DATA ANALYSES AND SIMULATION OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA TRIAL COURT SYSTEM FOR THE PROCESSING OF FELONY DEFENDANTS

• NCJ Number: 281
• Author(s): J G TAYLOR; R H COHEN
• Date Published: 1968
• Length: 122 pages
• Grant Number(s): OLEA-67-007; OLEA-67-032
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice
• Corporate Author: Institute for Defense Analyses
• Sale Source: National Technical Information Service; National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Statistics
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

SIMULATION TECHNIQUES ARE USED TO ANALYZE THE DELAY IN PROCESSING FELONY DEFENDANTS WITHIN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA TRIAL COURT SYSTEMS.

Abstract

THE U.S. DISTRICT COURT FOR D.C. HAS JURISDICTION OVER ALL FELONIES AND FEDERAL CRIMES. THE COURT IS DESCRIBED IN TERMS OF FLOW OF DEFENDANTS AND OF INFORMATION THROUGH THE SYSTEM, AND THE ASSIGNMENT OF COURT RESOURCES. THE DATA, IN COMPUTER LANGUAGE, CAN BE PROCESSED AND COMPARED WITH A MODEL TIMETABLE. DETAILED DATA ANALYSIS OF ELAPSED TIME FOR PROCESSING CAN BE USED TO RULE OUT POSSIBLE DELAY PROBLEMS, AND THE IBM GENERAL PURPOSE SYSTEMS SIMULATOR(GPSS) WAS USED TO DEVELOP THE SIMULATION MODEL COURTSIM, WHICH SIMULATES A DEFENDANT ENTERING THE COURT SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES HIM THROUGH TIME UNITS AND OPERATIONS. APPENDICES GIVE THE DATA REQUIREMENTS, COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS, CHARACTERISTICS OF DEFENDANTS AND CASES WITH THE ELAPSED TIME FOR PROCESSING. THERE IS A DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF COURTSIM WITH ITS LIMITATIONS AND PROBLEMS.