Administrative Office of the United States Courts (AO) Law & Legal Definition

Administrative Office of the United States Courts (AO) is an administrative agency of the United States federal court system established in 1939. The AO is the principal agency to support the federal judicial branch. The agency is a unique entity in government. Neither the Executive Branch nor the Legislative Branch has any one comparable organization that provides the broad range of services and functions that the Administrative Office does for the Judicial Branch.

The main functions of AO include:

collecting court statistics;

administering the federal courts' budget;

provides information to the federal courts; and

implements and executes judicial conference policies.

It also provides many other administrative and programmatic functions. The AO performs its function under the direction and supervision of the Judicial Conference of the U.S. The AO implements and executes Judicial Conference policies, as well as applicable federal statutes and regulations. The director of the AO is appointed by the Chief Justice of the United States.