AN ASSESSMENT OF CIVIL AND CRIMINAL CALENDARING SYSTEMS (PROCEDURES FOR ASSIGNING AND SCHEDULING COURT APPEARANCES) USED BY COURTS IN CALIFORNIA AND OTHER STATES IS DOCUMENTED.
TWO MAJOR SYSTEMS ARE DISTINGUISHED: INDIVIDUAL (ALL-PURPOSE) CALENDARING, IN WHICH EACH CASE IS ASSIGNED TO A JUDGE WHO IS THEN RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL PHASES OF THE CASE THROUGH FINAL DISPOSITION; AND THE MASTER (SPECIAL-PURPOSE) SYSTEM, IN WHICH, AS EACH SUCCESSIVE PHASE IS READY, THE CASE IS ASSIGNED TO A JUDGE WHO HANDLES THAT PHASE. THERE ARE ALSO HYBRID SYSTEMS AND TEAM SYSTEMS (ASSIGNING OF CASES TO TEAMS OF JUDGES WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL PHASES OF THE ASSIGNED CASE). THE REPORT SUMMARIZES CALENDAR SYSTEMS COMMON TO TRIAL COURTS, WITH REFERENCE TO THEIR ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES; CASE STUDIES OF EXPERIMENTS WITH ALTERNATIVE OR RECENTLY CHANGED CALENDAR SYSTEMS; A SURVEY OF CALENDAR PRACTICES IN THE SUPERIOR, MUNICIPAL, AND FEDERAL DISTRICT COURTS IN CALIFORNIA; CALENDAR PRACTICES IN OTHER STATES; A STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES AND TECHNIQUES FOR EFFECTIVE CALENDARING AND CASE-PROCESSING MANAGEMENT; AND A PROPOSED METHODOLOGY FOR EVALUATING AND MONITORING CALENDAR AND CASE-PROCESSING SYSTEMS. IT WAS FOUND THAT NEARLY ALL CALIFORNIA SUPERIOR AND MUNICIPAL COURTS USE SOME FORM OF THE MASTER CALENDAR SYSTEM AND EXPRESS SATISFACTION WITH IT. A COMPARATIVE STUDY IN A LOS ANGELES (CALIF.) COURT FOUND THAT JUDGES USING THE MASTER CALENDAR PROCESSED CASES MORE EFFICIENTLY THAN JUDGES USING THE INDIVIDUAL CALENDAR. SEVERAL METROPOLITAN COURTS IN OTHER STATES HAVE USED INDIVIDUAL CALENDAR TECHNIQUES TO REDUCE DELAY AND BACKLOG. AT LEAST ONE LARGE METROPOLITAN COURT USES THE TEAM APPROACH. CALENDAR SYSTEM PERFORMANCE IS A FUNCTION OF ALL ELEMENTS IN THE CASE-PROCESSING SYSTEM, INCLUDING CONTINUANCE POLICY, JUDICIAL INVOLVEMENT IN SETTLEMENT NEGOTIATIONS, AND STAFF SUPPORT. STATEWIDE ADOPTION OF ANY SINGLE CALENDAR SYSTEM IS NOT RECOMMENDED FOR CALIFORNIA. FURTHER EXPERIMENTATION WITH THE TEAM APPROACH AND STATEWIDE EVALUATION AND MONITORING OF CALENDAR SYSTEM EFFICIENCY ARE RECOMMENDED. THE CASE STUDIES OF CALENDAR SYSTEM EXPERIMENTATION DESCRIBE A COMPARISON OF MASTER AND INDIVIDUAL CALENDARS IN THE LOS ANGELES, CALIF., SUPERIOR COURT; INDIVIDUAL CALENDAR SYSTEMS IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW YORK COUNTY, N.Y., AND IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUYAHOGA COUNTY, OHIO; A HYBRID SYSTEM IN THE THIRD CIRCUIT COURT OF WAYNE COUNTY, MICH.; AND A TEAM SYSTEM IN THE CIVIL COURT OF NEW YORK CITY. APPENDED MATERIALS INCLUDE A GLOSSARY, DETAILS OF THE LOS ANGELES CALENDAR EXPERIMENT AND OF THE SURVEY OF CALENDAR PRACTICES IN CALIFORNIA AND OTHER STATES (INCLUDING A TABLE SUMMARIZING CALENDAR PRACTICES IN EACH STATE), DETAILS OF STUDY METHODOLOGY, AND A SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED--LKM)