NCJ Number
78619
Journal
State Court Journal Volume: 5 Issue: 3 Dated: (Summer 1981) Pages: 8-12,45-46
Date Published
1981
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article recounts the calendar management reorganization undergone at the Los Angeles Municipal Court (California) in the wake of an administrative procedures study that recommended changes to facilitate the flow of high volumes of cases.
Abstract
The key recommendation was to establish three master calendar groups, each with a master calendar judge and four trial judges in the master calendar court for the trial divisions. This reorganization required creating the position of calendar coordinator and developing a system of assigning counsel to calendar groups in order to reduce the conflict among master calendar and trial divisions. Assigning cases from four arraignment courts to three calendar divisions was solved by designating private attorneys on a terminal digit basis, while assigned counsel cases per week were directed to the three groups consecutively. Personnel adjustments had to be made by the marshall's office, more police officers were needed for liaison, and the city attorney's office reassessed its staff assignments. Difficulties were encountered with designating courtrooms to serve as master calendar courtrooms and with obtaining telephones for each of the master calendar divisions. A major encumbrance to speedy institutionalization of the new arrangement was the fact that every key judge with whom the project staff worked was moved up to the superior court. A statistical feedback system to judges was delayed because of caseload management demands on administrative time. Another drawback was the assignment of the critical calendar coordinator position barely a week before implementation began. Despite the problems, approval of the new system is universal. The city attorney's office and trial judges find the new calendars easier to manage. Five notes are provided.