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1 tion at the same rates applicable to agencies of the Federal

2 Government.

3 (e) The Institute and its officers and employees shall be

4 subject to the provisions of section 552 of title 5, United

5 States Code, relating to freedom of information.

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GRANTS AND CONTRACTS

SEC. 7. (a) The Institute is authorized to award grants 8 and enter into cooperative agreements or contracts, in a

9 manner consistent with subsection (b), in order to—

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(1) conduct research, demonstrations, or special

projects pertaining to the purposes described in this Act, and provide technical assistance and training in

support of tests, demonstrations, and special projects; (2) serve as a clearinghouse and information center, where not otherwise adequately provided, for the preparation, publication, and dissemination of information regarding State judicial systems;

(3) participate in joint projects with other agencies, including the Federal Judicial Center, with re

spect to the purposes of this Act;

(4) evaluate, when appropriate, the programs and projects carried out under this Act to determine their

impact upon the quality of criminal, civil, and juvenile

justice and the extent to which they have met or failed

to meet the purposes and policies of this Act;

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(5) encourage and assist in the furtherance of judi

cial education;

(6) encourage, assist, and serve in a consulting capacity to State and local justice system agencies in the development, maintenance, and coordination of

criminal, civil, and juvenile justice programs and services; and b

(7) be responsible for the certification of national programs that are intended to aid and improve State

judicial systems.

11(b) The Institute is empowered to award grants and

12 enter into cooperative agreements or contracts as follows: (1) The Institute shall give priority to grants, co

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operative agreements, or contracts with

(A) State and local courts and their agencies,

(B) national nonprofit organizations controlled by, operating in conjunction with, and serving the judicial branches of State governments; and

(C) national nonprofit organizations for the education and training of judges and support personnel of the judicial branch of State govern

ments.

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(2) The Institute may, if the objective can better

be served thereby, award grants or enter into coopera

tive agreements or contracts with

(A) other nonprofit organizations with exper

tise in judicial administration;

(B) institutions of higher education;

(C) individuals, partnerships, firms, or corpo

rations; and

(D) private agencies with expertise in judicial administration.

(3) Upon application by an appropriate Federal, State or local agency or institution and if the arrange

ments to be made by such agency or institution will

provide services which could not be provided adequately through nongovernmental arrangements, the Institute may award a grant or enter into a cooperative agreement or contract with a unit of Federal, State, or local government other than a court.

(4) Each application for funding by a State or local court shall be approved by the State's supreme

court, or its designated agency or council, which shall receive, administer, and be accountable for all funds awarded by the Institute to such courts.

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(c) Funds available pursuant to grants, cooperative

2 agreements, or contracts awarded under this section may be

3 used

(1) to assist State and local court systems in establishing appropriate procedures for the selection and removal of judges and other court personnel and in determining appropriate levels of compensation;

(2) to support education and training programs for judges and other court personnel, for the performance of their general duties and for specialized functions, and to support national and regional conferences and seminars for the dissemination of information on new developments and innovative techniques;

(3) to conduct research on alternative means for using nonjudicial personnel in court decisionmaking activities, to implement demonstration programs to test innovative approaches, and to conduct evaluations of their effectiveness;

(4) to assist State and local courts in meeting requirements of Federal law applicable to recipients of Federal funds;

(5) to support studies of the appropriateness and efficacy of court organizations and financing structures in particular States, and to enable States to implement

plans for improved court organization and finance;

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(6) to support State court planning and budgeting
staffs and to provide technical assistance in resource

allocation and service forecasting techniques;

(7) to support studies of the adequacy of court
management systems in State and local courts and to
implement and evaluate innovative responses to prob-
lems of record management, data processing, court
personnel management, reporting and transcription of
court proceedings, and juror utilization and manage-
ment;

(8) to collect and compile statistical data and
other information on the work of the courts and on the

work of other agencies which relate to and effect the
work of courts;

(9) to conduct studies of the causes of trial and
appellate court delay in resolving cases, and to estab-
lish and evaluate experimental programs for reducing
case processing time;

(10) to develop and test methods for measuring
the performance of judges and courts and to conduct
experiments in the use of such measures to improve
their functioning;

(11) to support studies of court rules and proce-
dures, discovery devices, and evidentiary standards, to
identify problems with their operation, to devise alter-