Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., today announced the appointment of U.S. District Judge John D. Bates as the Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.  Judge Bates has been a federal judge since 2001, when he was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.  Judge Bates served on the U.S. Judicial Conference Committee on Court Administration and Case Management from 2005 to 2011.  In February 2006, Chief Justice Roberts appointed Judge Bates to serve as a judge on the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.  He served as presiding judge from May 2009 until the completion of his service on that court in February 2013.  Judge Bates will assume the duties as Director on July 1, 2013.  He will retain his commission as an active district judge while serving as Director.  Judge Bates succeeds Judge Thomas F. Hogan, who served nearly two years as the Director and is returning to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia as a senior judge.

           The Director of the Administrative Office is the chief administrative officer of the federal courts.  He serves under the direction of the Judicial Conference of the United States, the principal policy-making body for the federal court system.  The Chief Justice is the presiding officer of the Conference, which is composed of the chief judges of the 13 courts of appeals, a district judge from each of the 12 geographic circuits, and a judge of the Court of International Trade.  The Chief Justice selects the Director.

            In announcing his selection, the Chief Justice noted, “I am pleased that Judge Bates is willing to take on this important responsibility and carry forward the work of his colleague Judge Hogan.  Judge Bates is not only a very talented and experienced judge, but a skilled administrator with broad managerial experience.  He brings wise judgment to sensitive issues.  I look forward to working closely with John on the many challenging issues facing the judiciary.”  The Chief Justice added, “I would also like to thank Judge Hogan for his exemplary service.  I am sure there will be an orderly transition from Judge Hogan to Judge Bates, who have been judicial colleagues for more than a decade.”

            Judge Bates will be responsible for the management of the Administrative Office, which has approximately 1,000 employees, and for providing administrative support to 2,335 judicial officers and more than 29,000 court employees.  Judge Bates will serve as liaison for the judicial branch in its relations with Congress, including working with congressional committees to secure the judiciary’s annual appropriation and executing the judiciary’s nearly seven billion dollar annual budget.

            In accepting this appointment, Judge Bates stated, “I thank the Chief Justice for this opportunity and look forward to working with him, the Judicial Conference, and the talented personnel of the Administrative Office.  While there are considerable challenges ahead, my task has been made easier through the exceptional efforts of my friend and predecessor, Judge Hogan.”

            Judge Bates graduated from Wesleyan University in 1968 and received a J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1976.  From 1968 to 1971, he served in the U.S. Army, including a tour in Vietnam.  Judge Bates served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia from 1980 to 1997, and was Chief of the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office from 1987 to 1995.  He served as Deputy Independent Counsel under Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr from 1995 to 1997.  In 1998, he joined the Washington law firm of Miller & Chevalier, where he was Chair of the Government Contracts/Litigation Department and a member of the Executive Committee until his appointment to the U.S. District Court.