CASEFLOW MANAGEMENT

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Caseflow ManagementCaseflow Management

National Association for Court Management

CASEFLOW MANAGEMENT

Date(s)

Educational Program or SponsorFaculty

1.5 Hour Toolbox

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ISSUESCase management is largely ignored. The basic business of courts—moving cases from filing to disposition—is largely deemed to be outside the scope of court administrators. While cattle call calendars, undifferentiated case management, unprepared parties at scheduled hearings, delays exceeding local or national standards, and excessive continuances are common, they are not noticed by court administrators. When noticed, they are ignored as judge concerns. Not my job.

Unfortunately, in the area where administrative expertise is most relevant and needed—caseflow management—most court administrators have not shown the understanding or, as or more important, the will to be relevant, much less helpful. Many court administrators understand caseflow principles but relatively few are able to apply the principles. Court administrators are missing a major opportunity to serve the purposes of courts and to be perceived as competent by helping the court improve its caseflow.

Source: Ernest C. Friesen, Court Leaders: Survivors or Agents of Change?, The Court Manager, Vol. 15, No 3, 2000, page 54 – 60.

OPTIONAL SLIDE MAY BE TOO NEGATIVE FOR SOME GROUPS

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PURPOSES OF COURTS

• To do individual justice in individual cases• To appear to do justice in individual cases• To provide a forum for the resolution of legal disputes• To protect citizens against arbitrary use of Government

power• To make a formal record of legal status• To deter criminal behavior• To help rehabilitate persons convicted of crimes• To separate persons convicted of serious offenses from

society

Time destroys the purposes of courts. The purpose underlying CFM is not faster and faster and more and more, it is justice. CFM is a justice not an efficiency driven activity.

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LOCAL LEGAL CULTURE INDEPENDENT DEPENDENT

Size of Court

Judges/Caseload Ratio

Trial/Settlement Practice

Calendaring SystemIndividual/Master

Civil/CriminalTIME TO DISPOSITION

Strength of Case ManagementCivil/Criminal

Changing ProcessIndictment/Information

Speedy Trial Rule

Source: Thomas Church et al, Justice Delayed, NCSC, 1978.

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Proven Case Management Principles And Practices

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THE COURT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR SUPERVISING CASE PROGRESS.

SIN QUO NON

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ABA STANDARDS RELATING TO COURT DELAY REDUCTION

Standard 2.50Caseflow Management and Delay Reduction: General Principle

From the commencement of litigation to its resolution, whether by trial or settlement, any elapsed time other than reasonably required for pleadings, discovery, and court events, is unacceptable and should be eliminated. To enable just and efficient resolution of cases, the court, not the lawyers or litigants, should control the pace of litigation. A strong judicial commitment is essential to reducing delay and, once achieved, maintaining a current docket.

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CASEFLOW MANAGEMENT

• Coordination of court processes and resources to move cases timely from filing to disposition regardless of the case type or the type of disposition

• Creation of case events, but most importantly… management of the time between events

• Long enough to allow preparation, short enough to encourage preparation

• Creation of a predictable system that sets expectations and helps assure that required action is taken

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THREE THINGS THAT COURTS MUST HAVE

• Leadership• Standards• Information Related to Standards

– Timely– Accurate– Clearly Presented– Used for Continuous Improvement

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JUDICIAL COMMITMENT AND LEADERSHIP

• This is the key element• The chief judge sets the tone• Judges must:

– Manage judges– Be committed and show commitment– Involve other judges, other agencies, staff, court

administrators, and others– Establish courtwide policy– Establish partnership with court administrator

and the clerk

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CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFULLY MANAGED COURTS

• Accountability

• Persistence

• Willingness to initiate change

• Continuity – Pet projects do not survive

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WHY MANY COURTS HAVE LEADERSHIP FAILURES

• Lack of leadership skills

• Lack of willingness to lead

• Frequent changes of leadership

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STANDARDS

• For the system as a whole

• For parts of the system

• For individual cases

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TYPES OF STANDARDS

• Filing to disposition all case types• Pending cases all case types

MACRO

MICRO• Time between events• Individual cases

RELATED GOALS• Continuances• Cases over standard

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Maryland Caseflow Time Standards

Case Type Definition of Terms Time Standard Additional Measurements

Case Time Start Case Time Suspension Case Time Stop

Suspend Re-Start

Criminal First Appearance of defendant or entry of appearance by counsel (Rule 4-213)

Bench Warrant, Failure to Appear (FTA), Mistrial, NCR evaluation, petition for reverse waiver, competency evaluation, PSI ordered, pre-sentencing treatment program, interlocutory appeal

Reappearance, Retrial, determined to be criminally responsible, denial of reverse waiver, finding of competency, receipt of PSI, unsuccessful completion of pre-sentencing treatment program, appellate decision

