NCJ Number
142011
Journal
State Court Journal Volume: 17 Issue: 1 Dated: (Winter 1993) Pages: 24-27
Date Published
1993
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Chief Justice Robertson's 1993 State of the Judiciary address before Missouri's General Assembly focused on judicial transfers, case processing time standards, the changing structure of the judiciary, automation, and the family court.
Abstract
He noted the continuing success of the Mega Circuit Program in St. Louis County. In this program, 21 judges have consented to spend an average of 3 weeks per year to help reduce the judicial backlog. He also pointed out that the Missouri Supreme Court has recently adopted case processing time standards for civil and criminal cases in the State's trial courts. These standards are expected to provide litigants with information on how long their cases will remain in the trial courts. Chief Justice Robertson discussed the establishment of a judicial system that makes geographic county lines irrelevant to the use of judicial resources; the need for automation to make both lawyers and judges more efficient; and the concept of legislation establishing a family court system to deal with such problems as broken homes, juvenile offenders, and child support orders.