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5 Third Branch 1 (1973)

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Bullein of the Federa Couirts

VOL. 5, NO. 1

Published bythe Administrative Officeof theU.S.Courts and the Federal Judicial C-

A distinguished seven member panel
of professors and members of the Bar
familiar with the problems of the Su-
preme Court recommended last month
that a new National Court of Appeals be
established to deal with the mounting
number of cases filed with the Court.
The Committee, headed by Harvard
Professor Paul A. Freund and working
under the auspices of the Federal
Judicial Center, said that such measures
as adding additional staff to the Court
or having the Justices meet in panels
would not be adequate remedy to solve
the problem of mounting filings which
may top 7000 before the end of the
decade.
In addition to Professor Freund, the
committee also included Alexander M.
Bickel, Peter D. Ehrenhaft, Russell D.
Niles, Bernard G. Sagal, Robert L.
Stem, and Charles A. Wright.
After considering the problem for
over a year, the committee concluded
that Congress should establish a Na-
tional Court of Appeals which should
consist of seven judges drawn on a
rotating basis from the Federal Courts
of Appeals, and that the members
would serve staggered three year terms,
The study group said that the pro-
posed court would serve two functions:
(1) screen all petitions presently filed
with the Supreme Court and refer the
most review worthy (estimated at
about 400 to 450 per term) for decision
by the Supreme Court; (2) either deny
the remainder of the petitions or retain
for decision on the merits cases of
genuine conflict between circuits(ex-
cept those of special moment, which

should be certified to the Supreme
Court).
In addition, the study group also
recommended the elimination of direct
review by the Supreme Court of deci-
sions made by three judge District
Courts; the elimination also of direct
appeals of ICC and antitrust cases; and
the substitution of certiorari for appeal
in all cases where appeal is now the
prescribed procedure for review in the
Supreme Court.
Finally, the committee also recom-
mended the creation of an ombudsman-
type organization which would investi-
gate and report on complaints of
prisoners, both collateral attacks on
convictions as well as mistreatment
complaints.
(Cont'd. on Page 3. Col. i

JANUARY 1973

A MESSAGE
(Hi10 JUSTO
The recently published Report of
the Study Group on the Caseload of the
Supreme Court is a thoughtful analysis
which is provoking healthy debate.
The public is becoming increasingly
aware that some adjustment to the
growing caseload in the Supreme Court,
as in all other courts, cannot be avoided.
This is the essence of the unanimous
conclusion of a group of eminent schol-
ars and practitioners after long and care-
ful study. After theanalysis of the prob-
lem, the Report provides a set of recom-
mendations. Few, if any, will find a
(Cont'd. on Page 3, Col. 1)

Federal Criminal Code Bill Is Introduced

On January 4th, the first legislative
proposal to create a Federal Criminal
Code in the nation's history was intro-
duced in the Senate by Senators John L.
McClellan, Sam J. Ervin and Roman L.
Hruska.
The bill, titled The Criminal Justice
Codification, Revision and Reform Act
of 1973, is the product of a national
effort which began in 1966 when Con-
gress created the National Commission
on Reform of Federal Criminal Laws.
As Senator McClellan said when the bill
was introduced, it is an important and
historic milestone.
The 538 page bill is expected to
spark intense debate as it proceeds
through Congress. A companion mea-

sure which is being prepared by the
Nixon Administration is expected to be
introduced soon.
Senator McClellan said in a Senate
floor speech that, Numbers alone do
not do credit to the tremendous amount
of study, discussion and preparation
that went into the presentations of a
number of the organizations which ap-
peared or submitted comments.
The organizations include: The
Association of the Bar of the City of
New York, the American Civil Liberties
Union, the National Legal Aid and De-
fender Association, the National Coun-
cil on Crime and Delinquency, the New
York County Lawyers Association, the
(Cont'd. on Page 2, Col. 2)

FREUND COMMITTEE RELEASES
SUPREME COURT STUDY

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