Table of contents
Titles of individual Bench Comment issues published between 1981 and 1998
1981
No. 1: Making Explicit Findings When Balancing Probative Value Against Prejudicial Effect Before Admitting Proof of Prior Conviction of Witness Under Fed. R. Evid. 609(a) (March 23, 1981)
No. 2: Need for trial court to identify contempt proceeding as being civil contempt or criminal contempt (May 15, 1981)
No. 3: Excluding the Defendant, his counsel, the public or the press from any portion of the voir dire examination of prospective jurors (July 8, 1981)
No. 4: Procedures for Dealing with Communications from the Jury (August 24, 1981)
No. 5: Factors to be Considered in Balancing Probative Value Against Prejudicial Effect Before Admitting Proof of Prior Conviction of a Defendant-Witness under Fed. R. Evid. 609(a)(1) (September 28, 1981)
No. 6: Verbatim adoption of proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law (December 31, 1981)
1982
No. 1: Declaring Mistrial Over Objection of Defendant in Criminal Prosecution (January 27, 1982)
No. 2: Procedure to be Followed when Potentially Prejudicial Publicity Has Occurred During a Criminal Trial (April 23, 1982)
No. 3: The Jury is not to be Instructed on the Admissibility of Co-conspirator Statements (June 10, 1982)
No. 4: Instructing Defendant Prior to an Effective Waiver of Right to Counsel (September 24, 1982)
1983
No. 1: The Right to Jury Trial in Criminal Contempt Proceedings (May 3, 1983)
No. 2: The Quantum of Proof Required for the Admission of Coconspirator Statements (June 30, 1983)
No. 3: [There wasn't an issue number 3 in 1983]
No. 4: The Victim and Witness Protection Act of 1982 and Pleas of Guilty or Nolo Contendere: Duty of the Court to Advise that the Defendant May Be Ordered to Make RestitutioN (November 8, 1983)
1984
No. 1: Defendants May Not Waive Requirement of Unanimous Verdicts in Federal Criminal Trial (January 25, 1984)
No. 2: Recent Developments Regarding Standards and Procedures for Barring the Public from the Courtroom During a Criminal Trial (August 15, 1984)
No. 3: Disclosure of Presentence Reports to Third Parties (September 15, 1984)
1985
No. 1: Procedures for Dealing with Stipulations of Fact in Criminal Trials (April 15, 1985)
No. 2: The Bail-pending Appeal Provisions of the Crime Control Act of 1984 (July 15, 1985)
No. 3: What Does Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32(c)(3)(D) Require a Sentencing Judge to Do when a Defendant Challenges the Accuracy of the Presentence Report? (December 4, 1985)
1986
No. 1: The Timing of Pretrial Detention Motions and Hearings on Such Motions under the Bail Reform Act of 1984 (January 15, 1986)
No. 2: When Does Rule 12(e) Require a Judge to Rule on an Evidentiary Motion Before the Trial Begins? (January 30, 1986)
No. 3: Application and Effect of Rebuttable Presumptions Created by the Bail Reform Act of 1984 (April 1, 1986)
No. 4: Limitations on a Defendant's Right under Rule 43 to be Present at Every Stage of Trial (May 30, 1986)
1987
No. 1: Blanket Assertions of the Privilege Against Self-Incrimination (January 23, 1987)
No. 2: Considering a Motion by a Recalcitrant Grand Jury Witness Who Claims His or Her Civil Contempt Incarceration Should Be Terminated Because It Has Lost Its Coercive Effect (February 23, 1987)
No. 3: Instructing Deadlocked Juries--The Allen Charge in Federal Courts (August 12, 1987)
No. 4: Bourjaily v. United States: Admission of Co-Conspirator Statements under Federal Rule of Evidence 801(d)(2)(E) (October 23, 1987)
No. 5: Postindictment Restraining Orders under the Comprehensive Forfeiture Act (December 1, 1987)
1988
No. 1: Use of Oral Testimony in an Evidentiary Hearing on a Motion for Summary Judgment-- Fed. R. Civ. P. 43(e) (January 4, 1988)
No. 2 Expert Testimony on Insanity and Mental State under Revised Federal Rule of Evidence 704(b) April 13, 1988)
No. 3: Determining a Prima Facie Case under Batson v. Kentucky (June 16, 1988)
No. 4: Procedure under Batson v. Kentucky when Prima Facie Case of discrimination demonstrated (July 15, 1988)
1989
No. 1: Bifurcation of Criminal Forfeiture Proceedings: Is a Separate Evidentiary Hearing on Forfeiture Required? (March 6, 1989)
No. 2: Applicability of Batson to Civil Cases (July 12, 1989)
No. 3: Curbing Abuse by In Forma Pauperis Litigants (November 9, 1989)
1990
[No issues of Bench Comment were published in 1990]
1991
No. 1: Jury Requests to Have Transcripts of Testimony Read Back or Furnished (August 1991)
No. 2: What Constitutes "Just Cause" to Dismiss a Juror in a Criminal Trial after Deliberations Have Begun (October 1991)
No. 3: What District Courts Should Do When Defendants, at Guilty Plea Hearings, Acknowledge Having Recently Taken Narcotics or Medication (December 1991)
1992
No. 1: May a Court Summarily Find an Attorney in Criminal Contempt under Fed. R. Crim. P. 42(a) for Tardiness or Failure to Appear? (January 1992)
No. 2: What District Courts Should Do When Parties or Potential Jurors Refuse to Take an Oath or Affirmation Because of Religious Objections (February 1992)
No. 3: A District Court May Not Order a New Trial on the Basis of Jurors' Testimony About Factors That Influenced the Verdict (April 1992)
No. 4: A District Court Must Consider Less Severe Sanctions Before Dismissing a Case (June 1992)
No. 5: When Ruling on a Motion for Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict, May a District Court Exclude from Consideration Evidence that Was Erroneously Admitted? (August 1992)
No. 6: Defendants' Rights under the Speedy Trial Act are Not Waivable (October 1992)
No. 7: May a Magistrate Judge Conduct Voir Dire in a Civil Case over the Objection of a Party? (December 1992)
1993
No. 1: District Judges May Not Participate in Plea Bargain Discussions (March 1993)
No. 2: The "Deliberate Ignorance" Instruction Should be Given in Rare Situations Only (April 1993)
No. 3: What District Courts Should Do When the Government Breaches a Pretrial Agreement (May 1993)
No. 4: District Courts Should Hold an Evidentiary Hearing Before Enforcing a Disputed Settlement Agreement (June 1993)
No. 5: What District Courts Should Do When Counsel Make Improper Comments in Closing Argument (December 1993)
1994
No. 1: Hypothetical Questions That Assume Guilt are Generally Impermissible (January 1994)
No. 2: Proper Application of the Roviaro test may require district courts to conduct in camera hearings (May 1994)
1995
No. 1: Failure to Give a Defendant Adequate Advice Concerning the Direct Consequences of a Guilty Plea Violates Rule 11 (September 1995)
1996
[No issues of Bench Comment were published in 1996]
1997
No. 1: A Growing number of circuits find anonymous juries do not infringe defendants' constitutional rights when genuinely needed and properly used (January 1997)
No. 2: Exparte communications between judge and jury often violate defendants' Rule 43 right to be present at every stage of trial, but rarely constitute reversible error (February 1997)
1998
No. 1: Three circuits hold that, with defendant's consent, a magistrate judge has authority to conduct guilty plea proceedings in felony cases (February 1998) |