Congress created the Federal Judicial Center in 1967 to give the courts their own capacity for research and training, at the urging of Chief Justice Earl Warren. Its board is chaired by the Chief Justice and includes the director of the Administrative Office and judges elected by the Judicial Conference. The board appoints the Center's director, traditionally a federal judge.
The Center trains new and experienced judges, court staff, and probation officers, from orientation programs for newly confirmed judges to courses on complex litigation, sentencing, and technology. It conducts empirical research on how the courts work, often at the request of the Judicial Conference's rules committees, such as studies of case management, class actions, and discovery. Its publications include the Manual for Complex Litigation and, with the National Academies, the Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, which judges use to evaluate expert testimony.
The Center's Federal Judicial History Office maintains the biographical directory of every federal judge since 1789 and resources on the history of the courts. It also runs international programs that share American judicial practice with foreign courts. Like the other judiciary agencies, it is funded through the judiciary's annual appropriation.
| Status | Active |
| Abbreviation | FJC |
| Part of | The Federal Judiciary |
| Led by | Director |
| Legal basis | Federal Judicial Center Act of 1967, 28 U.S.C. 620 |
| Official site | fjc.gov |
| Created | December 20, 1967 |
| Board chair | The Chief Justice |
| Roles | Education and research |
| Key publications | Manual for Complex Litigation, Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence |
| History resource | Biographical directory of federal judges since 1789 |
| Date | Created December 20, 1967 |
| Location | Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building, One Columbus Circle NE, Washington, D.C. |