or disability of the district judge antedates the full integration of the District of Puerto Rico into the Federal judicial system by Sections 41, 119, 132, 133 and 134 of Title 28, United States Code. The provision for special diversity jurisdiction antedates the enactment of 28 U.S.C. 1332 which confers diversity jurisdiction and is applicable to the District Court for Puerto Rico in common with all the other district courts of the United States. By the passage of Public Law 89-571 the Congress has now amended 28 U.S.C. 134 (a) so as to confer the same life tenure upon the United States district judges in Puerto Rico as is provided for other United States district judges and thus the last remaining barrier to the full and complete integration of the District Court in Puerto Rico into the federal constitutional judicial system has been eliminated. The Conference, therefore, agreed that the courts of Puerto Rico should handle so much of that special jurisdiction as is not comprehended within the general diversity jurisdiction granted to all United States district courts by 28 U.S.C. 1332, and that direct action cases should be handled by the local courts as they are now required to be in Louisiana and Wisconsin. SOCIAL SECURITY CASES The Conference considered and disapproved Section 2 of H.R. 1312, 90th Congress, an act to amend Title 2 of the Social Security Act to provide more equitable and efficient method for obtaining administrative and judicial review of decisions of the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare and a more realistic definition of "disability" for purposes of disability insurance benefits and the disability freeze. The Conference noted that the effect of the bill with respect to judicial review would be to transfer the ultimate determination of Social Security disability claims from the Department of Health, Education and Welfare to a district court and jury, a proposal which the Conference regards as involving not only a doubtful question of public policy but a very greatly increased burden of litigation in the district courts. The Conference expressed no view with respect to the provisions of the bill relating to the nature of evidence offered in proceedings in the Department and the definition of "disability." ROLE OF UNITED STATES IN CIVIL ACTIONS The Conference considered and disapproved H.J. Res. 146, 90th Congress, a bill which would prohibit the United States or any officer or employee on its behalf to appear as amicus curiae or in any other fashion except as a party in any stage of any civil action in any court of the United States. OTHER LEGISLATION 1. The Conference then considered several bills previously approved by it which have been reintroduced in the 90th Congress and voted its approval in each instance. These bills are: a. S. 159 to provide for the temporary transfer to a single district for coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings of civil actions pending in different districts which involve one or more common questions of fact (Conf. Rept., p. 62). b. H.R. 3081 which would extend the provisions of Section 1963 of Title 28, United States Code, for the registration of judgments to the district courts of the Virgin Islands, Guam and the Canal Zone and provide for the registration of that portion of divorce decrees providing for the payment of money or the transfer of property (Conf. Rept., March 1965 Session, p. 15). c. H.R. 3088 to provide for the publication before entry of decrees, judgments and orders entered by consent upon the merits of civil antitrust proceedings in the district courts and in proceedings before a board or commission for the enforcement of any provision of the Clayton Act or the Federal Trade Commission Act (Conf. Rept., March 1965 Session, p. 15). d. H.R. 4334 which would amend Section 2401 of Title 28, United States Code, to toll the running of the statute of limitations against tort claims of persons under legal disability or beyond the seas at the time their claims accrue (Conf. Rept., March 1965 Session, p. 16). e. S. 597, H.R. 2512 and H.R. 5650 provide for the codification and revision of Title 17, United States Code, relating to copyrights. The Conference specifically approved Chapter 5 of these proposals relating to judicial remedies for copyright infringement (Conf. Rept., March 1966 Session, p. 8). 2. The Conference approved in part and disapproved in part the provisions of S. 946 and H.R. 5281 which would amend the Tucker Act to increase from $10,000 to $50,000 the limitation on the jurisdiction of United States district courts in suits against the United States for breach of contract or for compensation. The Conference specifically approved Section 1 of H.R. 5281 and the similar provisions of S. 946 relating to the increase on the jurisdictional limitation from $10,000 to $50,000 (Conf. Rept., March 1966 Session, p. 9). The Conference, however, specifically disapproved of Section 2 of H.R. 5281 providing for the waiver of the statute of limitations on certain claims of Reserve officers (Conf. Rept., March 1966 Session, p. 10). 