Stone, In re
| Decision Date | 12 March 1993 |
| Docket Number | 92-9004,92-1462,93-1032,92-1625,93-1094 and 93-1192,92-1592,92-1977,92-1573,92-1909,Nos. 92-1406,92-9065,s. 92-1406 |
| Citation | 986 F.2d 898 |
| Parties | In re M.P.W. STONE, Petitioner. In re INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE and Sonja Roundtree, Petitioners. In re UNITED STATES of America, Petitioner. (Nine cases) In re GOVERNMENT NATIONAL MORTGAGE ASSOCIATION and United States of America, Petitioners. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit |
John G. Roberts, Jr., Deputy Sol. Gen., Robert V. Zener, Appellate Litigation Counsel, U.S. Dept. of Justice, Washington, DC, for appellant in No. 92-1406.
Yona Rozen, Gillespie, Rozen & Tanner, Dallas, TX, Bill F. Bogle, Harris, Finley & Bogle, P.C., Fort Worth, TX, for Mary F. Strackbein.
John G. Roberts, Jr., Deputy Sol. Gen., Gary R. Allen, Chief, Appellate Section, Tax Div., Paula K. Speck, U.S. Dept. of Justice, Washington, DC, for petitioners in No. 92-1462.
Al G. Frost, Jr., Philip R. Bishop, Daniel L. Tatum, Bishop, Payne, Williams & Werley, David F. Chappell, JoAnn S. Wright, Chappell & Handy, Ft. Worth, TX, Yona Rozen, Dallas, TX, for respondents in Nos. 92-1462 and 92-1592.
Bill F. Bogle, Harris, Finley & Bogle, Ft. Worth, TX, for U.S. District Court-NTX.
John G. Roberts, Jr., Dep. Sol. Gen., Robert V. Zener, Stuart M. Gerson, Asst. Atty. Gen., Appellate Litigation Counsel, Civ.Div., U.S. Dept. of Justice, Washington, DC, for appellant in Nos. 92-1573 and 92-1625.
Richard Hill, Bedford, TX, Richard H. Gasperini, Wright, Robinson, McCammon, Osthimer & Tatum, Richmond, VA, Joel J. Steed, Dallas, TX, Bill F. Bogle, Harris, Finley & Bogle, Ft. Worth, TX, for appellee in No. 92-1573.
John G. Roberts, Jr., Deputy Sol. Gen., Gary R. Allen, Chief, Michael L. Paup, Paula K. Speck, Attys., James A. Burton, Acting Asst. Atty. Gen., Tax Div., Dept. of Justice, Washington, DC, for appellant in No. 92-1592.
William A. Roberts, Patricia M. King, Meadows, Owens, Collier, Reed & Coggins Dallas, TX, Richard Kerbs, Burleson, TX, for appellee in No. 92-1592.
Thomas R. Jackson, Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue, Dallas, TX, for Aetna Life Ins. Co.
Bill F. Bogle, Harris, Finley & Bogle, P.C., Fort Worth, TX, for Judge McBryde in No. 92-1625.
John G. Roberts, Jr., Gary R. Allen, Paula K. Speck, James A. Bruton, Acting Asst. Atty. Gen., Tax Div., Dept. of Justice, Chief, Appellate Section, Washington, DC, for appellant in No. 92-1909.
Bill F. Bogle, R. Gordon Appleman, Thompson & Knight, Fort Worth, TX, for Judge McBryde in Nos. 92-1909 and 93-1032.
Gary R. Allen, Paula K. Speck, Asst. Attys. Gen., James A. Bruton, Acting Asst. Atty. Gen., Tax Div., Dept. of Justice, Washington, DC, for appellant in Nos. 92-1977 and 93-1094.
Bill F. Bogle, Rick K. Disney, Douglas, Kressler & Wuester, P.C., Fort Worth, TX, Lorene Gates, Columbus, TX, for appellees in No. 92-1977.
Robert V. Zener, Henry D. Gabriel, Stuart M. Gerson, Asst. Attys. Gen., Dept. of Justice, Civ. Div., Torts Branch, Barbara B. O'Malley, Sp. Litigation Counsel, Washington, DC, for appellant in No. 92-9004.
J. Stephen Walker, Walker, Suriano & Assoc., Chicago, IL, John H. Martin, Thompson & Knight, Dallas, TX, Harold D. Monk, Bedford, TX, Bill F. Bogle, Harris, Finley & Bogle, Ft. Worth, TX, for appellees in No. 92-9004.
Henry D. Gabriel, Appellate Staff, Civ. Div., Stuart M. Gerson, Robert V. Zener, Asst. Attys. Gen., Appellate Litigation Counsel, U.S. Dept. of Justice, Washington, DC, for appellant in Nos. 92-9065 and 93-1192.
Bill F. Bogle, Harris, Finley & Bogle, Wayne C. Watson, Fort Worth, TX, for appellee in No. 92-9065.
Gary R. Allen, Chief, Paula K. Speck, Appellate Section, Tax Div., Dept. of Justice, Washington, DC, for appellant in No. 93-1032.
Bill F. Bogle, Harris, Finley & Bogle, R. Gordon Appleman, Thompson & Knight, Ft. Worth, TX, for appellee in No. 93-1094.
Bill F. Bogle, Michael Logan, Fort Worth, TX, for appellee in No. 93-1192.
Petitions for Writs of Mandamus to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
Before JOLLY, DAVIS, and SMITH, Circuit Judges.
