THIS PRELIMINARY STUDY WAS UNDERTAKEN AT THE REQUEST OF THE FEDERAL JUDICIAL CENTER. THESE SIX POSSIBLE APPROACHES ARE DISCUSSED: (1) A CENTRAL COMPUTER FACILITY SERVING ALL THE COURTS, (2) COMMUNICATION CONCENTRATORS LINKED TO THE PROCESSING CENTERS, (3) A GROUP OF REGIONAL CENTERS, (4) MINICOMPUTERS ALLOWING SOME LOCAL PROCESSING FOR SELECTED COURT FUNCTIONS, (5) SPECIALIZED CLUSTER CONTROLLERS FOR OFFLOADING HOST PROCESSORS; AND (6) SMALL MAINFRAME COMPUTERS AS SATELLITE PROCESSORS. A DETAILED TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION IS GIVEN FOR EACH APPROACH AND THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES ARE SUMMARIZED AT LENGTH. POSSIBLE COMBINATIONS OF THE APPROACHES ARE SUGGESTED, WHILE AN APPENDIX LISTS APPROACHES WHICH WERE CONSIDERED BUT REJECTED. IT IS NOTED THAT CHANGES IN REQUIREMENTS OR TECHNOLOGY MAY MAKE IT FEASIBLE TO RECONSIDER SOME OF THESE APPROACHES. CHARTS AND TECHNICAL DIAGRAMS ILLUSTRATE THE DISCUSSIONS. APPENDIXES ALSO DESCRIBE THE STANDARD DECSYSTEM-10 SOFTWARE, GIVE THE LOCATIONS OF THE COURTS TO BE SERVED, AND PROVIDE REFERENCES. (GLR)