and, therefore, approved the following resolution recommended by the committee:

The Administrative Office of the United States Courts is instructed to call to the attention of each circuit judge in active service the statutory obligation imposed upon the judicial council of each circuit by Section 332 of Title 28 to meet at least semi-annually to consider the quarterly reports of the Direetor of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts and to take such action thereon as may be necessary for the effective and expeditious administration of the business of the courts, within the circuit.

Judge Ainsworth advised the Conference that representatives of the Subcommittee on Judicial Statistics are working closely with the Federal Judicial Center in a study designed to test the validity of the weighted caseload index. He stated that the Center has entered into a contract with the Graduate School of the Department of Agriculture for this study. He also said that the subcommittee is giving close consideration to a revision of the J.S. 10 Form with a view possibly even to eliminating this form in favor of some other reporting method.

Judge Ainsworth also stated that the subcommittee is preparing for its quadrenniel survey of the courts of appeals in 1970 and has requested the Administrative Office to update its statistical tables compiled for the 1966 report on the courts of appeals prepared by former Deputy Director Will Shafroth.

SUPPORTING PERSONNEL

Court Reporters.-The Conference noted that S. 952 as it passed the Senate contained two provisions previously recommended by the Judicial Conference. One provision would eliminate the maximum and minimum limitations upon the salaries of court reporters (see Conf. action, Feb. 1968 Report, p. 31, and September 1968 Report, p. 58). The second provision would allow for contracting with court reporter services for temporary purposes in emergency situations (see Conf. action, March 1969 Report, p. 9).

The third section of S. 952 relating to court reporters provides for electronic court reporting in situations when reporters are not necessarily present. The Conference voted its endorsement of this proposal.

Chief Judge Cowen moved that the Conference endorse legislation that the Court of Claims be permitted to contract for reporting services in the same manner as is now permitted for the Tax Court. The Conference voted its approval and authorized

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the Administrative Office to draft such legislation for transmittal to the Congress.

Clerks of Court.-On Committee recommendation the Conference voted an increased salary schedule for the clerks of court for the circuits and districts as follows:

The Conference also approved a revision of the Judicial Salary Plan for a one-grade increase in the position of Chief Deputy Clerk in the district courts and a two-grade increase in the circuit courts subject to the availability of funds, as follows:

The Conference also approved a maximum entrance classification of JSP 11 for the pro se clerks who are attached to the clerk's office for administrative purposes. This conforms to the classification now in effect for judges' law clerks generally.

Court Criers.-The Conference noted a recommendation of Chief Judge Hastie that a new position of court crier-secretary be created and referred this matter for study to the Committee on Court Administration.

Interpreters.-The Conference voted to approve the establishment of the position of Spanish Interpreter in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

ADMINISTRATION

In response to a resolution proposed by Chief Judge Brown at the March 1969 session of the Conference (Conf. Rept., p. 9) look

ing toward the employment of every modern means of management available and the utilization of scientific long-range planning and programming, the Conference adopted the following resolutions:

(1) That the Conference continue its program of taking all possible measures to improve methods and procedures in the courts; and the Conference and its agencies, the Committee on Court Administration, the Subcommittee on Supporting Personnel, and the Administrative Office have the responsibility of exploring supporting personnel problems and promising innovations, as to positions, methods, etc., to enable the judiciary to anticipate and meet its continuously increasing burdens; (2) That the Conference exert every effort to obtain for the courts the supporting personnel necessary to insure that they are adequately staffed to perform properly their judicial and administrative functions; and in its relations with the Congress, the Conference, through its proposed budget requests and otherwise, communicate fully the problems of the judiciary, request the appropriations required to meet these needs, and to the maximum practicable extent urge Congressional acceptance of such proposals and recommendations;

(3) That the Conference support the efforts of the Administrative Office to secure an appropriation that will provide the special and technical personnel necessary to afford expert management assistance on operating problems;

(4) That the Conference reaffirm its prior request that the Chief Judge of each Circuit Court of Appeals furnish the Administrative Office a proJection of the personnel needs of his court, and that such projections be furnished annually by May 1 of each year;

(5) That the Conference request that the Chief Judge of each District Court furnish the Administrative Office with a projection of the personnel needs of his court by May 1 of each year.

