The virtues of judges in times of crisis

In this work I explore the institution of the federal district courts. I explore the idea of procedural due process in the trial court setting and the extent to which due process is realized in federal courts under current circumstances. The federal courts are facing what can best be described as a state of crisis: a period of considerable strain being placed on them in respect to the volume of civil cases filed for adjudication in the federal system. I argue that this development creates a crisis in terms of the system's capacity to adjudicate the large number of civil filings. This has created a situation in which trial judges are called upon to perform tasks that from a historical perspective can only be considered extraordinary.; I argue that the judicial performance of these tasks is deeply seated because they represent the result of greater usage of the federal courts, and the social and political conditions that give rise to greater use of the courts are deeply entrenched; moreover, alternative means of responding to high usage of the federal courts other than through the assumption of broader judicial powers either have been shown to be or are likely to prove to be unavailing. Hence the assumption of the new tasks by district judges is deeply rooted.; I then argue that this development creates a problem for the federal courts, as it risks seeing serious erosions in the degree of due process available to litigants as a result of judges having to perform tasks for which they may not be adequately trained or prepared. It follows that the task for moral and political philosophy is to attempt to ensure that the judicial performance of the new and broad powers does not erode the courts' ability to provide adequate due process by concentrating attention on the abilities of judges to operate successfully under current circumstances. In this respect I argue that it is possible to realize some appreciable gains in judicial performance by adopting a specific understanding of the judicial virtues and specific proposals for implementing a program of continuing judicial education.