2009 Report on the Federal Judiciary

Chief Justice Roberts has issued his 2009 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary. He is following a tradition set by Chief Justice Warren Burger in 1970. Normally, this report discusses problems the federal judiciary faces, with an appendix that briefly summarizes the workloads of the various courts. In this year’s report, the Chief Justice included the appendix, but decided to skip the discussion of problems:

In the past few years, I have adhered to the tradition that Chief Justice Burger initiated and have provided my perspective on the most critical needs of the judiciary. Many of those needs remain to be addressed. This year, however, when the political branches are faced with so many difficult issues, and when so many of our fellow citizens have been touched by hardship, the public might welcome a year-end report limited to what is essential: The courts are operating soundly, and the nation’s dedicated federal judges are conscientiously discharging their duties.

If you want to read reports from other years, visit the Supreme Court’s website, where you will find the year-end reports back to 2000.