NCJ Number
14675
Date Published
1971
Length
142 pages
Annotation
A STUDY DESIGNED TO EVALUATE, VALIDATE, AND IMPROVE THE EXISTING WEIGHTED CASELOAD SYSTEM, INCLUDING DESCRIPTIONS OF THE STUDY METHODOLOGY, VARIOUS TASKS USED TO ASSESS THE CURRENT SYSTEM, AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT.
Abstract
THE WEIGHTED CASELOAD SYSTEM INVOLVES ASSIGNING WEIGHTED VALUES TO EACH TYPE OF FILING BY ADDING TOGETHER THE AVERAGE BENCH TIME REQUIRED TO COMPLETE EACH OF THE JUDICIAL ACTIVITIES THAT RESULT FROM A FILING. THIS STUDY EVALUATED THE EXISTING WEIGHTED CASELOAD SYSTEM, DESIGNED AND IMPLEMENTED A SCIENTIFIC PROCEDURE FOR OBJECTIVELY DETERMINING CASELOAD WEIGHTS, GENERATED EMPIRICAL DATA SUPPORTING WEIGHTS PRODUCED BY THE EXISTING SYSTEM, AND DEVELOPED AND RECOMMENDED NEW WEIGHTS WHERE JUSTIFIED BY THE DATA ANALYSIS. A TOTAL OF 55 SEPARATE COURTS AND BRANCH COURTS PARTICIPATED IN THE STUDY. REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STUDY MADE ON SITE VISITS TO THE COURTS TO OBSERVE OPERATIONS, AND TIME DATA FOR VARIOUS COURT ACTIVITIES AND REPORTS ON NUMBERS OF ACTIONS COMPLETED WERE GATHERED FROM THE JUDGES AND COURT CLERKS OF THE PARTICIPATING COURTS. FROM THIS INFORMATION, NEW WEIGHTED CASELOAD VALUES AND JUDGE YEAR VALUES WERE DEVELOPED AND ARE PRESENTED IN THIS REPORT. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR METHODS TO PROJECT WORK LOAD AND DETERMINE NEEDS FOR ADDITIONAL JUDGES, MEANS TO PERIODICALLY UPDATE THE WEIGHTED CASELOAD SYSTEM, AND A SUGGESTED PLAN IF IMPLEMENTATION ARE INCLUDED. THE APPENDIXES INCLUDE MUNICIPAL AND SUPERIOR COURT FLOW CHARTS, CALCULATIONS AND APPLICATIONS OF RECOMMENDED WEIGHTS, A RECOMMENDED REPORT FORMAT AND A CONCEPTUAL DESIGN OF THE TIME VALUE UPDATE SYSTEM.