An assessment of the statutory procedure by which a judge may refer a convicted offender to the Bureau of Prisons for a period of observation and study. The report describes the current referral process and looks at the extent to which the reports prepared by the correctional institutions are meeting the courts' needs. Several recommendations for improvement are offered.

An examination of the calendaring system used by the Western District of Missouri to clear its criminal and civil dockets at regularly scheduled intervals. The report, based on interviews with the district's judges, court personnel, and attorneys, discusses the system's impact and offers guidelines for courts considering its adoption. Copies of the court's orders and forms are included.

A description of the evolution of the circuit executive position. The author, a longtime federal personnel executive and observer, considered the extent to which expectations for the executives' role in the administration of justice were realized and offered recommendations for further development of that role.

The results of a survey of 292 federal district judges concerning how they interpret and apply the 1983 amendments to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11 (before the 1993 amendments). Based on the judges' hypothetical reactions to actual cases in which Rule 11 sanctions were requested, the study outlines the judges' standards and rationales for imposing sanctions, the kinds of sanctions imposed, and the relationship between the judges' opinions and their expectations of how their colleagues would rule on the same issues.