Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., apparently mindful of recent criticisms of the federal courts, on Friday said that financial disclosure, workplace harassment and patent case assignments will  receive "focused attention" by the judiciary's policymaking body in the coming months.

Roberts, in his 2021 year-end report on the federal judiciary, wrote that those three areas were flagged by Congress and the press over the past year. The Judicial Conference of the United States, which celebrates its centennial this year, is "up to the task of addressing the three topics I have highlighted, as well as the many other issues on its agenda," he said.