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Case Processing Times in Three Courts
Author(s) -
LUSKIN MARY LEE,
LUSKIN ROBERT C.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
law and policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.534
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1467-9930
pISSN - 0265-8240
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9930.1987.tb00406.x
Subject(s) - variation (astronomy) , criminal court , law , affect (linguistics) , political science , court of record , process (computing) , computer science , original jurisdiction , psychology , supreme court , international law , physics , communication , astrophysics , operating system
The time it takes a court to process its cases, a critical aspect of court performance, varies widely from case to case, from court to court, and within a given court as the court and its environment change over time. The sources of this variation, however, have remained largely obscure. This paper examines the structural and case‐level influences on processing times in three criminal courts experiencing structural changes, including a number of administrative reforms designed to reduce processing times. We find both similarities and differences between courts, but in general both many structural arrangements and many case characteristics affect processing times, with some case characteristics having different effects under different structural arrangements, and some structural arrangements affecting different sorts of cases differently. We conclude with a discussion of implications for court management.