Criminal Courts and the Delivery of Speedy Justice - The Influence of Cases and Defendant Characteristics

• NCJ Number: 87071
• Journal: Justice System Journal Volume: 7 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1982) Pages: 213-235
• Author(s): D W Neubauer; J P Ryan
• Date Published: 1982
• Length: 23 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Increasing attention is being paid to the speed with which courts do their business, as pressures from legislatures, litigants and the general public converge.

Abstract

In this article, we examine the pace of case dispositions within three criminal trial courts; specifically, how characteristics associated with the case or defendant influence that pace. Our findings indicate strong underlying commonalities across three quite different courts, suggesting that the popular concept of 'local legal culture' may not be fully explanatory of variations in case processing time. (Author abstract)