Part VI then considers what the data now publicly reported under the Civil Justice Reform Act does, and does not, tell us about federal judges and the federal district courts.

Recommended Citation

R. Lawrence Dessem, Judicial Reporting Under the Civil Justice Reform Act: Look, Mom, No Cases!, 54 U. Pitt. L. Rev. 687 (1993)