Legislation re Federal Courts (Miscellaneous), 1977-1978, 1981, 1988-1991
Scope and Contents
These papers document Smith’s service on the U.S. Court of Claims, his appointment to the court, court administration, articles and speeches, and the federal court re-organization of the late 1970s that concluded with the Federal Courts Improvement Act of 1979, and the creation of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
The collection reflects the administrative process that took place "to restructure a portion of the intermediate appellate tier." Judge Smith was appointed Judge of the Court of Claims in 1979. There were too many appeals and very few judges, so it was necessaryy to allow the reorganization. In 1978-1979, Daniel J. Meador, Assistant Attorney General, sent a proposal for restructuring the court system. This set of papers, called the Meador Report, began the process that concluded with the Federal Courts Improvement Act of 1979 and launched the necessary legislation to establish the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. There are proposals, commentaries, discussions, hearings, statements, and memoranda between judges. This collection can be an excellent source of information on how the courts work internally.
Dates
- Creation: Majority of material found in 1977-1978, 1981, 1988-1991
Creator
- From the Collection: Smith, Edward S., 1919-2001 (Person)
Language of Materials
English
Extent
From the Collection: 3.75 Cubic Feet (9 archival boxes)
Repository Details
Part of the Arthur J. Morris Law Library Special Collections Repository
Arthur J. Morris Law Library
580 Massie Road
University of Virginia
Charlottesville Virginia 22903 United States
archives@law.virginia.edu