18 U.S.C. § 3174 — Judicial emergency and implementation

(a) If a district court cannot meet the time limits in section 3161(c) because of its court calendars, the chief judge^* may apply to the circuit judicial council for a suspension under subsection (b), but only after seeking the planning group’s recommendations and only if existing resources are being used efficiently. The council must evaluate the district’s abilities and the availability of visiting judges from inside and outside the circuit. It must make any recommendations it considers appropriate to reduce congestion caused by insufficient resources.

(b) If the council finds that no reasonable remedy for the congestion is available, it may, on the district chief judge’s application, suspend the section 3161(c) limits in that district for up to one year. The suspension applies to trials of cases whose indictments or informations are filed during that one-year period. During the suspension, the arrest-to-indictment limits in section 3161(b) may not be reduced, and the sanctions in section 3162 may not be suspended. The indictment-to-trial limits may not be increased beyond 180 days. This section does not affect the trial deadlines for detained people held only because they are awaiting trial.

(c)(1) Before July 1, 1980, a district chief judge who, with the planning group’s agreement, concluded that the district was ready to implement all of section 3162 could apply to the circuit judicial council to implement it. The application had to show the district’s compliance with the section 3161(b) and (c) time limits during the preceding 12 calendar months. It also had to include a proposed implementation order and schedule, including the effective date, the effect on the district’s practices and procedures, and adequate notice to all interested parties.

(c)(2) After reviewing the application, the council had to either issue an order implementing all of section 3162 in the applying district or return the application with an explanation of why it refused to issue the order.

(d)(1) A circuit council that approved an application under subsection (a) or (c) had to report the approval within 10 days to the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. The report had to include the application, a sufficiently detailed written explanation of the reasons for approval, and, for an application under subsection (a), a proposal for reducing congestion in the district.

(d)(2) Within 10 days after receiving the report, the Director had to send it to Congress and the Judicial Conference of the United States. Without an Act of Congress consenting to it, the council could not grant a district a suspension during the six months after an earlier suspension ended. This restriction did not apply to a district in which the earlier suspension was still in effect when the Speedy Trial Act Amendments Act of 1979 was enacted.

(e) If the district chief judge concluded that a suspension was urgently needed, the judge could order the limits suspended for up to 30 days. Within 10 days after entering that order, the judge had to apply to the circuit council for a suspension under subsection (a).