NCJ Number
76202
Date Published
1981
Length
45 pages
Annotation
Findings and recommendations of the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration technical assistance team's visit to the office of the Assistant District Court Administrator for the Fifth Judicial District of Iowa are presented.
Abstract
The court administrator requested the team to review the district's procedures for case scheduling and docketing and to recommend ways to streamline the process. Three team consultants conducted a site visit, meeting with several judges and other officials who are involved in the case assignment process. During the course of the visit, it was decided that the focus of assistance should be upon the central assignment system used in the district's counties, excluding Polk County because it uses a different case assignment system. The State is divided into eight judicial districts. The Fifth Judicial District has a district court administrator and several support staff. Presiding over the district court of general jurisdiction are 20 judges. The team noted three major areas of concern and many causal factors that relate to these areas. These problems include lack of space, lack of staff, and lack of time to perform duties unrelated to the assignment system. Based upon a review of available options, it is recommended that the district court consider various automated word processing systems and their applications. A case control system and adjustments in form designs can be automatically integrated into a text editing system for maximum efficiency. The present manual system is inefficient. In addition, index cards should be substituted for the three books presently used for case assignments. The use of pretreated carbon forms could save costs in records administration. Implementation of a text editing system would make the work more efficient, effective, and enjoyable for the staff. Appendixes and 29 footnotes are provided in the report.