NCJ Number
75391
Date Published
1980
Length
42 pages
Annotation
This report focuses on how the Court Delay Simulation Model (CODE-SIM) can be used in the context of efforts currently underway in Baltimore, City, Md., to reduce court delay.
Abstract
The period from initiation or filing of charges before a court to the termination or final disposition of charges represents the delay which occurs in court processing. The statistical analysis section staff of the Governor's Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice developed CODE-SIM, which can be used to assess the impact on court processing of changing the delay which occurs between case filing and termination. The model also describes the impact of the desired level of court delay on the pending balance of cases awaiting disposition. Data supporting the description of court delay for Baltimore City are based on the monthly caseload inventory report prepared by the Supreme Bench of Baltimore City and the automated Criminal Elapsed Time Report for Baltimore City. The model compares the existing processing method to the way defendants would probably be processed as the result of anticipated changes designed to reduce delay. Using a test case pending during the 1979 term, the model provides three possible outcomes of time depending upon the changes implemented. Also assessed are the impact on the number of defendant cases terminated during future years, impact on the age of defendant cases, and possible impact on the number of jail detainees. The difference between the simulated results and the actual case results show the magnitude of change, measured in terms of defendant cases processed, which would have to occur in order to achieve the simulated results of reducing court delay. It is anticipated that the simulated workloads can be translated into personnel needed to achieve delay reduction. The model may be applied to all Maryland counties. Six tables and 15 figures are included.