In these petitions seeking writs of mandamus, we decide whether a federal district judge has the power, by a standing order, to direct the federal government to send a representative with full settlement authority to settlement conferences and, if so, whether he abused his discretion by so doing in these routine civil lawsuits involving the United States. In addition to requiring counsel to attend these conferences, the court also requires the attendance of a designated representative of each party with full authority to settle the case; that representative must appear in person--availability by telephone is not sufficient. We conclude that although the district judge possesses the ultimate power to require the attendance at issue, it is a power to be very sparingly used, and here the district judge, albeit with the best of intentions, has abused his discretion.
In each of the petitions before us, the federal government objects to this order as applied to it. By statute, the Attorney General of the United States has the power to conduct all litigation on behalf of the United States, its agencies, and its officers, unless otherwise provided by law. 28 U.S.C. § 519 (1988). Pursuant to authority given by 28 U.S.C. § 510 (1988), the Attorney General has developed a set of regulations delegating settlement authority to various officials. See 28 C.F.R. §§ 0.160- 0.172 (1991); see also directives reprinted at 28 C.F.R. pt. 0, subpt. Y app. (1991).
As we read these regulations, United States Attorneys often will be able to settle a case without approval from a higher authority, as the regulations provide that each local United States Attorney has settlement authority up to $500,000. If the client agency disagrees with the United States Attorney over the terms of the settlement, however, an Assistant Attorney General must approve the settlement. 28 C.F.R. § 0.168(a). In addition, settlements in various classes of important cases always must be approved by the Deputy Attorney General or one of the Assistant Attorneys General. See 28 C.F.R. §§ 0.160, 0.161. 1
Although it is historically reserved for "extraordinary" cases, we have used the writ of mandamus as a "one-time-only device to 'settle new and important problems' that might have otherwise evaded expeditious review." In re Equal Employment Opportunity Comm'n, 709 F.2d 392, 394 (5th Cir.1983) (quoting Schlagenhauf v. Holder, 379 U.S. 104, 85 S.Ct. 234, 13 L.Ed.2d 152 (1964)). As district courts continue to become more heavily involved in the pretrial process, appellate courts may be asked more often to issue writs of mandamus to protect the asserted rights of litigants. Pretrial orders such as the ones before us raise important issues but are ill-suited for review after final judgment.
Because these cases present an important, undecided issue involving the efficient administration of justice, we may appropriately invoke mandamus review. See id. In fact, the district judge who issued the instant directives has acknowledged, in his responses to the petitions, that the issue is appropriate for review on petitions for writs of mandamus. We will grant the writ only "when there is 'usurpation of judicial power' or a clear abuse of discretion." Id. at 395 (quoting Schlagenhauf, 379 U.S. at 110, 85 S.Ct. at 238). The government has the burden of establishing its right to issuance of the writ. Id.
The district court claims inherent power to issue the order. As explained helpfully in Eash v. Riggins Trucking, 757 F.2d 557, 562-64 (3d Cir.1985) (en banc), there are three general categories of inherent powers.
The first category delineates powers that are "so fundamental to the essence of a court as a constitutional tribunal that to divest the court of absolute command within this sphere is really to render practically meaningless the terms 'court' and 'judicial power.' " Id. at 562. In other words, once Congress has created the court, article III of the Constitution vests the courts with certain implied powers. See Anderson v. Dunn, 19 U.S. (6 Wheat.) 204, 227, 5 L.Ed. 242 (1821). Within the scope of these powers, the other branches of government may not interfere; any legislation purporting to regulate these inherent powers would be invalid as an unconstitutional violation of the doctrine of separation of powers. 2
Fortunately, history provides few examples of legislative attempts to interfere with the core inherent powers of the judicial branch. But as a result, prior jurisprudence has not identified exactly which inherent powers fall into this category, and we will not attempt to do so here. At least one decision of the Supreme Court appears to have identified one such power. See United States v. Klein, 80 U.S. (13 Wall.) 128, 146-47, 20 L.Ed. 519 (1872). Although the meaning of the opinion has been subject to some debate, Klein seems to hold that Congress may not interfere with a court's inherent power to decide cases by dictating the result in a particular case. 80 U.S. at 146-47.
The second category of inherent powers encompasses those "necessary to the exercise of all others." Roadway Express v. Piper, 447 U.S. 752, 764, 100 S.Ct. 2455, 2463, 65 L.Ed.2d 488 (1980) (quoting United States v. Hudson, 11 U.S. (7 Cranch) 32, 34, 3 L.Ed. 259 (1812)). For the most part, these powers are those deemed necessary to protect the efficient and orderly administration of justice and those necessary to command respect for the court's orders, judgments, procedures, and authority. Id. Like the first category of inherent powers, this category also stems from article III, once Congress creates the court. Michaelson, 266 U.S. at 65-66, 45 S.Ct. at 19-20. Congress may interfere with this category of inherent power within "limits not precisely defined," so long as it does not abrogate or render the specific power inoperative. Id.
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American Civil Liberties Union v. Holder
...be able to make determinations based on specific facts on a case-by-case basis. Plaintiffs rely on a Fifth Circuit case, In re Stone, 986 F.2d 898, 902 (5th Cir.1993), which observed in dicta that "Congress may not interfere with a court's inherent power to decide cases by dictating the res......
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American Civil Liberties Union v. Holder
...The inherent power of the lower federal courts falls into three main categories, none of which are absolute. See, e.g., In re Stone, 986 F.2d 898, 901–02 (5th Cir.1993); Eash v. Riggins Trucking Inc., 757 F.2d 557, 562–64 (3d Cir.1985) (en banc); United States v. Brainer, 691 F.2d 691, 695–......
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...their degree of necessity, and, concomitantly, the extent to which they may be subject to congressional limitation, see In re Stone, 986 F.2d 898, 901-03 (5th Cir.1993); Eash, 757 F.2d at 562-63, the Supreme Court has expressly declined to adopt this taxonomy, see Chambers, 501 U.S. at 48 n......
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Table of Cases
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