Overburdening of High Court May Lead Judges to Ignore Its Rulings, Burger Says

Chief Justice Warren E. Burger warned Tuesday that an overburdened Supreme Court is unable to review all the lower court rulings it should--and that, as a result, some judges may simply ignore high court precedents, knowing there is very little chance that their rulings will be overturned.

Burger, addressing the annual convention of the American Newspaper Publishers Assn., called again for Congress to establish a new national judicial panel to ease the justices’ workload. At present, he said, the court is able to review only 0.5% of the 28,000 cases now decided annually by the nation’s federal courts of appeal.

Less Chance of Review

The proposed tribunal, to be composed of nine federal appellate judges, would review conflicting appellate rulings to assure that “all Americans are living under the same Constitution and laws,” the chief justice said. “Unless some relief is given, it is not unreasonable to think that there may be some judges in some courts who will exploit the reality that, since the chance of being reviewed by the Supreme Court is swiftly diminishing, they need not pay very much attention to what the Supreme Court decides,” he said.

“Some careful, responsible observers think this is already happening,” Burger said. He did not elaborate.

Burger’s call was perhaps the most urgent in his long campaign for creation of a new panel of judges to hear cases at the court’s request. It was the first time he has suggested that the justices are so burdened that lower courts may go off on their own, departing from high court rulings with little risk of being reversed.

The proposal is pending before Congress. Under the plan, the Supreme Court would select a panel to sit periodically for five years and decide up to 50 cases a year referred to it by the court. Its decisions would still be subject to review by the justices.

A new panel would create “no new bureaucracy” and “not call for one dime of new appropriations,” he said.

5,100 Cases on Docket

The chief justice noted that, in 1953, there were 1,463 cases on the high court docket--with 65 of them selected for formal review and signed opinions. In its 1983-84 term, there were 5,100 cases on the docket, with 151 signed opinions.

Although the number of federal judges has doubled since 1960, the size of the Supreme Court has remained at nine--and the justices have found themselves increasingly unable to review all the decisions they think are incorrect, Burger said.

It is the court’s duty to review any “significant deviations” from the law made by lower courts, Burger said. “To fail to do that invites increased litigation because of the lack of predictability--and ultimately could invite anarchy in the law,” he said.

Supports Life Tenure

Answering questions from his audience, the chief justice:

--Voiced his support for life tenure for judges as a means of ensuring judicial independence. Federal judges have such tenure, but many states, including California, still require judges to face voters periodically. “I wish every state in the country had life tenure for judges--or life tenure subject only to recall,” he said.

--Called on law schools to place more emphasis on mediation and arbitration as ways of settling legal disputes without going to trial.

--Reiterated his opposition to allowing television cameras in federal courtrooms--a practice permitted now in numerous state courts, including California’s. Burger observed that, in one Florida case, a televised segment of a criminal trial had lasted less than three minutes, focusing largely on the prosecution’s opening statement. “How in heaven’s name do you educate anyone by showing that tiny sliver of a trial?” Burger asked. “It can’t be done.”