In 1922, Congress created the Conference of Senior Circuit Judges, later renamed the Judicial Conference of the United States. Made up initially of the Chief Justice of the United States and the senior judge (later called the chief judge) of each circuit, the Conference was the first national organization of federal judges as well as the first formal mechanism by which the judiciary could communicate its administrative needs to Congress. The Conference was later expanded to include district judges and the chief judge of the U.S. Court of International Trade, while evolving from its initial advisory role to become the national policy-making body for the federal courts. Currently, the Conference maintains 20 separate committees that focus on issues such as bankruptcy, case management, judicial conduct, and rules of practice and procedure.
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