Friends of the Court - Lawyers as Supplemental Judicial Resources

• NCJ Number: 105202
• Author(s): A B Alkman; M E Elsner; F G Miller
• Date Published: 1987
• Length: 248 pages
• Grant Number(s): 83-IJ-CX-0021
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice
• Corporate Author: National Ctr for State Courts
• Sale Source: National Ctr for State Courts; National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Using volunteer lawyers is an effective way to augment judicial resources to reduce temporary backlogs without the permanent and costly response of increasing the number of judges.

Abstract

The National Center for State Courts evaluated six programs using lawyers as supplemental judicial resources over a 30-month period from 1983 through 1985. The programs were located in Arizona, Connecticut, Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington. Three courts used lawyers as judges pro tempore. The other courts used lawyers as trial referees, as arbitrators for civil cases in a court-annexed program, and as evaluators of civil cases awaiting jury trial. The evaluation found that judicial adjunct programs can increase the numbers of dispositions, reduce the time to dispositions, improve the relations between judges and lawyers, and provide attorneys with new understanding and appreciation of judges' duties and problems. These benefits are most likely when the program is part of a broad effort to deal with backlogs and delays in civil cases. Tables, notes, detailed profiles of each of the six programs, and appended guidelines and other materials from the programs.