LEGISLATIVE MATTERS

The Conference considered S. 961 and H.R. 8373, 91st Congress, bills which provide for federal jurisdiction and a body of uniform federal laws for cases arising out of aviation and space activities. The Conference at its September 1968 session had approved, in principle, similar bills introduced in the 90th Congress (Conf. Rept., p. 80). The Conference reaffirmed its support of these legislative proposals.

Upon the request of the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission, the Conference considered S. 682, 91st Congress, a bill designed to protect civilian employees of the executive branch of the government in the enjoyment of their constitutional rights and to prevent unwarranted governmental invasion of privacy and spe-. cifically Section 4 of the bill which would give the employee the right to go directly into the federal courts. Inasmuch as Section 5 of

the bill provides for the utilization of the administrative process by the aggrieved employee, the Conference disapproved Section 4 as being inconsistent with the provisions of Section 5.

The Conference next considered a draft bill prepared by the Department of Justice to amend the Expediting Act (15 U.S.C. 27, 28; 49 U.S.C. 44, 45). The Conference noted that similar legislation had been presented for its consideration in September 1968 (Conf. Rept., p. 82) at which time the Conference had approved the legislation, in principle, with two exceptions. Inasmuch as the present legislation was designed to meet these objections, the Conference approved the Justice Department's draft, in principle.

The Conference also noted and approved a draft bill of the Department of Justice which would permit actions for condemnation of real property in more than one state for a single federal project to be tried in the same district court.

The Conference also approved S. 2624 and H.R. 12691, 91st Congress, bills which would amend the statutory provisions relating to judicial actions and administrative proceedings in the Customs Court and in appeals from decisions of the Customs Court.

COMMITTEE ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE CRIMINAL LAW

The Report of the Committee on the Administration of the Criminal Law was presented by the Chairman, Judge George C. Edwards, Jr.

COMMITMENT OF PERSONS ACQUITTED ON THE GROUND OF

INSANITY

Judge Edwards advised the Conference that for the past six years legislation has come before the committee and the Conference and that at the March 1969 session he advised the Conference (Conf. Rept., p. 9) that he had appointed a subcommittee to study legislative proposals providing for the commitment of persons acquitted on the grounds of insanity. Representatives of the subcommittee met with representatives of the Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, National Institute of Mental Health and the Public Health Service. This interdepartmental group noted that S. 979 and H.R. 447 taken together would constitute a complete revision of Chapter 313 of Title 18, United States Code. Working

from these two bills the interdepartmental committee had drafted an entire revision of Chapter 313 and Judge Edwards stated that his committee approved this draft and recommended it to the Conference for approval. The Conference was in agreement with the recommendation of the committee and directed the Administrative Office to transmit copies of the draft bill to the Congress.

EXPEDITING CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Pursuant to the authorization of the Conference at the March 1969 meeting (Conf. Rept., p. 10), Judge Edwards reported that a subcommittee had considered a number of factors bearing on the delay of criminal cases and studied the statistical data provided by the Administrative Office. As a result of the deliberations of this subcommittee, Judge Edwards stated that his committee recommends to the Conference adoption of a resolution declaring long pending cases as "judicial emergencies." After discussion of this matter, the Conference voted the following resolution:

Resolved: 1. That it is the sense of the Conference that criminal cases in the federal courts, except cases involving fugitives, persons in the military services, and persons in mental or penal institutions who are unavailable for trial, which are pending for more than one year as of the close of any fiscal year, are a judicial emergency to be regarded as such by all judges within any circuit where such cases are found;

2. That the Director of the Administrative Office is hereby authrized and directed to prepare at the end of each fiscal year and send to the Chief Judge of each Circuit a list of all such cases pending within the circuit for more than one year, with copies to the Chief Judge and United States Attorney of each affected district within the circuit. The Director is authorized and directed to send a copy of all such lists prepared by him also to (1) the Attorney general of the United States for his information and such comments which he cares to make, and (2) the Committee on the Administration of the Criminal Law;

3. That the Judicial Councils of each Circuit are requested to make appropriate plans for the disposition of these cases pending for more than one year on the dockets.

ABOLITION OF THE DEATH PENALTY

Judge Edwards advised the Conference that two bills, H.R. 666 and H.R. 2176, to abolish the death penalty under all laws of the United States, had been referred to the Conference for comment. He stated that his committee was of the view that this subject matter was primarily one of policy to be determined by the Congress but that the committee recommended, however, that the Con