TALE OF TWO COURTS - LITIGATION IN ALAMEDA AND SAN BENITO COUNTIES

• NCJ Number: 60423
• Journal: Law and Society Volume: 10 Issue: 2 Dated: (WINTER 1976) Pages: 267-301
• Author(s): L M FRIEDMAN; R V PERCIVAL
• Date Published: 1976
• Length: 35 pages
• Grant Number(s): GS 33821
• Sponsoring Agency: National Science Foundation
• Corporate Author: Law and Society Assoc
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THE CIVIL LOAD OF TWO CALIFORNIA TRIAL COURTS BETWEEN 1890 AND 1970, ONE IN ALAMEDA COUNTY AND THE ORDER IN SAN BENITO COUNTY, WAS STUDIED.

Abstract

THE PURPOSE WAS TO MEASURE HOW THE WORK OF TRIAL COURTS CHANGED OVER TIME. IT WAS ASSUMED THAT TRIAL COURTS DO LESS WORK IN SETTLING DISPUTES IN EARLIER YEARS AND THAT MOST OF THEIR ACTIVITIES ARE ROUTINE AND ADMINISTRATIVE. MAJOR DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE RURAL COURT IN SAN BENITO COUNTY AND THE URBAN COURT IN ALAMEDA COUNTY ALSO WERE EXPECTED. CASE FILES OF SUPERIOR COURTS IN THE COUNTIES WERE SAMPLED AT 20-YEAR INTERVALS FROM 1890 TO 1970. OVER THE STUDY PERIOD, THE CASELOAD FOR ALAMEDA COUNTY INCREASED FROM 716 TO 11,811 AND THE CASELOAD FOR SAN BENITO INCREASED FROM 31 TO 188. MORE THAN 97 PERCENT OF CASES IN THE TWO COURTS WERE ORIGINAL, AND LESS THAN 3 PERCENT WERE APPEALS. IN BOTH COUNTIES, THE PERCENTAGE OF FAMILY AND TORT CASES ROSE DRAMATICALLY, WHILE THE PROPORTION OF PROPERTY AND CONTRACT CASES DECREASED. FAMILY CASES WERE PRIMARILY UNCONTESTED DIVORCES, AND CONTEMPORARY TORT CASES GENERALLY STEMMED FROM AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENTS. THERE WAS A DECLINE IN BOTH COUNTIES IN FORMAL RESORT TO COURTS TO ADJUDICATE DISPUTES RESULTING FROM LEGAL TRANSACTIONS AND IN THE INCIDENCE OF ECONOMIC DISPUTE CASES; THE INCIDENCE OF ROUTINE CASES INCREASED. ALAMEDA COUNTY SEEMED LESS ROUTINIZED AND PERFUNCTORY THAN SAN BENITO COUNTY WHERE LESS THAN 1 CASE IN 10 WAS CONTESTED. OTHER VARIABLES ANALYZED IN THE STUDY WERE THE PROPORTION OF PLAINTIFF VICTORIES, THE PERCENT OF CASES BROUGHT TO TRIAL, THE PERCENT OF TRIALS WITH FORMAL OPINIONS, THE COST OF LITIGATION (TIME AND DELAY), AND THE VOLUME OF LITIGATION. THE HYPOTHESIS THAT THE DISPUTE SETTLEMENT FUNCTION IN COURTS DECLINED OVER THE YEARS WAS SUPPORTED, BUT NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN RURAL AND URBAN COURTS WERE OBSERVED. FUNCTIONS OF TRIALS COURTS AND GEOGRAPHIC AND DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TWO COUNTIES ARE DESCRIBED. SUPPORTING DATA AND FOOTNOTES ARE PROVIDED. (DEP)