SLIDE ONE

Thank you for inviting me to speak to you today. This is an area of intense interest, and I have spoken before several audiences of district court and magistrate judges around the country. A few of you have probably heard me before, but I hope I always have some new information and fresh insights in this ever-changing area of the law.

As always, though, I must start with some disclaimers and caveats. First, the opinions I express today are entirely my own. Although I am on the staff of the Federal Judicial Center, nothing that I say today or show you on slides necessarily represents the opinions of the Federal Judicial Center, the Judicial Conference of the United States, or any other agency of the United States Courts.

Second, although I try to keep the slides as current as possible, this presentation is evolving constantly, and the slides in your printed materials will not match what I show you today.