A DC Observer

John Roberts, Chief Justice of the United States, issued a 2007 year-end report on the judiciary.

Unlike last year’s report, which focused solely on judicial pay, this year’s report is fairly standard.

The Chief Justice emphasized three points in the report. First, the system and process of the United States judiciary serves as a model for the rest of the world.

In addition, the Chief Justice urges the people of the United States to appreciate the quality of the United States Judicial branch of government.

Finally, the Chief Justice establishes goals for 2008:

• improve communications with the Executive and Legislative branches,
• ensure that federal judges maintain the highest standards of integrity, and
• seek salary increases for federal judges [Note: See my posts on this issue in the federal judiciary category in the right column.]

In the appendix to the report, the Chief Justice provides an explanation of the workload of the judiciary. I will focus on the Supreme Court’s workload.