Recognizing the Problem

Tarrant County, Texas Perspective

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FUNDAMENTALS OF
CASEFLOW MANAGEMENT

Caseflow Principles

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 Case Management
• Plan
• Backlog Reduction
• Infrastructure
• Implementation

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 Why Many Courts Have
Leadership Failures
 Failing to act as an “organization”
 Lack of coordination between judges &
staff
 Lack of accountability in supporting the
caseflow procedures and rules
 Lack of consistency of practice
 Frequent change of leadership

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 Caseflow Management:
A Goal-Oriented Process
 Equal Treatment of All Litigants by
the Court
 Timely Dispositions Consistent
with the Circumstances of
Individual Cases
 Enhancement of the Quality of the
Litigation Process
 Public Confidence in the Court as
an Institution
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 Court Consultation
with Stakeholders

 Effective caseflow management concerns

the Court, the Bar and other stakeholders
 Meetings should be regularly scheduled
 Purpose is to have dialogue and gain input,
not to obtain reaction

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Case Management Stakeholders

Court Staff Public Bar: DA, PD, etc

Private Bar groups Probation
County Administration Jailer
Law Enforcement Bailiffs / Security
Press / Media Funding Authority
LITIGANTS who else ????

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 American Bar Association Time Standards

Time within which cases should be

adjudicated or otherwise concluded
CASE TYPE 90% 98% 100%
General Civil 12 mos 18 mos 24 mos
Domestic Relations 3 mos 6 mos 12 mos
Felony 120 days 180 days 365 days
Misdemeanor 30 days -- 90 days

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Non-
trial Trial

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Why Not Treat All Cases Alike?
 Cases are different; not all cases fit neatly
into one schedule
 Some cases may be slowed to pace of all,
while others are pushed more quickly than
justice requires
 Cases needing a judge’s attention may not
get it, while cases not needing it may be
brought before the judge

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 3 Recurring
Caseflow Themes

Golden Opportunities
Creating an Atmosphere of
Expectation
“Reasonably Arbitrary”
Events & Decisions
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Reverse Telescope
Criminal
Initial Appearance
Consultation
Evidence Exchange
Motions
Status Conference/plea cutoff
Trial 3% Trial
Cases Filed
100%

CRIMINAL
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 Differentiated
Case Management
Definition
Determination of appropriate level of court
and attorney attention that will move each
individual case to disposition in a just and
efficient manner
GOALS
• Timely disposition consistent with the needs
of individual cases
• Improved use of judicial resources

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 DCM Objectives

• Multiple disposition tracks with

customized procedures & standards
according to need
• Early court screening for track assignment
• Continuous monitoring of case progress
• Allowance for changing tracks, if justified

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 Elements of Differentiated
Case Management
 Early case screening for complexity based
on established criteria
 Assignment of cases to unique processing
tracks based on screening assessment
 Differential court management procedures
for each track
 Variety of case assignment systems best
suited to each track

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 Generic DCM Tracks - 1
 Basic/Expedited
Proceed to disposition with little or no
court oversight
20-25% of cases
Time for civil cases: 6 months
 Standard
Contested issues with only modest need
for court or judicial hearings
65-70% of cases
Time for civil cases: 12-18 months

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 Generic DCM Tracks - 2
 Complex
Continuous and extensive judicial and court
oversight due to
seriousness, size, and complexity of issues
visibility, identity, and number of parties,
attorneys, and others involved
difficulty or novelty of legal and factual
issues
0-5% of all cases
Time for civil cases: 24 months
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 Differentiated Felony Case
Management
• Plan
• Backlog Reduction
• Infrastructure
• Implementation

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 Definition of Backlog

The backlog is the number of cases

in the inventory that are older than
the time standard set by the court

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 Attacking an Existing Backlog

 Determine the active pending

caseload
 Determine status of remaining
cases
 Formulate plan for remaining cases
 Implement a calendaring plan

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 Backlog Reduction
• Special Dockets

• Trial Moratorium

• Trial Month

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 Caseflow Management Information
Systems: Monitoring Levels
LEVEL I Cases filed, disposed,
BASIC INFORMATION pending and their age

When do dispos occur, how

LEVEL II many on trial calendar settle,
FOR EFFICIENT OPERATION how many are continued?

LEVEL III Short / long term trends, trial

FOR TOP MANAGEMENT predictability, problem
EFFICIENCY diagnostics

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