28 U.S.C. § 481 — Automated case information

(a) The Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts must make sure each United States district court has the automated ability to quickly look up the status of any case in that court. (b)(1) To do this, the Director must set: what information must be recorded in the district courts' automated systems; and standard categories for judicial actions, so information about judicial actions is recorded the same way across the district court automated systems. (2) These standard categories must include a definition of what counts as a case dismissal, and standards for measuring how long a motion has been pending. (c) Each United States district court must record information following the standards set under subsection (b).