Backlog Reduction and Case Management

In January 1996, Division Two had a backlog of approximately 300 fully briefed cases that had not yet been assigned for preparation of an opinion, resulting in delays of up to an additional year beyond the norm in civil cases. The court had been expecting an increase in justices and/or legal staff to deal with the backlog since it began to grow in 1990--no additional justices, and only one attorney in 1991 and another for 1996, had been authorized since 1987 despite steady increases in filings. But when it became plain that the additional resources would not be forthcoming, the justices concurred in a commonsense plan developed by the presiding justice to reduce the backlog and resulting delays of up to an additional year beyond the norm in civil cases.

The first objective was to prevent the further growth of the backlog by estimating the actual number of fully briefed cases the court would receive monthly and assigning all of those cases to the chambers and staff.

The second objective was to reduce the backlog by additional case assignments beyond what was necessary to prevent backlog growth. The court looked at several different levels of case assignments, balanced the need for backlog reduction against the impact of the additional work on the justices and legal staff, and determined that the backlog could be reasonably reduced over a two-year period. The appropriate assignments were planned, the justices agreed on the work increase, and the plan was presented to court personnel.

Led by the united justices and supported by a determined staff, the court met the monthly goals and increased the number of opinions filed each month by an average of almost 50 percent becoming one of the most productive courts of appeal in the state. Almost all cases are now assigned to chambers within a month after they have been fully briefed with little, if any, backlog in the chambers. The court continues to set case assignments according to an estimate of the number of cases coming fully briefed and to monitor its caseload to insure against the development of a new backlog.