NEWS RELEASE
The National
Center for State Courts
300 Newport Avenue · Williamsburg, Virginia 23185
Contact:
Lorri Montgomery
Communications Manager
The National Center for State Courts
757.259.1525 or lmontgomery@ncsc.dni.us
State
Court Guide to Statistical Reporting, 2003
Williamsburg, VA
(April 29, 2004) – The Court Statistics Project of the National Center
for State Courts (NCSC) recently completed the State Court Guide to
Statistical Reporting, 2003, which sets data standards for counting and
reporting of court statistics. The Guide, sponsored by the State Justice
Institute (SJI) through grant number SJI-01-N-005, was a joint project
of the Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA) and the NCSC
with collaboration from trial court administrators, state and trial
court statisticians, and various experts throughout the court and
academic communities. The Guide is available electronically at www.ncsconline.org,
under Quick Links.
The State Court Guide
to Statistical Reporting, 2003 is a tool for improving court
administration. The Guide recommends a model approach for counting,
defining, and classifying cases at both the filing and resolution
stages, and provides a framework for developing a more accurate picture
of court caseloads and workloads for trial and appellate courts, as well
as state court administrators. In addition, the Guide supports the
ongoing development of court case management and information systems by
clarifying the definition, scope, and interrelationship of critical data
elements.
The Guide is expected to increase a court’s understanding of its caseload, answer questions about its workload more quickly, and allow greater communication with other courts. For example, a court that is capable of gathering most or all of the data recommended by the Guide will be able to:
- Track filing and disposition trends and compare those trends with similar courts
- Measure the age of their pending caseload more accurately, allowing for the determination of more meaningful case processing times
- Generate the types of reports critical in conducting studies of the need for judges and judicial officer support staff
Trial and appellate
courts vary in size, structure, and procedures, and in their social,
economic, and legal contexts. By taking these complexities into account,
the State Court Guide to Statistical Reporting, 2003 provides a general
framework that is adaptable by every court. While acknowledged as a
model approach, the Guide is meant to be a flexible tool that courts can
adapt to fit their legal and subject matter jurisdictions as they strive
to provide the valid, reliable, and useful information on the nature,
scope, and volume of work that is an indispensable ingredient of
effective court management practices.
The National Center for
State Courts is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the
administration of justice by providing leadership and service to the
state courts. The National Center, founded in 1971, provides leadership,
research, technology, education, and training to the state courts. The
National Center also is taking the lead on several key issues facing the
justice system. For example, it has established a major civil justice
reform initiative, and is working aggressively on other national
initiatives such as improving public trust and confidence in the courts,
pro se litigation, and the judicial selection process.
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