NCJ Number
73048
Date Published
1979
Length
231 pages
Annotation
The National Center for State Court's final report on the appellate division of the Superior Court of New Jersey focuses on the functioning of the clerk's office.
Abstract
The center's study team assessed personnel responsibilities, reviewed office practices, met frequently with the State supreme court committee, and issued two interim draft reports which formed the basis of the final report. Established in 1947, the appellate division of the Superior Court of New Jersey is the intermediate apellate court of statewide jurisdiction. Twenty-one judges serve in the division. Administrative processing of appeals is centralized within the clerk's office of the appellate division. Currently budgeted for 63 positions, the office generally operates with 4 to 5 fewer employees, due to inability to hire and retain qualified personnel. For the past 2 years case filings have been at the same level, about 5,300. The division's computer system is the center of office activity. The study team has developed 38 recommendations for the improvement of division operations, both immediately and in the long-term. The plan focuses on improvement in organization, personnel, and the computer system. The team suggests that middle management should be strengthened by consolidating existing responsibilities into two positions, manager of legal services and manager of operations and support services. A pilot group to test the applicability of the team approach to the work of the clerk's office should be established. If the team approach is adopted, the division should consider use of tailored scheduling orders for case management. With regard to the computer system, the division should assume control of its own automated processing. This would involve development of a new management information system incorporating both computer and updatable microfiche technologies. Diagrams, floor plans, tables, a flow chart, and an organizational chart, and footnotes are included. User comments, team approach position descriptions, cost projections, and project recommendations are appended.