@article{d9461f8e28944e6db779d3f223fb1d21,
title = "Improving the Pace of Criminal Case Processing in State Trial Courts",
abstract = "Delay in the processing of criminal cases has long been viewed as a serious national problem. Substantial differences exist among courts in the average time it takes to resolve both felony and misdemeanor cases, with past research producing inconclusive results on the causes of observed variation. In response, and with the support of the Arnold Foundation, the objective of this article is to highlight predictable variation in the timeliness of criminal case processing and how this knowledge supports court efforts to become more expeditious. Drawing on an extensive set of felony and misdemeanor cases resolved in seven Colorado courts, statistical analysis uncovers important patterns in the composition of criminal caseloads and clarifies how composition influences case duration. Moreover, similarities in the makeup of criminal caseloads show the utility of fundamental principles of criminal caseflow management and how courts benefit from being assessed comparatively against established performance benchmarks.",
author = "Ostrom, {Brian J.} and Hanson, {Roger A.} and Matthew Kleiman",
note = "Funding Information: We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Laura and John Arnold Foundation. In addition, we would like to thank the anonymous reviewers as well as our colleagues Dr. Scott Graves and Shannon Roth for their help in producing this article. Funding Information: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This paper was commissioned by the Misdemeanor Justice Project—Phase II funded by the Laura and John Arnold Foundation. Points of view or opinions contained within this document are those of the author and/or the participants and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the Laura and John Arnold Foundation and the Misdemeanor Justice Project. Funding Information: This article contains the initial findings from a larger project titled the Effective Criminal Case Management project currently underway and funded by the Laura and John Arnold Foundation. The purpose of this project is to discover, document, and disseminate guidance on the most effective practices for misdemeanor and felony caseflow management in the state courts. Developed on the basis of a broad sample of more than 75 trial courts, these solutions will be designed to accommodate courts no matter where they are located in the continuum of organizational capacity, allowing courts to select tools most pertinent to their context. Making a range of evidence-based practices available to practitioners will accelerate improvement in managing criminal cases, reducing delay and cost, and thus improving the quality of justice. The failure to explain case processing time on the basis of case and disposition information led to comparative research on state criminal court delay to all but cease in the 1990s, although practical efforts at delay reduction continued following this period (e.g., Ostrom & Hanson, 2010). All data were provided by the Colorado Administrative Office of the Courts and is comprised of all felony and misdemeanor cases resolved in the seven courts during the calendar year 2014. Homicide is not shown in the above graphic to preserve clarity. The homicide mean is 558 days, with 95% confidence interval of 403 days to 712 days. Similar patterns are found for all case types and results are available upon request. The Conference of Chief Justices, the American Bar Association, the Conference of State Court Administrators, and the National Association for Court Management have all adopted these time standards as a reflection of what is an appropriate time frame to ensure the timely and fair resolution of felony and misdemeanor cases. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2018, The Author(s) 2018.",
year = "2018",
month = jul,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1177/0887403417748721",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "29",
pages = "736--760",
journal = "Criminal Justice Policy Review",
issn = "0887-4034",
publisher = "SAGE Publications Inc.",
number = "6-7",
}