Disposition · Verdict/PSI ordered · PBJ · Stet · NP · NG · Sentencing

6 months (98%) 1.Arrest/Service of Summons or Citation Date to Filing in Circuit Court2.Filing to First Appearance3.Verdict to Sentence Date

Civil Service on First Defendant or First Answer, whichever comes first

Bankruptcy Court stay, interlocutory appeal. Demand for arbitration, body attachment

Discharge of bankruptcy, reinstatement, appellate decision, reappearance

Disposition, Dismissal or Judgment, Court-ordered arbitration

18 months (98%) Circuit Court Filing to Service or Answer, whichever comes first

Domestic Relations (Including Child Access)

Service on Defendant or First Answer, whichever comes first

Bankruptcy Court stay, interlocutory appeal, body attachment

Discharge of bankruptcy, appellate decision, reappearance

Disposition, Dismissal or Judgment

12 months (90%)24 months (98%)

Circuit Court Filing to Service or Answer, whichever comes first

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Maryland Caseflow Time Standards(continued)

Case Type Definition of Terms Time Standard Additional Measurements

Case Time Start Case Time Suspension Case Time Stop

Suspend Re-Start

Juvenile Delinquency

First Appearance of respondent or entry of appearance by counsel

Bench Warrant, Failure to Appear, Mistrial, NCR evaluation, petition for waiver, competency evaluation, Pre-Disposition Investigation Report ordered, pre-disposition treatment program, interlocutory appeal

Reappearance, Retrial, determination of NCR, finding of competency, decision on waiver, receipt of Pre-Disposition Investigation Report, unsuccessful completion of pre-disposition treatment program, appellate decision

Disposition · Jurisdiction Waived · Dismissal · Stet · Probation · Facts Sustained · Facts Not Sustained · NP

90 days (98%) 1. Original Offense date to Filing2. Petition Filing date to first appearance

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SAMPLE CASE-SPECIFIC TIME STANDARDS

Table 2

AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION TIME STANDARDS*

Time Within Which Cases Should be Adjudicated or Otherwise Concluded

Case Type 90% 98% 100%

Civil 12 months 18 months 24 months

Criminal Felony 120 days 6 months 365 days

Criminal Misdemeanor

30 days --- 90 days

Domestic Relations 3 months 6 months 12 months

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WHY STANDARDS ARE HELPFUL

• Promote Expedition and Timeliness• Motivation• Organize CFM software and MIS• Stimulate new programs and procedures• Internal and External Accountability: court

systems, courts and their leaders, management, programs and individuals

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INFORMATION RELATED TO STANDARDS

• Timely

• Accurate

• Clearly Presented

• Used for Continuous Improvement

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QUESTIONS:

WHY CAN’T WE DO IT?

WHAT EXPLAINS THE PERSISTENT NATION WIDE FAILURE TO MEET LONG-STANDING

AND WIDELY ACCEPTED TIME TO DISPOSITION GOALS?

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CASEFLOW MANAGEMENT CURRICULUM GUIDELINESREQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILL AND ABILITY

COURT PURPOSES and VISION

CASEFLOW MANAGEMENT FUNDAMENTALS

LEADERSHIP TEAMS and SYSTEM-WIDE EFFECTIVENESS

CHANGE and PROJECT MANAGEMENT

TECHNOLOGY

PERSONAL INTERVENTION

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COURT PURPOSES AND VISION

Court leaders must understand court purposes and promote vision and action throughout the court and justice community organized around the impact caseflow management has on justice. Acceptable court performance is impossible without effective caseflow management.

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Knowledge, Skills and AbilitiesA Knowledge of he Purposes and Responsibilities of the Courts

Curriculum Guidelines and how to apply them to caseflow management;

B Knowledge of the Trial Court Performance Standards, particularly the Expedition and Timeliness and Equality, Fairness, and Integrity Standards;

C Knowledge of the inherent powers of the court, which give courts the authority to set and enforce rules, including rules designed to improve case processing;

D Knowledge of the adversarial system and the values it supports;

E Knowledge of judicial and court manager ethics and their relevance to day-to-day caseflow management;

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Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

F Knowledge of the independent responsibilities of the three branches of government and how interactions among the branches impact funding of caseflow management, timely pretrial, trial, and post-disposition case processing, and the enforcement of court orders.

G Ability to conceive, build, communicate, and implement a clear vision and sense of purpose for the court and the justice system that incorporates caseflow and trial management;

H Skill in developing, communicating, and using caseflow and trial management goals that flow from a court- and justice system-wide vision and mission;

I Ability to translate vision into effective public communications, promotional material, procedural memoranda, and court rules to inform the public and the justice community about how caseflow management improves the quality of justice.


