Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Northwestern University Law Review

Publication Date

2004

ISSN

0029-3571

Page Number

545

Keywords

judges, court administration, court congestion and delay, managing dockets, reviewing briefs, issuing opinons

Disciplines

Civil Procedure | Courts | Judges | Law

Abstract

If "justice delayed" is "justice denied,"justice is often denied in American courts. Delay in the courts is a "ceaseless and unremitting problem of modem civil justice" that "has an irreparable effect on both plaintiffs and defendants." To combat this seemingly intractable problem, judges and court administrators routinely clamor for additional judicial resources to enable them to manage their dockets more "effectively and efficiently." By building new courthouses and adding new judgeships, a court should be able to manage its caseload more efficiently. Trial judges should be able to hold motion hearings, host settlement conferences, and conduct trials in a timely fashion; appellate judges should be able to review briefs, hear oral arguments, and issue opinions expeditiously; and the crippling delay that often hobbles litigants and lawyers should give way to the speedy (or at least speedier) resolution of disputes.

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