STUDY OF INTERCIRCUIT CONFLICTS AND STRUCTURAL ALTERNATIVES FOR THE COURTS OF APPEALS BY FEDERAL JUDICIAL CENTER.

SEC. 302. STUDY OF INTERCIRCUIT CONFLICTS AND STRUCTURAL ALTERNATIVES FOR THE COURTS OF APPEALS BY FEDERAL JUDICIAL CENTER. (a) Intercircuit Conflicts.— The Board of the Federal Judicial Center is requested to conduct a study and submit to the Congress a report by January 1, 1992, on the number and frequency of conflicts among the judicial circuits in interpreting the law that remain unresolved because they are not heard by the Supreme Court. (b) Factors To Consider in Study.— In conducting such a study, the Center should consider, to the extent feasible, all relevant factors, such as whether the conflict— (1) imposes economic costs or other harm on persons engaging in interstate commerce; (2) encourages forum shopping among circuits; (3) creates unfairness to litigants in different circuits, as in allowing Federal benefits in one circuit that are denied in other circuits; or (4) encourages nonacquiescence by Federal agencies in the holdings of the courts of appeals for different circuits, but is unlikely to be resolved by the Supreme Court. (c) Structural Alternatives for the Courts of Appeals.— The Board of the Federal Judicial Center is requested to study the full range of structural alternatives for the Federal Courts of Appeals and submit a report on the study to the Congress and the Judicial Conference of the United States, no later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.