3. The Conference disapproved specifically by number certain bills reintroduced in the 90th Congress which had heretofore been disapproved by the Conference as follows: a. S. 176 to provide for the establishment of a United States Court of Labor Management Relations which shall have jurisdiction over labor disputes which result in work stoppages which adversely affect the public interest of the Nation to a substantial degree (Conf. Rept., September 1966 Session, pp. 38, 39). b. S. 301 and S. 302 which would prohibit the issuance of writs of mandamus and prohibition by the courts of appeals based upon interlocutory or non-appealable orders of the district courts or as a substitute for interlocutory appeals allowable under 28 U.S.C. 1292(b) (Conf. Rept., September 1966 Session, p. 40). c. S. 621 to accord the right to a trial by jury to a defendant in a land condemnation proceeding who is aggrieved by the determination of the issue of just compensation by a commission appointed by a district court under Rule 71A (h), Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and S. 979, a bill to achieve the same objective (Conf. Rept., September 1965 Session, p. 63). d. H.R. 5267 to provide for the enforcement of separate orders in certain state and federal courts and to make it a crime to move or travel in interstate and foreign commerce to avoid compliance with such orders (Conf. Rept., September 1965 Session, p. 63). e. S. 933 to amend the provisions of United States Code with respect to the jurisdiction of courts of appeals to review orders of administrative officers and agencies (Conf. Rept., March 1965 Session, p. 16). VETERANS' APPEALS The Conference reaffirmed previous action with respect to various proposals for the judicial review of veterans' claims as follows: 1. The Conference approved the portions of several bills as to the type of review provided, i.e., by a Court of Veterans' Appeals, but expressed no opinion as to the policy of granting judicial review of veterans' claims (H.R. 603, H.R. 1354, H.R. 2293, H.R. 2907 and H.R. 3334) (Conf. Rept., March 1966 Session, p. 10). 2. H.R. 809, a bill to establish a Court of Veterans' Appeals and to prescribe its jurisdiction and functions, was disapproved as to those sections which would include the Court of Veterans' Appeals among the courts of the United States and would require the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts to assume responsibility for its administrative affairs (Conf. Rept., March 1965 Session, p. 18). 3. The Conference disapproved H.R. 2411 to provide for determination through judicial proceedings in the district courts of claims for compensation on account of disability or death resulting from disease or injury incurred or aggravated in line of duty while serving in the active military or naval service, including those who served in peacetime (Conf. Rept., March 1965 Session, p. 18). 4. The Conference disapproved H.R. 3601 which would confer upon the Court of Claims jurisdiction to review de novo claims for benefits and payments under laws administered by the Veterans Administration (Conf. Rept., March 1965 Session, p. 18). COMMITTEE ON RULES OF PRACTICE AND Senior Judge Albert B. Maris, Chairman, reported on the Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure. Judge Maris advised the Conference of the passage of Public Law 89-773 which amends 28 U.S.C. 2072 so as to confer upon the Supreme Court authority to prescribe the rules of procedure in the courts of appeals in civil cases, including those involving maritime claims, and in agency reviews. Thus, the Supreme Court now has full authority to promulgate uniform appellate rules which Judge Maris stated are in the final stage of preparation. Only one proposed rule remains to be considered by the Committee, namely, Rule 30 relating to the manner in which the pertinent parts of the record on appeal are to be reproduced for the use of the judges of the court. A rule proposed by the Advisory Committee, together with two alternative drafts, has been distributed widely to the bench and bar for comment. Judge Maris reported that the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules has just approved a draft of revised rules in the field of depositions and discovery. These rules will soon be published and distributed to the bench and bar for comment. Judge Maris stated further that the Advisory Committees on Rules of Bankruptcy and Rules of Evidence are continuing intensive work on their tasks of preparing comprehensive drafts on rules in their respective fields. Much work remains to be done before drafts will be ready for submission to the bench and bar. COMMITTEE ON INTERCIRCUIT ASSIGNMENTS Circuit Judge Jean S. Breitenstein, Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Intercircuit Assignments, reported on the work of his Committee for the period August 27, 1966 to January 26, 1967. Judge Breitenstein reported that in the period covered by his report the Committee has recommended 25 assignments to be undertaken by 22 judges, three judges having each accepted two assignments. The Chief Justice approved all assignments recommended by the Committee. Among the assigned judges were four circuit judges, four senior circuit judges, six district judges, seven senior district judges and one senior judge of the Court of Claims. Judge Breitenstein stated that 11 of the assignments were for service in courts of appeals. He advised that the Chief Judge of the Customs Court had requested help because of vacancies existing in that court but that the Committee was unable to locate a judge for this assignment. He again emphasized to the Conference the need for long-range planning in connection with intercircuit assignments and stressed the difficulty of finding a judge on short notice. BANKRUPTCY ADMINISTRATION The Chairman of the Committee on Bankruptcy Administration, Senior Judge Oliver D. Hamlin, Jr., reported that the Committee had met and considered the recommendations contained in the survey report of the Director of the Administrative Office, dated January 20, 1967, relating to the continuance of referee positions |