NCJ Number
182533
Date Published
1996
Length
117 pages
Annotation
This study uses empirical data to examine why some appeals are resolved more expeditiously than others.
Abstract
This report's conclusions are based primarily on data obtained from 35 intermediate appellate courts and 23 courts of last resort. The study found that the ratio of work to resources explained more of the variation in court processing time among State intermediate appellate courts than any other characteristics under study. Based on a related study by the National Center for State Courts, timely performance is affected not only by the number of appeals filed relative to the court's resources, but also by the composition of caseload. Variation in the case processing time among courts of last resort is difficult to explain. One reason may be that the caseloads of some courts of last resort are closer to intermediate appellate courts than they are to other courts of last resort. The failure to explain the variation in the processing time of courts of last resort that have an intermediate appellate court below them and that have primarily discretionary jurisdiction may be because the available measures of court characteristics are too blunt to capture the dynamics of the detailed, individual attention given to appeals by these courts. The study draws implications of the findings for the management of appeals courts. 34 tables and 44 references