§ 471. — Requirement for a district court civil justice expense and delay reduction plan.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 28USC471]
TITLE 28--JUDICIARY AND JUDICIAL PROCEDURE
PART I--ORGANIZATION OF COURTS
CHAPTER 23--CIVIL JUSTICE EXPENSE AND DELAY REDUCTION PLANS
Sec. 471. Requirement for a district court civil justice expense
and delay reduction plan
There shall be implemented by each United States district court, in
accordance with this chapter, a civil justice expense and delay
reduction plan. The plan may be a plan developed by such district court
or a model plan developed by the Judicial Conference of the United
States. The purposes of each plan are to facilitate deliberate
adjudication of civil cases on the merits, monitor discovery, improve
litigation management, and ensure just, speedy, and inexpensive
resolutions of civil disputes.
(Added Pub. L. 101-650, title I, Sec. 103(a), Dec. 1, 1990, 104 Stat.
5090; amended Pub. L. 102-198, Sec. 2(1), Dec. 9, 1991, 105 Stat. 1623.)
Amendments
1991--Pub. L. 102-198 substituted ``this chapter'' for ``this
title''.
Congressional Statement of Findings
Section 102 of Pub. L. 101-650 provided that: ``The Congress makes
the following findings:
``(1) The problems of cost and delay in civil litigation in any
United States district court must be addressed in the context of the
full range of demands made on the district court's resources by both
civil and criminal matters.
``(2) The courts, the litigants, the litigants' attorneys, and
the Congress and the executive branch, share responsibility for cost
and delay in civil litigation and its impact on access to the
courts, adjudication of cases on the merits, and the ability of the
civil justice system to provide proper and timely judicial relief
for aggrieved parties.
``(3) The solutions to problems of cost and delay must include
significant contributions by the courts, the litigants, the
litigants' attorneys, and by the Congress and the executive branch.
``(4) In identifying, developing, and implementing solutions to
problems of cost and delay in civil litigation, it is necessary to
achieve a method of consultation so that individual judicial
officers, litigants, and litigants' attorneys who have developed
techniques for litigation management and cost and delay reduction
can effectively and promptly communicate those techniques to all
participants in the civil justice system.
``(5) Evidence suggests that an effective litigation management
and cost and delay reduction program should incorporate several
interrelated principles, including--
``(A) the differential treatment of cases that provides for
individualized and specific management according to their needs,
complexity, duration, and probable litigation careers;
``(B) early involvement of a judicial officer in planning
the progress of a case, controlling the discovery process, and
scheduling hearings, trials, and other litigation events;
``(C) regular communication between a judicial officer and
attorneys during the pretrial process; and
``(D) utilization of alternative dispute resolution programs
in appropriate cases.
``(6) Because the increasing volume and complexity of civil and
criminal cases imposes increasingly heavy workload burdens on
judicial officers, clerks of court, and other court personnel, it is
necessary to create an effective administrative structure to ensure
ongoing consultation and communication regarding effective
litigation management and cost and delay reduction principles and
techniques.''
Implementation of Plans
Section 103(b), (c) of Pub. L. 101-650, as amended by Pub. L. 102-
572, title V, Sec. 505, Oct. 29, 1992, 106 Stat. 4513; Pub. L. 105-53,
Sec. 2, Oct. 6, 1997, 111 Stat. 1173; Pub. L. 106-518, title II,
Sec. 206, Nov. 13, 2000, 114 Stat. 2414, provided that:
``(b) Implementation.--(1) Except as provided in section 105 of this
Act [set out below], each United States district court shall, within
three years after the date of the enactment of this title [Dec. 1,
1990], implement a civil justice expense and delay reduction plan under
section 471 of title 28, United States Code, as added by subsection (a).
``(2)(A) The requirements set forth in sections 471, 472, 473, 474,
475, 477, and 478 of title 28, United States Code, as added by
subsection (a), shall remain in effect for seven years after the date of
the enactment of this title.
``(B) The requirements set forth in section 476 of title 28, United
States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall remain in effect
permanently.
``(c) Early Implementation District Courts.--
``(1) Any United States district court that, no earlier than
June 30, 1991, and no later than December 31, 1991, develops and
implements a civil justice expense and delay reduction plan under
chapter 23 of title 28, United States Code, as added by subsection
(a), shall be designated by the Judicial Conference of the United
States as an Early Implementation District Court.
``(2) The chief judge of a district so designated may apply to
the Judicial Conference for additional resources, including
technological and personnel support and information systems,
necessary to implement its civil justice expense and delay reduction
plan. The Judicial Conference may provide such resources out of
funds appropriated pursuant to section 106(a) [Pub. L. 101-650,
title I, Dec. 1, 1990, 104 Stat. 5098].
``(3) Within 18 months after the date of the enactment of this
title [Dec. 1, 1990], the Judicial Conference shall prepare a report
on the plans developed and implemented by the Early Implementation
District Courts.
