THE FEDERAL COURTS THE FEDERAL COURTS Challenge and Reform Richard A. Posner Harvard University Press Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England Copyright © 1985, 1996 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College All rights reserved Printed in the United States ofAmerica Second printing, 1999 First Harvard University Press paperback edition, 1999 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Posner, Richard A. The Federal courts: challenge and reform / Richard A. Posner. p. em. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-674-29626-5 (cloth) ISBN 0-674-29627-3 (pbk.) 1. Courts-United States. 2. Judicial process-United States. 3. Judges-United States. 4. Court congestion and delay-United States. KF8700.P67 1996 347.73'2-dc20 [347.3072] 96-19516 Contents Preface Xl I The Institution 1 The Organization of the Federal Courts 3 The basic structure. The judges. The state courts compared. 2 The Jurisdiction of the Federal Courts 40 II The Challenge 3 The Growth of the Caseload 53 Caseload ... versus workload. Caseload and workload in the Supreme Court. The Chicken Little question. 4 Why the Caseload Has Grown So 87 Models of caseload growth. The district courts. The courts of appeals. The Supreme Court. 5 Consequences: The System Expands. . . 124 More judges, working harder. The rise of the law clerk. 6 ... And Is Streamlined 160 Curtailment of oral argument. Nonpublication of opinions. The standard of review, the trend toward "ruledness," summariness. Sanctions. III Incremental Reform 7 Palliatives 193 Upping the ante. Limiting or abolishing diversity jurisdiction. Better management. Alternative dispute resolution. The reform of the bar. CONTENTS VI 8 Specialized Courts 244 Specialized Article III courts. Rethinking administrative review. IV Fundamental Reform 9 The Role of Federal Courts in a Federal System 273 The optimal scope of federal jurisdiction. Specific caseload implications. 10 FederalJudicial Self-Restraint 304 Principled adjudication. The meaning and consequences ofjudicial activism and self-restraint. The restraint ratchet and other extensions. 11 The Federal Judicial Craft 335 District judges. The institutional responsibilities of federal appellate judges. Rule versus standard again. Stare decisis. Appendix: Supplementary Tables 385 Index 403 Figures 1.1 Federal judicial salaries in 1994 dollars 26 1.2 Number of federal judges, 1789-1995 28 3.1 Federal caseload growth, 1904-1995 62 3.2 Federal caseload growth, proportionate scale 63 4.1 Diversity filings and inflation, 1959-1988 95 5.1 Short-run and long-run effects of higher demand 128 5.2 Filings per federal judge, 1904-1995 131 11.1 Law review comments on federal cases 337 Tables 1.1 Personnel and budget of the federal courts, 1925- 1995 10 1.2 Federal judicial salaries, 1800-1995, in current and constant (1994) dollars 22 1.3 Salaries of state supreme court justices and federal circuit judges compared 38 3.1 Case filings in lower federal courts, 1960 57 3.2 Case filings in lower federal courts, 1983, 1988, 1992-1995 60 3.3 Number and length of completed trials, 1960, 1983, 1988, 1993-1995 66 3.4 District court cases terminated with and without some court action 68 3.5 Terminations in courts of appeals, 1960, 1983, 1988, 1992-1995 70 3.6 Courts of appeals terminations with and without court action 72 3.7 Percentage distribution of signed court of appeals opinions in 1960, 1983, 1992, and 1993, compared to distribution of terminations in contested cases 76 3.8 Comparison of 1960, 1983, 1992, and 1993 signed opinions 77 3.9 Supreme Court decisions on the merits, 1960, 1983- 1995 80 4.1 Diversity filings, selected years 1956-1995 93 4.2 Appeal rates and sources of growth in cases filed, selected years 1960-1995 100 4.3 Ratio of assistant U.S. attorneys to federal criminal cases 103