28 U.S.C. § 141 — Special sessions; places; notice

(a)(1) A district court may hold special sessions anywhere in its district that the business requires, on whatever notice the court orders. (2) Anything that could be handled at a regular session can also be handled at a special session. (b)(1) In an emergency — when the chief judge (or, if unavailable, the most senior active judge) or the circuit's judicial council finds that no location in the district is reasonably available — the court may hold a special session somewhere else in the United States, outside the district. (2) Almost any regular-session business can happen at that outside special session. The exception: a criminal trial can't be held outside the state where the crime happened, unless the defendant agrees to it. (3) Notwithstanding any other law, jurors for these special sessions can be summoned as follows: for civil cases, from anywhere in the district where the court normally does business or where it's holding the special session; for criminal trials, from wherever the crime happened, and — if the defendant agrees — also from any district where the court is conducting business under this section. (4) If a court issues an order for one of these out-of-district sessions, it must, through the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, notify the Senate and House Judiciary Committees of the order and the reasons for it, and, no later than 180 days after the order expires, send those committees a report on its impact — covering why the order was issued, how long it lasted, its effect on litigants, and its cost to the judiciary. The court must also give the U.S. Marshals Service reasonable notice before the special session starts. (5) When a court issues such an order, it must direct the U.S. marshal for the district where it's meeting to provide transportation and living expenses, to the same extent provided in sections 4282 and 4285 of title 18.