NCJ Number
11814
Date Published
1973
Length
219 pages
Annotation
STATISTICAL AND MODELING TECHNIQUES APPLIED TO A COMPUTERIZED DATA BANK OF ONE YEAR'S CRIMINAL CASES TO ASSESS ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS TO COURT DELAY.
Abstract
OPERATIONS RESEARCH IS THE SYSTEMATIC STUDY AND INVESTIGATION UNDERTAKEN TO ESTABLISH AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE FACTS AND PRINCIPLES OF A PROCESS OR ACTION THAT IS PART OF A SERIES OF SOME WORK. THIS METHODOLOGY CAN BE VALUABLE TO THOSE COURT PROBLEMS WHICH CAN BE QUANTIFIED. FOR EXAMPLE, OPERATIONS RESEARCH WOULD NOT BECOME INVOLVED IN ADJUDICATION BUT CAN BE USEFUL IN SOLVING SUCH PROBLEMS AS SCHEDULING OF TRIALS, SELECTION OF JURORS, ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES WITHIN THE COURT, AND DETERMINING, ANALYZING, AND PROPOSING COURSES OF ACTION FOR REMEDYING UNNECESSARY DELAY IN PARTICULAR PHASES OF OPERATION. THIS STUDY DEFINES A MODEL OF MATHEMATICAL EQUATIONS CONCERNING THE RELATIONSHIP IN A CRIMINAL TRIAL COURT BETWEEN A JUDGE WORKING UNDER A MASTER CALENDAR SYSTEM AND COURT DELAY IN THE INTERVAL FROM ARRAIGNMENT TO JURY TRIAL START. USING A COMPUTERIZED DATA BASE OF CASE RECORDS COVERING A ONE YEAR PERIOD IN A WASHINGTON, D.C. CRIMINAL COURT, THE MODEL TESTED THE IMPACT OF ADDING A COURT EXECUTIVE, ASSIGNING ADDITIONAL JUDGES, REDUCING TRIAL TIME BY TEN PERCENT, AND MAKING NO CHANGES IN THE COURT. IT WAS CONCLUDED THAT NONE OF THESE INDIVIDUALLY RESOLVED THE PROBLEM OF COURT DELAY BUT, THAT WHEN IMPLEMENTED IN VARIOUS COMBINATIONS, WOULD RESOLVE THE PROBLEM. THE MATHEMATICAL AND STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES USED TO PRODUCE THE PROBALISTIC MODELS AND ANALYTIC SOLUTIONS ARE DETAILED THROUGHOUT THE STUDY. (SNI ABSTRACT)