NCJ Number
164849
Date Published
1996
Length
36 pages
Annotation
This statistical analysis of West Virginia's circuit court case activity for fiscal year 1995-96 is intended to be used as a tool for meeting goals specified in court rules for time standard compliance and case disposition.
Abstract
The number of case filings is presented by circuit and by judge. Clearance rates are also presented by circuit and judge; circuits are ranked by clearance rate. Data on time standard compliance show compliance rates by circuit and by judge as well as for domestic matters and by case type. The circuits are ranked by civil compliance rate and by criminal compliance rate. A review of case-processing trends shows that the clearance rate improved from 104 percent in calendar year 1995 to 105 percent in fiscal year 1995-96. Conversely, the percentage of cases in compliance with time standards went from 67.4 percent in calendar year 1995 to 50.3 percent in fiscal year 1995-96. Many new cases were disposed and caseloads decreased, but many older cases remained on the docket to lower the case-age compliance figures. Of the older cases, there were 10,135 mass litigation cases that exceeded the time standard. When these mass litigation figures are removed from consideration, a more respectable figure of 60.5 percent is achieved. This figure, however, is still substantially below the compliance figure of 67.4 percent achieved in calendar year 1995. Despite the decrease in case age compliance, the number of pending cases was reduced by 3,203 cases.