Civil Justice Reform Act

The Civil Justice Reform Act (CJRA) is a U.S. federal law that was enacted in 1990. Federal Judges in the United States enjoy lifetime tenure, and, although each district judge is marginally supervised by a chief judge, there was little national oversight of each judge's case management practices. Congress enacted CJRA in response to complaints of significant delays in the resolution of civil litigation in the federal courts; the CJRA was designed to encourage the speedy resolution of civil matters (both cases and motions) by requiring the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts to prepare and publish a semi-annual report showing, by U.S. district judge and magistrate judge, all motions pending more than six months, all bench trials submitted more than six months, all bankruptcy appeals pending more than six months, all Social Security appeal cases pending more than six months, and all civil cases pending more than three years.