NCJ Number
141002
Journal
Justice System Journal Volume: 16 Issue: 1 Dated: (1992) Pages: 49-59
Date Published
1992
Length
11 pages
Annotation
The individual case time series and the pooled time- series cross-section were used to estimate the impact of Arizona and New Mexico volunteer attorney programs on decision output and the amount of delay.
Abstract
Volunteer attorney use, as represented by the portion of appeals they decide, had a positive and significant relationship to delay. This effect was opposite of the effect one expected if the programs reduced delay and suggested no beneficial impact. The program did not increase decision output in the Arizona Court of Appeals. New Mexico's program did help its court of appeals decide more cases and reduced backlogs, but the statistically significant results were modest. If 10 percent of the cases were decided by volunteer attorneys, there was only a 2 percent increase in decision output and a similar 2 percent reduction in the backlog index. The help provided by attorney panels appears to have been counterbalanced by the time judges needed to spend reviewing the attorney's work. Additionally, the courts encountered administrative problems with attorney panels. 10 footnotes, 5 tables, 29 references, and 2 appendixes