STATEMENT OF THE MANAGERS ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE

The managers on the part of the House at the conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the amendments of the Senate to the bill (S. 1647) to eliminate premium payments in the purchase of Government royalty oil under existing contracts entered into pursuant to the act of July 13, 1946 (60 Stat. 533), submit the following statement in explanation of the effect of the action agreed upon and recommended in the accompanying conference report as to each of such amendments, namely:

(1) The new wording of section 3 incorporates the same intent and purpose of section 3 of the bill as passed by the House, the only differences being refinements in language which more clearly define the function of the Secretary of Agriculture with respect to the issuing of leases or permits under the authority of the act and specify the disposition of receipts derived from said leases or permits.

1st Session

No. 1278

PROVIDING FOR THE FURNISHING OF QUARTERS AT BRUNSWICK, GA., FOR THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA

AUGUST 18, 1949.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. LANE, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany H. R. 3793)

The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 3793), to provide for the furnishing of quarters at Brunswick, Ga., for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of this bill is to waive the limitation in section 142 of title 28, United States Code, insofar as it applies to the furnishing of quarters at Brunswick, Ga., for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia.

GENERAL INFORMATION

The

Section 90 (c) (5) of title 28 of the United States Code establishes the Brunswick division of the southern district of Georgia and provides that court for that division shall be held at Brunswick. authorization for holding a term of court at Brunswick, Ga., was the law enacted August 21, 1937 (50 Stat. 739), which provided that no cost shall be incurred by the Government in furnishing quarters for holding court at Brunswick. Under the revised title 28 the specific provision was included in section 142 which provides:

are available, or suitable quarters and accommodations are furnished without Court shall be held only at places where Federal quarters and accommodations

cost to the United States.

Since that time, the Federal district court has utilized the local facilities made available at no cost to the Government.

However, a recens constitutional change in the State court system of Georgia has necessitated the almost daily use by the city court of Glynn County of the facilities in the county building, which were formerly available to the United States District Court. This has made it extremely difficult for the Federal court to function properly. Part of one floor in a small two-story Federal building in Brunswick has been made available to the district judge by the Post Office Department in order to provide accommodations for chamber hearings and some of the judge's personal staff. There are no facilities in the present Federal building for a courtroom or clerk's office, and it is extremely difficult to hold jury trials.

Brunswick is the official station at the present time of Federal Judge Scarlett which makes further demands upon the limitation and inadequate facilities available to the Federal judiciary at Brunswick.

It is presently contemplated that at a nominal expense to the Government, it would be possible to rearrange, by the use of partitions, some of the space on the second floor of the post-office building, so as to provide limited facilities whereby the Federal district court at Brunswick would be able to function in accordance with its purpose and duty.

However, before that plan may be carried into effect, it has been deemed necessary to waive the provisions of section 142 insofar as the court at Brunswick is concerned. Such an exemption is predicated upon the opinion of the Comptroller General to the Postmaster General that the expenditure of even a nominal sum of money for such a purpose would contravene the existing law, and that the restrictions should be removed before such expenditure. Moreover, the Public Buildings Administration has made a similar ruling as to the present provisions of section 142 of title 28.

It is the purpose of this bill, H. R. 3793, to provide that exemption and to make possible the provisions of such quarters.

Attached hereto and made a part of this report is a letter dated June 2, 1949, from the Administrative Office of the United States Courts.

ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE

UNITED STATES COURTS, Washington, D. C., June 2, 1949.

Hon. EMANUEL CELLER,

Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,

House of Representatives, Washington, D. C.

DEAR MR. CELLER: I have your request of May 16, 1949, for an expression of views regarding H. R. 3793, Eighty-first Congress, to provide for the furnishing of quarters at Brunswick, Ga., for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia.