``(4) The Director of the Administrative Office of the United
States Courts shall transmit to the United States district courts
and to the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and House of
Representatives--
``(A) copies of the plans developed and implemented by the
Early Implementation District Courts;
``(B) summaries of the reports submitted by such district
courts pursuant to section 472(d) of title 28, United States
Code, as added by subsection (a); and
``(C) the report prepared in accordance with paragraph (3)
of this subsection.''
Demonstration Program
Section 104 of Pub. L. 101-650, as amended by Pub. L. 104-33,
Sec. 1, Oct. 3, 1995, 109 Stat. 292; Pub. L. 104-317, title VI,
Sec. 608(a), Oct. 19, 1996, 110 Stat. 3860, provided that:
``(a) In General.--(1) During the 5-year period beginning on January
1, 1991, the Judicial Conference of the United States shall conduct a
demonstration program in accordance with subsection (b).
``(2) A district court participating in the demonstration program
may also be an Early Implementation District Court under section 103(c)
[set out above].
``(b) Program Requirement.--(1) The United States District Court for
the Western District of Michigan and the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Ohio shall experiment with systems of
differentiated case management that provide specifically for the
assignment of cases to appropriate processing tracks that operate under
distinct and explicit rules, procedures, and timeframes for the
completion of discovery and for trial.
``(2) The United States District Court for the Northern District of
California, the United States District Court for the Northern District
of West Virginia, and the United States District Court for the Western
District of Missouri shall experiment with various methods of reducing
cost and delay in civil litigation, including alternative dispute
resolution, that such district courts and the Judicial Conference of the
United States shall select.
``(c) Study of Results.--The Judicial Conference of the United
States, in consultation with the Director of the Federal Judicial Center
and the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States
Courts, shall study the experience of the district courts under the
demonstration program.
``(d) Report.--Not later than June 30, 1997, the Judicial Conference
of the United States shall transmit to the Committees on the Judiciary
of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report of the results
of the demonstration program.''
Pilot Program
Section 105 of Pub. L. 101-650, as amended by Pub. L. 103-420,
Sec. 4, Oct. 25, 1994, 108 Stat. 4345; Pub. L. 104-317, title VI,
Sec. 608(b), Oct. 19, 1996, 110 Stat. 3860, provided that:
``(a) In General.--(1) During the 5-year period beginning on January
1, 1991, the Judicial Conference of the United States shall conduct a
pilot program in accordance with subsection (b).
``(2) A district court participating in the pilot program shall be
designated as an Early Implementation District Court under section
103(c) [set out above].
``(b) Program Requirements.--(1) Ten district courts (in this
section referred to as `Pilot Districts') designated by the Judicial
Conference of the United States shall implement expense and delay
reduction plans under chapter 23 of title 28, United States Code (as
added by section 103(a)), not later than December 31, 1991. In addition
to complying with all other applicable provisions of chapter 23 of title
28, United States Code (as added by section 103(a)), the expense and
delay reduction plans implemented by the Pilot Districts shall include
the 6 principles and guidelines of litigation management and cost and
delay reduction identified in section 473(a) of title 28, United States
Code.
``(2) At least 5 of the Pilot Districts designated by the Judicial
Conference shall be judicial districts encompassing metropolitan areas.
``(3) The expense and delay reduction plans implemented by the Pilot
Districts shall remain in effect for a period of 4 years. At the end of
that 4-year period, the Pilot Districts shall no longer be required to
include, in their expense and delay reduction plans, the 6 principles
and guidelines of litigation management and cost and delay reduction
described in paragraph (1).
``(c) Program Study Report.--(1) Not later than June 30, 1997, the
Judicial Conference shall submit to the Committees on the Judiciary of
the Senate and House of Representatives a report on the results of the
pilot program under this section that includes an assessment of the
extent to which costs and delays were reduced as a result of the
program. The report shall compare those results to the impact on costs
and delays in ten comparable judicial districts for which the
application of section 473(a) of title 28, United States Code, had been
discretionary. That comparison shall be based on a study conducted by an
independent organization with expertise in the area of Federal court
management.
``(2)(A) The Judicial Conference shall include in its report a
recommendation as to whether some or all district courts should be
required to include, in their expense and delay reduction plans, the 6
principles and guidelines of litigation management and cost and delay
reduction identified in section 473(a) of title 28, United States Code.
``(B) If the Judicial Conference recommends in its report that some
or all district courts be required to include such principles and
guidelines in their expense and delay reduction plans, the Judicial
Conference shall initiate proceedings for the prescription of rules
implementing its recommendation, pursuant to chapter 131 of title 28,
United States Code.
``(C) If in its report the Judicial Conference does not recommend an
expansion of the pilot program under subparagraph (A), the Judicial
Conference shall identify alternative, more effective cost and delay
reduction programs that should be implemented in light of the findings
of the Judicial Conference in its report, and the Judicial Conference
may initiate proceedings for the prescription of rules implementing its
recommendation, pursuant to chapter 131 of title 28, United States
Code.''
