NCJ Number
82497
Journal
American University Law Review Volume: 31 Issue: 2 Dated: (Winter 1982) Pages: 237-253
Date Published
1982
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This article describes the dimensions of the problem of inundation that the appellate courts are experiencing and outlines solutions that have been tried or that may be available to keep the appellate system afloat.
Abstract
The California Court of Appeal caseload has doubled between 1969 and 1979. This exemplifies the inundation of appellate courts throughout the country. Similar growth in the Supreme Court's caseload led to the recommendation that a national court of appeals be formed, with the authority to screen petitions for review and to determine many of the cases involving conflicts. In addition to the formation of additional layers of appellate tribunals, both supreme and intermediate courts of appeal have selected remedies in the form of caseflow management with the individual courts. Actions taken by the Rhode Island Supreme Court enabled those involved in the monitoring process to take prompt and appropriate action in the event of unjustifiable delay since cases might before have languished for weeks or months if either counsel chose to press for sanctions for the delay caused by rule violations. The American Bar Association Action Commission has developed a package of appellate remedies, including obtaining delivery of the trial record by means of computer-assisted transcription of the testimony and submitting a short statement of arguments and authorities in place of extensive briefs, that might expedite the disposition of some appeals to a period as short as 120 days from the date the appeal notice was filed. Recommendations of the National Center for State Courts, which has conducted numerous studies on the subject of court delay, are mentioned. Overall, appellate judges should establish and enforce clear schedules for each stage of the appellate process. Appellate courts should then formulate and implement procedures for channeling different kinds of appeals on different dispositional tracks. These measures, coupled with continued monitoring and review, should produce a more efficient appellate court system despite the increasing volume of cases. Footnotes are included.