One of the most interesting and effective committees of the Rhode Island Bar Association is the Federal Bench/Bar Committee, which meets at the federal courthouse three or four times a year. Chaired by the always prepared Pat Rocha, the meeting is a great opportunity to learn the latest court developments from the federal judges in the district, the clerk of court and other court staff, and federal court practitioners.
The Federal Bench/Bar Committee’s final meeting of the year earlier this month (before the new cycle starts in the Fall) had some notable developments. The district will continue its highly successful litigation academy, a joint project of the Federal Bar Association, Roger Williams Law School and the District Court. Next on the docket for the litigation academy is examination of expert witnesses. Unlike most witnesses, who (generally speaking) can only testify to factual events, expert witnesses can offer testimony in the form of opinions — on topics such as the valuation of a business or whether an accident caused a person’s medical condition. Examining an expert witness is very different from a fact witness. The brain trust of the litigation academy, including Brooks Magratten and Prof. Niki Kuckes, came up with the absolutely brilliant idea of pairing the attorney-participants with newer CPAs who want courtroom experience as expert witnesses. Chalk it up next to post-it notes in the “why didn’t I think of that” category.
Chief Judge Smith is initiating a new policy for garden-variety discovery motions like compelling more responsive answers and entering protective orders. In Judge Smith’s cases, these types of discovery motions will be automatically referred to the magistrate judge assigned to the case for determination when the motion is filed (read all about the magistrate judge’s role here). At present, Judge McConnell does not plan to adopt the policy and will continue his existing practice of exercising discretion in keeping a discovery motion or referring it to a magistrate judge.
Lawyers like to gossip like anyone else, and the scuttlebutt at the meeting was that selection for the U.S. Attorney position is sort of far along, selection of the U.S. Marshal is very far along, and that U.S. District Judge nominee Mary McElroy may or may not see a confirmation vote this year. If the Republican majority believes the Senate will flip after the election, it will probably be less likely that she’ll see a vote because the Republican members will focus on confirming their own nominees (both of Rhode Island’s Senators are Democrats). RICourtBlog is very sad that current U.S. Marshal Jamie Hainsworth will be leaving. He is a great asset to the district.
Interim U.S. Attorney Steve Dambruch announced that the U.S. Attorney’s office is hiring for a new position in the civil division focused on enforcement. Securing an Assistant U.S. Attorney position is almost as hard as securing a judgeship, but like my dad used to say before soccer games, if you don’t shoot, you can’t score. You can see the job details and apply here by July 13.
The district court staff gave a virtual tour of the federal district court’s revamped website that is scheduled to launch later this year. While the site design may cause RICourtBlog additional gray hair in attempting to fix all the links in its blog postings (including this one) after the new website goes live, it is a welcome change because it will make the federal court more accessible. The new website will contain a searchable database that makes opinions easier to find for the public, and it will post the opinions in real time. As soon as a judicial opinion hits the docket in a specific case, it will appear magically on the court’s website. Take that PACER fees! The new website will also feature a revamped court schedule that will be more prominent than the current listings and make it easier to figure out which judge is hearing what and when.
Finally, the district court staff announced that there are currently 2,373 attorneys licensed to practice in Rhode Island’s federal district court. According to the American Bar Association, there are 4,167 attorneys in Rhode Island that have passed the State’s bar. This means approximately 55% of all attorneys licensed in Rhode Island are also admitted to practice in the federal court. The federal court entertains about 750 new cases each year, so it stands to reason that many of the 2,373 attorneys admitted to practice in the federal court don’t litigate there regularly. Maybe they’re adhering to the age-old advice not to make a federal case out of it.