This measure provides information regarding the time it takes to process cases. It compares the court’s processing times to local, State, or national standards, and evaluates the degree of compliance with these standards. The court’s case processing time is calculated from case processing information collected from a random sample of cases disposed of during the preceding year.

Planning/Preparation. This measure requires careful coordination and supervision. The investment in time and money required for completion depends to a large extent on the court’s recordkeeping system. Courts with automated systems may be able to provide much of the necessary data from computer printouts. Courts with manual recordkeeping systems may need to hire, train, and supervise individuals to collect data from case files. In either case, data need to be gathered and analyzed.

The first task is to identify general case categories. At a minimum, the court should measure felony and general civil case dispositions. Misdemeanor, domestic relations, juvenile, or other specialized case types may also be measured using the same methodology. However, because these types of cases may fall within the jurisdiction of limited or special jurisdiction courts, they are not referred to specifically in this discussion.

A felony case is one in which a formal indictment, information, or accusation is filed against a defendant on any charge (or charges) defined as a felony by State law. Count all charges in one indictment against one defendant as one case. Count a case charged as a felony in the indictment or information as a felony case for sampling purposes, even if the defendant is convicted of a misdemeanor. Do not count probation violation alone as a felony case.

A civil case is any action under civil law other than probate, domestic relations, and small claims. Other cases that should be excluded from the civil case sample include appeals from lower courts or administrative agencies, petitions for amendment of orders or decrees, and any case type that is nonlitigious in nature (e.g., name changes, registration of foreign judgments, and transcripts of judgments).

The second task is to compile a list of all cases of each type to be examined that were disposed of in the prior reporting period. (This measure is designed to correspond to the court’s yearly reporting cycle. In many cases this will be a calendar year, but some courts operate on a July 1 to June 30 reporting cycle.) The cases should be identified by docket number and, if possible, by case caption.

Disposition in felony cases is defined as the date on which a diversion, judgment of guilt (guilty plea entered or verdict) or acquittal, nolle prosequi, or dismissal of the case is entered regarding all (or the last of) the charges against the defendant. For cases in which adjudication is formally withheld in anticipation of dismissal (a type of diversion), the date on which adjudication is formally withheld (the beginning of the diversion period) should be considered the disposition date. Ideally, data collectors should subtract the amount of time that a defendant was unavailable because he failed to appear, resulting in the issuance of a bench warrant or capias. Subtract the time from issuance of the bench warrant to his subsequent rearrest.

In civil cases not concluded by trial, a case is disposed of when a final order is entered from a default or summary judgment, entry of settlement, voluntary dismissal, or dismissal for lack of prosecution. In cases concluded by trial, the date the verdict or judgment was entered can be considered the disposition date. If a trial verdict is appealed and remanded to the trial court, the case should be considered "reopened" for purposes of determining case processing time (i.e., count from the date of the remand to disposition). The following types of dispositions should be excluded: transfer or removal to another jurisdiction, interlocutory appeal, and a stay (e.g., pending bankruptcy).

The next step is to select the samples of cases. If the court’s automated information system can identify the case types targeted for examination and can produce a list of random numbers, docket numbers can be selected electronically. If the automated system does not have this capability or the system is manual, an interval sample (e.g., every fifth case) must be selected manually.

To determine sample size, the following guide for each case type (civil, criminal, etc.) should be used:

            Total Dispositions for the Year                 Minimum Sample Size          

                            1,000                                                      280
                            2,000                                                      325
                            3,000                                                      345
                            5,000                                                      360
                           10,000                                                     380

These sample sizes should provide a sampling error of ±5 percent in 95 percent of all samples.¹ Expect to reject some sampled cases because they are not the targeted case or disposition types or because key data are missing. Thus, the initial sample should include about 10 percent more cases than the required minimum sample size.

After the samples have been drawn, prepare the data collection forms. Forms 2.1.1a and 2.1.1c are generic data collection forms for civil and criminal cases, respectively. Forms 2.1.1b and 2.1.1d are sample civil and criminal case code sheets. Items on these forms may require modification to reflect the terminology used in the jurisdiction (e.g., felony entries referring to "information or indictment" may need to be changed to "accusation or true bill"). The generic data collection forms capture the basic information needed to identify cases and to calculate overall case disposition time as well as time periods for intermediate case processing events. Items with an asterisk are those required to calculate the time from case filing to disposition. Additional data elements on the forms will give the court a more refined picture of its case processing situation. To examine other factors influencing timeliness in case processing, additional data elements can be added to the forms (e.g., the number of plaintiffs or defendants, the criminal defendant’s custody status, and the number of days in trial).

Before data collection begins, prepare a coding manual to guide data collectors and assure that data recording is consistent among cases and coders. For each item on the coding sheet, the manual should describe what information is to be collected, where it can be found in the data source (e.g., computer printout, case file, docket sheet) and how it is to be recorded. Before data collection begins, review this information with the data collectors.

Data Collection. During this step, data collectors record the appropriate case information on the data collection forms. If the data collectors use a computer printout with all the necessary data, this process may average as little as 3 or 4 minutes per case. If manual case files must be retrieved and reviewed to acquire the necessary information, data collection may average as much as 15 minutes per case.