NCJ Number
91037
Date Published
1983
Length
64 pages
Annotation
This monograph presents guidelines for assessing whether a jurisdiction should add, eliminate, or reallocate a trial court judgeship and discusses factors used in evaluating needs and methods for determining them.
Abstract
The guidelines initially state that the need for judicial positions should be assessed against measures of demand for service, statewide standards against which to test needs, and the use of existing resources. They recommend an independent review of the court's operations, consultation with the judiciary, and a comparison of the number of weighted and unweighted filings as the best measure of demand. After setting forth the 13 guidelines, the monograph categorizes factors used to assess need: direct measures -- filings and active pending cases; indirect measures -dispositions, number and rate of jury trials, case processing time, use of outside judicial assistance, and time spent by judges; surrogate measures such as population growth, number of attorneys, and presence of State institutions; and factors that reflect administrative and political considerations. It then discusses different methods to weigh raw data, nonstatistical input from localities, and establishing thresholds of needs. In addition, the paper offers suggestions on investigating whether existing resources are being used effectively and still cannot absorb the work that seems to justify a new position, costs of assessment methods, and relationships between new judicial positions and other costs. The final chapter reviews data elements required by the guidelines and ways to assure their validity. The appendixes contain a table of factors used by States to evaluate judgeship needs as of spring 1983 and Colorado's cost model. Footnotes are supplied.