The Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) was Congress's reaction to issues that arose during the 2000 presidential election and the ensuing controversial Florida recount. President George W. Bush signed HAVA into law on October 29, 2002. HAVA includes standards for provisional ballots, which help prevent the consequences of erroneous purges of voter registration rolls. Instead of turning away eligible voters, polls permit those whose registrations are in question to cast provisional ballots that are counted if it turns out that they were eligible to vote. HAVA also sets minimum standards for...

This guide provides a brief overview of extradition law, focusing primarily on the extradition of fugitives from the United States. It describes the grounds for extradition, extradition proceedings, legal issues that may emerge, and related case management considerations.

This report should be viewed as a beginning. It explores from one perspective the operation of the federal rules governing discovery as revealed in more than 7, 000 docketed requests appearing in more than 3, 000 terminated cases in six United States district courts. (A survey of practitioners in the six districts suggests that the docketed requests cover the great bulk of discovery activity.) The report is a continuation of the Center's District Court Studies Project, the first report of which (Case Management and Court Management in United States District Courts) appeared several months...

This teaching module was developed by the Federal Judicial Center to support judges and court staff who want to speak to various groups about the history of an independent federal judiciary. It focuses on historical debates about judicial independence. Other modules in this series examine the constitutional origins of the judiciary and the development of the federal court system. Each module includes four components: background discussion to serve as talking points; a PowerPoint presentation that can be downloaded to provide a visual guide to the speaker's remarks; a list of suggested...

As courts adjudicate cases involving classified information, they must protect government secrets. The Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA) provides procedures for protecting classified information in criminal prosecutions. Similar procedures are used in civil cases. The courts are assisted in their protection of government secrets by classified information security officers provided by a small office in the Department of Justice's Management Division called the Litigation Security Group.

At the request of the Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Civil Rules, the Federal Judicial Center designed and conducted a closed-case survey about the early stages of litigation, especially Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 26(f) and 16(b). The survey was sent to almost 10,000 attorneys of record in civil cases terminated in July-September 2011 and yielded a 36% response rate.

Among the many significant contributions made to the federal judiciary by the late Judge Donald Voorhees is the Manual on Recurring Problems in Criminal Trials. During his tenure on the Federal Judicial Center's Board from 1979 to 1983, Judge Voorhees developed the manual to assist his fellow judges in researching important issues that arise frequently in criminal trials. Many federal judges have found the book to be an invaluable resource-a research tool that enables them to quickly locate authority on specific issues that often confront them. Although in this edition, as in the previous...

Sections 1 through 3 contain the statute's title, findings and purposes, and definitions, respectively. The key findings are that the right to vote is a fundamental right and all levels of government have a duty to promote the elective franchise. According to its stated purposes, the Act is intended to increase voter registration and ensure registration accuracy. Section 13, concerning the Act's effective date, has been included as a note to section 1973gg. Sections 4 through 12 contain the Act's substantive provisions. Because the Act derives from Congress's power to regulate federal...

The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) requires the federal and state governments to facilitate overseas citizens' participation in federal elections. This includes enabling overseas citizens to register and vote. In particular, jurisdictions must be able to send out absentee ballots to overseas voters at least forty-five days before federal elections. The enfranchisement of overseas voters began with military personnel, extended to their families, and then extended to citizens who are overseas for other reasons. An overseas citizen is typically eligible to vote in...

This guide provides an overview of the rapidly evolving law on this topic. Section II summarizes the relevant statutory provisions and Sentencing Guidelines policy statements that courts consider when evaluating computer and Internet special conditions. It also reviews Judicial Conference policy concerning the recommendation and execution of special conditions by federal probation officers. Section III summarizes the types of bans and restrictions on computer and Internet access during postconviction supervision that have been upheld or rejected by courts and discusses the most important...