The bill states that the "limitations and restrictions" of United States Code, title 28, section 142, "shall be waived insofar as pertains to holding court for the Brunswick division." Section 142 of title 28, to which the bill refers, provides that "Court shall be held only at places where Federal quarters and accommodations are available or suitable quarters and accommodations are furnished without cost to the United States." United States Code, title 28, section 90 (c) (5), which establishes the area of the Brunswick division of the southern district of Georgia, provides that court for that division shall be held at Brunswick and it omits the provision of the law in force prior to the enactment at the last Congress of revised title 28, that "No cost shall be incurred by the Government in furnishing quarters for holding court at Brunswick." The notes of the reviser, explanatory of section 90 of revised title 28, state that these words "were omitted H. Rept. 1278

as covered by section 142 of this title" and the note to section 142 states that the section was included in order to permit the omission of such special provisions.

Under the prior law, the Comptroller General ruled in an opinion to the Postmaster General, dated June 18, 1946, that the payment of costs for furnishing courtroom equipment, furniture, or for altering the building for courtroom purposes would contravene the then existing statute, and hence was prohibited until the restrictions should be removed. I am advised that it is the view of the Public Buildings Administration that section 142 of revised title 28 carries on the former limitation of section 150 of previous title 28, although the law upon which that section is based (act of August 21, 1937, 50 Stat. 759) is listed in the schedule of repeal in section 39 of the law which enacted the revision. If this construction of the present law is correct, legislation is necessary to remove the restriction before the Public Buildings Administration can take steps to provide Federal quarters to accommodate the needs of the district court in Brunswick. It is the purpose of H. R. 3793 to make possible the provision of such quarters.

Under the present law there are five divisions of the southern district of Georgia (U. S. C., title 28 sec. 90 (c)): The Augusta division, where court is required to be held at Augusta, the Dublin division, where court is required to be held at Dublin, the Savannah division, where court is required to be held at Savannah, the Waycross division, where court is required to be held at Waycross, and the Brunswick division, where court is required to be held at Brunswick. In each of the first four divisions named there is a courtroom for the use of the district court in the Federal building, and there are quarters for some of the assisting personnel of the judge, including the clerk of the court who maintains a branch office in each of those divisions. But there is no Federal courtroom at Brunswick and there is no place for the office of the clerk. The clerk maintains his Brunswick office in a room in the county courthouse

Formerly, when the district court was held in Brunswick, the courtroom in the county building was used for that purpose. But since the appointment of Judge Frank M. Scarlett, who succeeded Hon. Archibald B. Lovett as district judge on February 20, 1946. constitutional changes in the State court system of Georgia have made necessary the almost daily use by the city court of Glynn County of the facilities in the county building, formerly available to the United States district court. And this has made it extremely difficult for Judge Scarlett to hold the necessary sessions of the district court there. Part of one floor in the small two-story Federal building at Brunswick has been made available to Judge Scarlett by the Post Office Department in order to provide accommodations for chamber hearings and some of his personal staff, but there are no facilities in the present Federal building for a courtroom. a clerk's office, or the conduct of large trials or trials involving juries

In view of the statutory requirement that court be held at Brunswick (U. S. C., title 28, sec. 90 (c) (5)), and of the provision in United States Code, title 28, section 456, which requires that the official station of each district judge shall be that place nearest his residence at which a district court is regularly held, it seems clear that adequate facilities for the court should be made available at Brunswick. Judge Scarlett at the time of his appointment as district judge resided at Brunswick, and he has continued to live there. This. therefore, under the statute is his official station

For the proper functioning of the United States District Court of Brunswick, the customary building facilities, a suitable courtroom and quarters for court officials are requisite. The State and county authorities no longer have these facilities to provide, and it cannot be expected that they will undertake new construction for that purpose. The proposed legislation is designed to eliminate the legal restriction which appears to prevent the Federal Government from procuring them. It would seem to be essential for the efficient use of Brunswick as the official headquarters of the judge that legislation of this character should be enacted.

I must say that even if the proposed bill should become law, the amount of space that could be made available for court purposes in the present Federal building at Brunswick appears to be very limited. Either an addition to the present building or the erection of a new building will be necessary in order to provide adequate accommodations for the court.

Respectfully submitted.

H. Rept. 1278

HENRY P. CHANDLER.

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