Federal Judicial Center

The Federal Judicial Center is the education and research agency of the United States federal courts. It was established by an Act of Congress (28 U.S.C. §§ 620–629) in 1967, at the recommendation of the Judicial Conference of the United States.

The main areas of responsibility for the Center include:

• conducting and promoting orientation and continuing education and training for federal judges, court employees, and others;
• developing recommendations about the operation and study of the federal courts; and
• conducting and promoting research on federal judicial procedures, court operations, and history.

By statute, the Chief Justice of the United States is ex officio chair of the Center's board, which also includes the director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts and seven judges elected by the Judicial Conference. The Board appoints the Center's director and deputy director; the director appoints the Center's staff. Since its founding in 1967, the Center has had ten directors. Judge Jeremy Fogel became director in 2011. He was appointed U.S. district judge for the Northern District of California in 1998 but has been resident in Washington, D.C., since becoming director. The deputy director is John S. Cooke.