NCJ Number
100755
Date Published
1986
Length
5 pages
Annotation
A recent National Institute of Justice project has documented the use of lawyers as adjunct judges, developed guidelines for the use of judicial adjuncts, and evaluated the impact of judicial adjunct programs on court and litigants.
Abstract
The project identified six categories of adjuncts based on the amount of judicial or quasi-judicial authority exercised. Judicial adjuncts may serve in court-annexed mediation or arbitration and in mandated settlement conferences. They also may act as commissioners or magistrates, quasi-judges, protempore trial judges, and pro tem judges on the trial bench. Guidelines, attempting to balance concerns of protecting the court's integrity with opportunities to improve court performance through the use of adjuncts, address establishment of adjunct programs and their scope, selection and training of adjuncts, party consent to appear before an adjunct, ethics, compensation, and provision of facilities and resources to adjuncts. An evaluation of six demonstration projects indicates that the use of judicial adjuncts as protempore judges, trial referees, and arbitrators can reduce court backlogs and delay, free judges for other activities, and encourage speedier dispositions. Further, judges, attorneys, and litigants generally have been positive in their perceptions of such programs.