NCJ Number
196189
Journal
The Prosecutor Volume: 36 Issue: 4 Dated: July/August 2002 Pages: 32-40
Date Published
2002
Length
6 pages
Annotation
A landmark study conducted by the American Prosecutors Research Institute's Office of Research and Evaluation has found that any attempt to establish prosecutor workload standards must weigh the impact of various external, internal, and case-specific factors on case-processing time.
Abstract
To better understand workload and the impact of various external, internal, and case-specific factors on caseload, time studies of 56 prosecutors' offices across the Nation were conducted. Variables measured were how individual prosecutors' offices operated within the criminal justice system, the types and numbers of cases processed, time spent processing the array of cases, how cases were disposed, and staff time spent on other non-case related responsibilities. Also included were measures of the various factors that impact caseload and workload. The study used a disposition-based assessment, in which the average amount of time spent in bringing a case to disposition was calculated for different types of cases in order to develop relative weights for each type of case. The study found significant differences between States in average case-processing times and in the effect of various factors on this time. This finding precludes the development of national standards in the near future; however, it is possible to develop standards at the individual State level. For States and individual prosecutor's offices that do not have the benefit of a workload assessment, the results of the current study show that the number of attorneys and other staff, along with the felony trial rate, number of misdemeanor courtrooms, and percentage of aggravated and "enhanced" felony cases serve as more effective predictors of prosecutor workload than the traditional measures of cases filed or disposed, crime rate, or population rate. 4 references