NCJ Number
85159
Date Published
1981
Length
92 pages
Annotation
This report compares and contrasts the methods developed and implemented by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second and Eighth Circuits to reduce the time required for the preparation of cases for submission.
Abstract
The different management approaches used to implement their expediting programs provide models for other circuits to consider. While there are many similarities in the two systems, the differences are significant. The most obvious difference is the fact that the Eighth Circuit has established the expediter's office as a separate operation in the clerk's office, while the Second Circuit has distributed much of the expediting function among additional personnel by assigning case monitoring duties to docket clerks. The Eighth Circuit approach promotes consistency but adds a new component to the management structure. The Second Circuit's method frees the supervisor for other tasks, but close case monitoring is more difficult. The complexity of the Eighth Circuit's plan can cause problems with regard to personnel training. In comparison, the Second Circuit's plan has caused few such problems thus far. In addition, the Second Circuit employs a monthly inventory of cases; the Eighth Circuit uses a system of tickler files. The two approaches also differ with regard to communication with attorneys involved in the appeals, responses to failure to meet filing due dates, and integration of expediting plans with calendaring procedures. The Second and Eighth Circuits have the first and second fastest disposition rates, respectively, among all of the Federal circuit courts. Two tables and two figures are included, and instructional packets developed by the courts are appended.