NCJ Number
93136
Date Published
1981
Length
26 pages
Annotation
The article discusses significant recent developments and problems of court management and defines the critical common elements of a viable system of court administration as case management, professional responsibility and standards, public education, and citizen participation.
Abstract
The core functions of court administration include caseflow management; records, statistics, and information system management; budgeting; space and equipment management; and in-service training. Certain problems facing individuals responsible for court administration in the 1980's are related to areas of longstanding concern such as court organization, centralization, and financing. Others arose from the growth and ferment of the 1970's and from the changing roles of courts, judges, and court administrators. Heightened interest in better administrative training for judges is accompanied by growing awareness of the necessity for a close, mutually supportive working relationship between chief judges and court administrators. Judicial accountability with public access to policymaking processes, performance evaluation, and judidical discipline are issues of growing concern. The bar has effective programs to reduce costs and delay in litigation; it can play an important role in the formulation of such programs. Finding new funding sources for court management innovations will be a mjaor problem for courts in the 1980's. To increase effectiveness, courts will have to expand public and user services and encourage community involvement in judicial policymaking. Dealing with the problems of minorities is also a priority. An annotated bibliography lists 68 references.