NCJ Number
79086
Date Published
1981
Length
37 pages
Annotation
The methods, findings, and policy implications of an evaluation of four court delay-reduction programs are presented in this executive summary of the final program report.
Abstract
The three general jurisdiction trial courts were located in Providence, R.I., Dayton, Ohio, and Las Vegas. A fourth site was a specialized court in Detroit which hears only criminal cases. Through interviews, observations, and analyses of case procesing times, researchers determined that each court's delay-reduction program resulted in reduced case processing time. In Providence, case processing time was reduced dramatically after the introduction of specific innovations affecting the court's scheduling process. In Detroit and Las Vegas, case processing time was reduced substantially, particularly for the slowest quartile of cases, after the courts began to use the individual calendar and to monitor the progress of cases and judges' work habits. In Dayton, where initially only a few cases took a long time, case processing time for the more typical cases improved significantly. This improvement resulted from the introduction of management reforms, such as centralized arraignments and mandatory discovery at the preliminary hearing. For the four sites together, the most significant finding was the similar pace at which cases were handled across the four courts as well as within the courts subsequent to delay-reduction innovations. The most important policy implications to emerge from the analysis are that delay stems from many institutional sources, not just from defense attorneys; case processing time can be reduced quickly and dramatically; delay reduction can be accomplished through different programs; and successful delay reduction efforts must be responsive to local conditions. Graphs and notes are provided. For the full report, see NCJ 78838.