Judicial Planning in Transition, 1977-1981

• NCJ Number: 82656
• Author(s): H O Lawson; B J Gletne
• Date Published: 1982
• Length: 72 pages
• Contract Number(s): J-LEAA-011-78
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice
• Corporate Author: American University
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; American University
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This monograph traces the development of judicial planning in various States following the passage of the Crime Control Act of 1976 and the resulting Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA) funding for judicial planning councils (JPC's).

Abstract

Forty-eight State court administrators and judicial system planners from most States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico responded to survey questionnaires on their opportunities to develop a planning capability, its scope, the composition of JPC's, and the future of planning in their State. Respondents also compared the status of court planning in 1981 and 1977, in view of the termination of LEAA funding on September 30, 1981. Six jurisdictions (Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, North Dakota, and Oregon) chosen for LEAA-funded pilot planning projects became the basis for much later court planning. The JPC's of 31 respondents to the 1981 survey are discussed in terms of size, composition, State authority, functions, staff size, location, and budgets. Nearly all JPC's were created by the order of the State supreme court or chief justice; JPC activities were limited to reviewing grants and drawing up the annual State plan for court development. The changes in JPC's between 1977 and 1981 in the face of judicial planning uncertainties showed that the 1981 models adjusted to LEAA funding cuts by eliminating separate planning activities, expanding planning activities to include concerns other than Federal grants, and encompassing a broader array of judicial system concerns. Most jurisdictions have incorporated planning into their overall administration; however, few court systems appear to be preparing for resource cutbacks. Such preparation should include reviews of personnel services, operating costs, traveling, automation, and facilities. Court systems that integrate such resource management into their function planning may become the new leaders in judicial administration. Tables, footnotes, and an appendix containing the study instrument are provided.