U.S. Courts Design Guide
An assessment of workload in terms of the number and types of
cases anticipated to be handled by each such judge;
The number of years each such judge is likely to be located at
the facility;
An evaluation of the current complement of courtrooms and
their projected use in the facility and throughout the district in
order to reaffirm whether construction of an additional
courtroom is necessary;
An evaluation of the use of the special proceedings courtroom
and any other special purpose courtrooms to provide for more
flexible and varied use, such as use for jury trial; and
An evaluation of the need for a courtroom dedicated to specific
use by visiting judges, particularly when courtrooms for
projected authorized judgeships are planned in the new or
existing facility.
In addition, each circuit judicial council has been encouraged by the
Judicial Conference to develop a policy on sharing courtrooms by senior
judges when a senior judge does not draw a caseload requiring substantial
use of a courtroom.
The following assumptions, endorsed by the Judicial Conference in
March 1997, should be considered to determine courtroom capacity in
new buildings, new space, or space undergoing renovation. This model
allows assumptions to be made about caseload projections, and the time
frames in which replacement, senior, and new judgeships will occupy the
facility. The model affords flexibility to courts and circuit judicial
councils when making decisions about the number of courtrooms to
construct in a new facility, since adjustments to the assumptions can be
made to reflect a specific housing situation "on-line."
The number of new judgeships approved by the Judicial
Conference and recommended for approval by Congress, and
the year approval is expected;
The number of years senior judges will need a courtroom after
taking senior status (a ten-year time frame is recommended);
The average age of newly-appointed judges at the court
location;
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12/19/97
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