Digest for S. 1782
111th Congress, 2nd Session
S. 1782
Federal Judiciary Administrative Improvements Act of 2010
Sponsor Whitehouse (Rhode Island)
Committee Judiciary
Date May 18, 2010 (111th Congress, 2nd Session)
Staff Contact Sarah Makin

The House is scheduled to consider S. 1514, on Tuesday, May 18, 2010, under suspension of the rules, requiring a two-thirds majority vote for passage.  S. 1782 was introduced on October 14, 2009, by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and passed the Senate, with an amendment, on March 16, 2010.

S. 1782 amends the federal judicial code, the federal criminal code, and other federal law.  Specifically, the bill makes the following changes to federal code:

  • Removes the power of certain active or retired federal judges to appoint U.S. magistrate judges;
  • Revises the statutory description of the District of North Dakota to eliminate the current four divisions and make one judicial district (will not affect pending cases or juries);
  • Revises requirements for the disability retirement and cost-of-living adjustments of annuities for territorial judges;
  • Subjects judicial branch senior executives to federal civil service annual leave requirements and limitation;
  • Revises requirements for the compensation of Federal Judicial Center personnel, including reemployed annuitants;
  • Requires court use of separate judgment and statement of reasons forms in the imposition of a criminal sentence;
  • Requires appropriate adaptation of pretrial services functions for juveniles;
  • Modifies the reporting schedule for criminal wiretap orders; and
  • Increases the compensation thresholds triggering administration review of compensation for non-counsel investigative, expert, or other services necessary for adequate representation of a personal financially unable to obtain them.

The bill is identical to H.R. 3632, which the House passed on October 28, 2009, with the following exceptions:

  • It deletes three compensation-related sections of H.R. 3632 (pay raises for four persons at the Federal Judicial Center; disability retirement and COLA annuity adjustments for territorial judges; and an increase in the number of annual leave days that can be carried over by employees of the Federal Judicial Center and the Sentencing Commission);
  • It deletes effective date provisions that applied to each section in the House bill; and

It deletes references to treatment of "current cases and juries" that aren't affected by a change in the statutory description of the District of North Dakota in the US Code.

The bill consists of nine miscellaneous administrative provisions developed by the United States Judicial Conference, the leadership arm of the Federal Judiciary.

CBO has not scored S. 1782.