THE JUDICIAL BUSINESS OF THE COURT OF APPEALS FOR The Fifth Judicial Circuit consists of the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, and the Canal Zone. According to the 1950 census, the circuit had a total population of 21,851,000 while in 1959 the estimated population, not including the Canal Zone, was 26,656,000, an increase of 22 percent over 1950. Since World War II the business of the circuit has increased very greatly and the number of cases filed has almost doubled since 1946 when there were six judges on the court. The number was increased to seven by the Act of February 10, 1954, but the caseload per judge today is even higher than it was at that time. In the fiscal year 1959, 555 cases were filed, 546 were terminated, and the number pending increased to 252. Four hundred and forty-nine cases were terminated after hearing or submission which amounted to 64 cases per judge. During the past five years, the caseload per judge has been higher than in any other circuit except the Second and has averaged almost 50 percent above the national average of cases commenced per circuit judge. Although the court has been very hard pressed, nevertheless it has kept well up with its work. The number of pending cases now is the same as it was ten years ago and the median time interval from docketing to final disposition of cases heard and submitted was only 6.5 months in compari the cases commenced in this court during the fiscal year 1959 is shown by the following figures: Source of Appeals and Original Proceedings Commenced During the first half of the fiscal year 1960, i.e. in the six-month period from July 1 to December 31, 1959, 298 cases were commenced compared with 270 in the same period last year, an increase of 10 percent. Pending cases on December 31 were 334 compared with 309 last year. It is evident that this court is laboring under a very heavy caseload. On the recommendation of the circuit council of the Fifth Circuit, the Judicial Conference of the United States two years ago recommended an additional judgeship for this court and that recommendation has been repeated at subsequent sessions. On February 22, 1960 the Committee on Court Administration voted to recommend to the Conference that its recommendation for additional judgeships for the court be increased to two, making a total of nine judges for the court. This recommendation will be considered by the Conference on March 10, 1960. The attached tables show the business of the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit during the last ten years, the cases commenced per judgeship in each of the courts of appeals during that period, and the median time from docketing to final disposition of cases heard or submitted in the Fifth Circuit and in all circuits during the same period. Respectfully submitted, March 1, 1960 Will Shafroth Chief, Division of Procedural |