ECONOMIC INVESTIGATION OF STATE AND LOCAL JUDICIAL SERVICES - FINAL REPORT

• NCJ Number: 38356
• Author(s): H H ULBRICH; H H MACAULEY; M T MALONEY
• Date Published: 1976
• Length: 375 pages
• Grant Number(s): 75-NI-99-0037
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice; US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Corporate Author: Clemson University
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

FINAL REPORT OF A PROJECT ESTABLISHED TO CONDUCT A SYSTEMATIC INQUIRY INTO THE PROVISION OF JUDICIAL SERVICES BY STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.

Abstract

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH INCLUDED IDENTIFYING JUDICIAL SERVICES PROVIDED BY STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, DETERMINING BENEFITS GENERATED BY THEM, AND DEVELOPING A MODEL FOR AN OPTIMAL SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING AND PAYING FOR JUDICIAL SERVICES. OTHERS WERE DEVELOPING A CONSISTENT MEASUREMENT OF JUDICIAL SERVICES OUTPUT, ANALYZING THE ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES AMONG VARIOUS JUDICIAL ACTIVITIES, AND IDENTIFYING AND EXPLAINING THE VARIATIONS IN EXPENDITURES BY STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS FOR JUDICIAL SERVICES. INFORMATION FROM LEGAL LITERATURE AND THE RESULTS OF A SURVEY OF JUDGES, PROSECUTORS, AND PUBLIC DEFENDERS ARE USED TO IDENTIFY THE TYPES OF JUDICIAL SERVICES PROVIDED BELOW THE FEDERAL LEVEL. THESE SERVICES ARE ANALYZED WITH ADDITIONAL SURVEY DATA TO DETERMINE WHAT BENEFITS ARE GENERATED BY THE JUDICIAL PROCESS AND TO WHOM THEY ACCRUE - THE RUDIMENTS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN OPTIMAL SYSTEM OF PROVIDING STATE AND LOCAL JUDICIAL SERVICES ARE PRESENTED WITHIN A FRAMEWORK OF MIXED PUBLIC GOOD. AN INDEX OF JUDICIAL OUTPUT IS CONSTRUCTED WITH AVAILABLE DATA FROM THREE STATES AND THE RESULTS COMPARED WITH CASE WEIGHTS FOR CALIFORNIA DEVELOPED BY OTHER INVESTIGATORS. A PUBLIC CHOICE MODEL IS DEVELOPED AS AN APPROPRIATE FRAMEWORK WITHIN WHICH TO ANALYZE VARIATIONS IN JUDICIAL EXPENDITURES. A MODEL OF THE MEDIAN VOTER'S DEMAND SCHEDULE FOR PUBLICLY PROVIDED JUDICIAL SERVICES IS DEVISED AND A REDUCED-FORM EQUATION IS TESTED WITH DATA FROM THE 50 STATES FOR FISCAL YEAR 1970-1971. CONCLUSIONS FROM THIS WORK AND DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH ARE PRESENTED ALONG WITH CERTAIN POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS. DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS ARE APPENDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)