U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Release No. 48667 / October 21, 2003

Report on Administrative Proceedings
for the Period April 1, 2003 through September 30, 2003

Rule 900 of the Commission's Rules of Practice (17 CFR 201.900) requires the Commission's Secretary to issue each October and April a status report on the Commission's administrative proceedings caseload.

The attached report identifies the number of matters pending before the administrative law judges and the Commission at the beginning of the six-month period; the number of matters instituted, filed, and disposed of during the period; and the number pending at the end of the period. For each category of decision, the report shows the median age of the matters at the time of decision and the number of matters decided within the guidelines in Rule 900 for the timely completion of adjudicatory proceedings. Finally, the report includes data from the previous two six-month periods.

Report on Administrative Proceedings
for the Period April 1, 2003 through September 30, 2003

Matters Before the Administrative Law Judges

	4/1/2003- 9/30/2003	10/1/2002- 3/31/2003	4/1/2002- 9/30/2002
Number pending at start of period	37	45	51
New matters added during period	40	34	31
Subtotal	77	79	82
Dispositions:
Initial Decisions	10 (12)1	9	15
Other dispositions (e.g., settlements, defaults)2	29	33	22
Total pending at end of period	38	37	45
Initial Decisions:
Median age at decision (days)	241	417	425
Number issued within guideline3	7	3	4

Matters Before the Commission

	4/1/2003- 9/30/2003	10/1/2002- 3/31/2003	4/1/2002- 9/30/2002
Review of ALJ Matters4
Number pending at start of period	35	39	39
New matters added during period	4	4	10
Subtotal	39	43	49
Dispositions:
Opinions	23	8	9
Other dispositions (e.g., dismissals)	1	0	1
Total pending at end of period	15	35	39
Opinions:
Median age at decision (days)	933	683	546
Number decided within guideline5	2	1	2

	4/1/2003- 9/30/2003	10/1/2002- 3/31/2003	4/1/2002- 9/30/2002
Review of Self-Regulatory Organization Decisions6
Number pending at start of period	17	21	18
New matters added during period	10	11	7
Subtotal	27	32	25
Dispositions:
Opinions	10	13	4
Other dispositions (e.g., dismissals, remands)	1	2	0
Total pending at end of period	16	17	21
Opinions:
Median age at decision (days)	278	532	558
Number decided within 11 months	7	0	1

	4/1/2003- 9/30/2003	10/1/2002- 3/31/2003	4/1/2002- 9/30/2002
Miscellaneous Matters
Interlocutory Motions:
Number pending at start of period	0	0	3
Number filed during period	0	0	0
Number decided during period	0	0	3
Total pending at end of period	0	0	0
Median age at decision (days)	0	0	607
Number decided within 45 days	0	0	0
Stay Requests:
Number pending at start of period	0	0	1
Number filed during period	11	13	3
Number decided during period	11	13	4
Total pending at end of period	0	0	0
Median age at decision (days)	3	2	3
Number decided within guidelines8	11	13	3

¹ Two initial decisions did not address all Respondents charged in the orders instituting proceedings, and thus did not entirely
dispose of the cases.

² Includes all proceedings disposed of other than by an initial decision, including default orders that dispose of the entire proceeding.

³ Guideline for matters instituted prior to 7/17/03 is 10 months from institution. From that date forward, each order instituting
proceedings will include a time period (120, 210, or 300 days) for issuance of an initial decision, which may be extended by the
Commission.

⁴ May include review of initial decisions, review of other non-interlocutory ALJ matters, and matters on remand from the Courts of
Appeals.

⁵ Guideline was 11 months from filing of appeal and was changed to seven months (or 11 months if the Commission determines
that a matter presents unusual complicating circumstances) in July 2003 amendment to the Rules of Practice.

⁶ May include matters filed pursuant to Section 11A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

⁷ The age at decision of the three motions was 47 days, 60 days, and 987 days.

⁸ Guideline is either five days or 45 days depending on the effective date of the order requested to be stayed.

http://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/34-48667.htm