On December 31, 2009, US Chief Justice John Roberts issued an unusually brief year-end report on the federal judiciary in his capacity as head of the Judicial Conference of the United States, declining to address judiciary needs as done in previous years. On a single page, the 2009 report said the federal courts were "operating soundly." In a four-page statistical appendix Roberts noted several significant trends, including a six percent decline in appeals filed to the Supreme Court and courts of appeals, a 21 percent increase in immigration filings, and a three and eight percent increase in civil and criminal case filings, respectively.



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