Federal Courts Improvement Act of 1996

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Amendments Title II: Judicial Process Improvements Title III: Judiciary Personnel Administration, Benefits, and Protections Title IV: Judicial Financial Administration Title V: Federal Courts Study Committee Recommendations Title VI: Miscellaneous Federal Courts Improvement Act of 1996 - Title I: Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Amendments - Amends the Federal criminal code to authorize probation and pretrial services officers, if approved by the district court, to carry firearms under such rules as the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts may prescribe. (Sec. 102) Amends the Federal judicial code to make the Federal Tort Claims Act inapplicable to certain claims arising from malpractice or negligence of a Federal Public Defender organization in furnishing representational services. Title II: Judicial Process Improvements - Amends the Federal judicial code to expand the duties of a magistrate on an emergency assignment. (Sec. 202) Authorizes: (1) only a person charged with a misdemeanor that is not a petty offense to elect to be tried before a judge of the district court for the district in which the offense was committed; and (2) the magistrate judge, in a petty offense case involving a juvenile, to exercise powers granted to the district court. Prohibits a magistrate judge from proceed…

Congressional Research Service · 1996-06-19