At the request of the Judicial Conference Committee on Court Administration and Case Management, the Federal Judicial Center conducted a study of the use of courtrooms in the U.S. bankruptcy courts. The study, which was conducted from mid-2008 to late 2010, followed completion of a similar study of courtroom use in the federal district courts, see The Use of Courtrooms in U.S. District Courts (2008). Findings reported in the study are based on data collected in nine bankruptcy courts from September 14, 2009, through December 14, 2009, and in nine other bankruptcy courts from January 18, 2010, through April 16, 2010.

Note: Technical appendices 2 and 6 are forthcoming.

This report compares selected questions from opinion surveys regarding civil litigation completed by members of the American College of Trial Lawyers, ABA Section of Litigation, and National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA).

This report presents the results of interviews of a small group of attorneys who had completed the Center's case-based survey on the costs of litigation under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The attorneys discuss the principal factors associated with higher litigation costs, particularly discovery, and they also discuss pleading standards, summary judgment, and other procedural matters.

An analysis of all cases filed in federal district courts, bankruptcy courts, and courts of appeals in 2006 revealed that 0.2% of civil cases, 1.6% of criminal cases, 16% of magistrate judge cases, 34% of miscellaneous cases, and 0.1% of appeals were sealed approximately two years after filing. Cases filed in bankruptcy courts are virtually never sealed. This report, prepared for a sealed case subcommittee of the Judicial Conference's standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure, describes why and how cases were sealed.