Overcrowding Court Dockets

Overcrowding Court Dockets

Effects of Actions in Processing Cases
Phase 2 Task 1
Discussion Board
CJUS620-1003A-02
Professor Nichols
July 18, 2010
Sue Bell
Overcrowding Court Dockets

Court dockets all over the United States are growing within the trial courts in both criminal and civil matters. There are many reasons for this such as: economy, population, delays in cases due to motions filed, continuums by attorneys from either party to prepare for the case, alleged criminals in need of assigned council (assigned council is usually very busy as their caseloads are more than a single person can handle), changing of attorneys during the process of preparation, not enough staff to handle the dockets, and many other issues that can arise from the courts that could delay a case.
Federal courts receive cases that are appealed by attorneys for their clients after a decision has been handed down in the trial courts; usually they feel that an error has occurred in some place during the trial that affects the outcome for the defendant; such as federal law was supposedly not applied, or their constitutional rights were violated. Many defendants do not agree with the decision of the trial courts and try to have them overturned or remanded back to the trial courts. According to Aikman, (2007) states “state courts received almost 45,400,000 cases in 2003, about 138.5 nontraffic cases filed in state courts for every year one case filed in federal court”. In the federal courts, 483 cases per justice were filed in 2003. The national average in general jurisdiction was 1,626 in 2003 per judge. (Aikman, 2007, pg. 65).
Caseflow management is a process that consists of planning, organizing, directing, and controlling the functions of the court dockets, calendars, and motions. (Aikman, 2007, pg. 213). Almost all states ensure that a ‘speedy trial’ is conducted; especially in criminal cases; as I will describe a criminal case that went to appeals because the defendant stated he was violated...