§ 1657. — Priority of civil actions.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 28USC1657]
TITLE 28--JUDICIARY AND JUDICIAL PROCEDURE
PART V--PROCEDURE
CHAPTER 111--GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 1657. Priority of civil actions
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, each court of the
United States shall determine the order in which civil actions are heard
and determined, except that the court shall expedite the consideration
of any action brought under chapter 153 or section 1826 of this title,
any action for temporary or preliminary injunctive relief, or any other
action if good cause therefor is shown. For purposes of this subsection,
``good cause'' is shown if a right under the Constitution of the United
States or a Federal Statute (including rights under section 552 of title
5) would be maintained in a factual context that indicates that a
request for expedited consideration has merit.
(b) The Judicial Conference of the United States may modify the
rules adopted by the courts to determine the order in which civil
actions are heard and determined, in order to establish consistency
among the judicial circuits.
(Added Pub. L. 98-620, title IV, Sec. 401(a), Nov. 8, 1984, 98 Stat.
3356.)
Effective Date
Section 403 of Pub. L. 98-620 provided that: ``The amendments made
by this subtitle [subtitle A (Secs. 401-403) of title IV of Pub. L. 98-
620, enacting this section, amending sections 596, 636, 1364, 2284, and
2349 of this title, sections 437g, 437h, and 687 of Title 2, The
Congress, section 552 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees,
sections 8, 136d, 136h, 136n, 136w, 194, 1366, 1600, and 1601 of Title
7, Agriculture, section 1464 of Title 12, Banks and Banking, sections
18a, 21, 45, 57a-1, 78k-1, 687a, 687c, 719h, 1415, 2003, and 2622 of
Title 15, Commerce and Trade, sections 1463a, 1910, 3117, and 3168 of
Title 16, Conservation, sections 1964 and 1966 of Title 18, Crimes and
Criminal Procedure, sections 346a and 348 of Title 21, Food and Drugs,
section 618 of Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse, section
640d-3 of Title 25, Indians, sections 3310, 6110, 6363, 7609, 9010, and
9011 of Title 26, Internal Revenue Code, sections 110, 160, 660, and
1303 of Title 29, Labor, section 816 of Title 30, Mineral Lands and
Mining, section 2022 [now 4302] of Title 38, Veterans' Benefits, section
3628 of Title 39, Postal Service, sections 300j-9, 504, 6508, and 8514
of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, sections 1062, 1349, 1652,
and 2011 of Title 43, Public Lands, sections 355, 745, 1018, and 1205 of
Title 45, Railroads, section 402 of Title 47, Telegraphs, Telephones,
and Radiotelegraphs, section 2305 of former Title 49, Transportation,
section 792a of Title 50, War and National Defense, and sections 462 and
1984 of Title 50, Appendix, repealing sections 1296 and 2647 of this
title, section 28 of Title 15, and section 3614 of Title 42, and
amending provisions set out as a note under section 2304 of Title 10,
Armed Forces] shall not apply to cases pending on the date of the
enactment of this subtitle [Nov. 8, 1984].''
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in title 12 section 1821.
