NCJ Number
79828
Date Published
Unknown
Length
0 pages
Annotation
Edward McConnell, Director of the National Center for State Courts, reviews the court situation of 24 years ago to gain perspective for predicting long-term trends of the adjudication process.
Abstract
In 1952, speedy trials were no problem; there were no public defenders; judicial education was unheard of; rulemaking in the courts was a novelty; court administration was a new profession; and juvenile courts presented no administrative difficulty. Subsequent changes have emerged through a gradual process to which contributing factors were the hard work of reform organizations; unanticipated, liberal policymaking decisions by the Supreme Court; urbanization; economic conditions; and Vietnam. The lesson learned is that collective changes have great impact over time. Future conditions discernible in today's trends include State court centralization with increased importance of the court administrator's function. Continued inservice judicial training is foreseen along with greater lay involvement in the management and operation of the court. A consumer orientation will evolve, with the courts accommodating defendants, victims, and witnesses with respect to the location and time of hearings. Planning will be a routine activity. Courthouses will be versatile structures, containing a variety of technological gadgetry (e.g., videotaped witness testimony). Alternatives to court trials will be practiced as part of the system; research on new procedures will take place with judicial sponsorship and approval. Sentences will be short and mandated; substantive law will be revised and all victimless crime decriminalized. While influence of the courts will continue to be great, more emphasis will be placed on citizens' rights in the areas of environment, consumerism, communications, space, retirement, and others. Court action will not be used, as in the past, to achieve social remedies. This function will be returned to the legislatures. This lecture concluded the conference of State court planners; Jim Swain of the Courts Division made final remarks and reviewed events of the 4-day workshop.