Summary: The process used by the federal judiciary to estimate its long-range space needs is plagued by problems that call into question the accuracy of the judiciary's projections. GAO found that not all judicial districts were treated equally, existing space plus unmet needs for authorized staff was accepted as a baseline without questioning its appropriateness given a district's current caseload, and projection methods were not statistically sound and involved a high level of subjectivity. Overall, the judiciary's projections were 16-percent higher than GAO's estimates. The judiciary's projections involved an overestimate of about $112 million annually, or $1.1 billion during a 10-year period. GAO recognizes the difficulty of projecting future space needs with precision. By changing its process, however, the judiciary could obtain more-reliable estimates of future space needs and provide a better basis for decisionmaking. GAO summarized this report in testimony before Congress; see: Federal Judiciary Space: Long-Range Planning Process Needs Revision, by Charles I. Patton, Associate Director for Federal Management Issues, before the Subcommittee on Public Buildings and Grounds, House Committee on Public Works and Transportation. GAO/T-GGD-94-18, Oct. 7, 1993 (six pages).