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FUNDAMENTALS

Fundamentals include the relationship between the purposes of courts and effective caseflow and trial management, leadership, time standards, alternative case scheduling and assignment systems, and case management techniques, including differentiated case management (DCM) and alternative dispute resolution (ADR).

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Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (Fundamentals)

A Ability to link the broad purposes of courts to the goals of accessible, equal, fair, prompt, and economical resolution of disputes and effective caseflow and trial management;

B Knowledge of how the organization, jurisdiction, and funding of courts impact day-to-day caseflow management;

C Knowledge of how core management functions impact caseflow management including human resources, budget and finance, information technology, records, and facilities;

D Knowledge of case processing time standards and other caseflow management performance indicators;

E Skill in tying time standards to the number and types of cases that must be processed to meet time to disposition goals for all case types -- by year, month, week, day, and judicial division, team and judge;

F Knowledge of basic caseflow axioms and principles such as early and continuous judicial control and how they produce timely and fair dispositions through staff and lawyer preparation and meaningful events;

FUNDAMENTALS

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Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (Fundamentals)

G Knowledge of all case processing steps, sequences, and dynamics for all case types, including how lawyers, their clients, and pro se litigants make decisions concerning filing, case processing, and settlement; and the economics of the practice of law for criminal, civil, domestic relations, juvenile, traffic, administrative, and appellate cases;

H Knowledge of alternative case assignment and scheduling systems and how to set up and manage daily court calendars by judge, type of case and hearing, day of the week, and time of the day;

I Knowledge of differentiated case management (DCM) and its application to all case types;

J Knowledge of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and how to integrate ADR into the court’s case management system(s);

K Knowledge of psychological factors that impact case processing and scheduling, and active judicial management of pre-trial conferences, trials, and post-dispositional activity;

L Ability to learn from others CFM successes and failures, to keep current with research findings about effective CFM and the causes and cures for delay, and to leverage available external resources to improve caseflow management.

FUNDAMENTALS

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LEADERSHIP TEAMS AND SYSTEM-WIDE EFFECTIVENESS

Court managers and the judge(s) in charge of the court (including the judges who head specialized court divisions) must work together to improve case processing and jointly lead the court and justice system. Understanding that while caseflow management requires early and continuous court control of individual cases, system-wide caseflow effectiveness is a cooperative effort of public and private litigants and lawyers, law enforcement, social services, health, detention and correctional organizations, and judges and court staff.

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Knowledge, Skills and AbilitiesA Ability to create and maintain a court executive leadership team that

effectively addresses caseflow management;

B Ability to develop effective CFM teams consisting of judges, court staff, and others throughout the court and the justice system;

C Knowledge of differing leadership styles and skills and how to build caseflow management executive teams around judges and court managers with diverse administrative experiences, interests, and capabilities;

D Knowledge of the agencies and individuals, both inside and outside the court, with whom the court must work successfully to bring about effective CFM and their independent CFM responsibilities and objectives;

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E Skill in establishing and maintaining effective working relationships and finding the right balance between oversight of others with independent case management responsibilities, delegating authority to them, and micro-management;

F Ability to help court officials and others understand their roles in the larger justice system and how they affect others, and to tie CFM to system-wide benefits, costs, and consequences;

G Skill and political acumen when working with funding authorities and the executive branch to improve case processing;

H Skill in allocating available resources and in preparing, presenting, lobbying, and negotiating realistic budgets to improve caseflow management;

I Knowledge of how to ensure the integrity of judicial orders, particularly processes that enhance revenue (fee and fine) collection;

J Ability to maintain effective partnerships among courts, the public and private bar, community groups, and the executive and legislative branches, without a loss of either the required tension between the branches or the adversarial system.

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CHANGE AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Courts must skillfully and continuously evaluate caseflow with qualitative information and data and statistics, identify problems, and successfully build support for implementing and managing change.

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A Ability to forecast and anticipate societal and justice system changes and trends that will impact filings and case processing;

B Knowledge of data needed for both continuous systemic evaluation and day-to-day caseflow management, and how to acquire and analyze needed data;

C Skill in using statistics and objective data as well as anecdotal information when assessing CFM, drawing appropriate conclusions, and differentiating between causes and effects when identifying and diagnosing CFM problems and challenges;

D Knowledge of basic strategic planning techniques including how to use statistics to draw appropriate conclusions about the current status and the future of the court’s caseflow and trial management system;

E Ability to use data to inform and, as appropriate, to influence judges and others about what is and is not working, and to persuade the bench, staff, and justice system partners, when appropriate, of the need to make changes and the feasibility of proposed solutions;


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F Skill in mediation, conflict resolution, and creative problem solving when addressing caseflow management challenges and needed change;

G Ability to stimulate action and funding support through appropriate comparisons and analyses, and to present data for maximum CFM impact, education, and information;

H Knowledge of the change process, how to plan change, and how to apply sound project management principles and techniques to caseflow management;

I Skill in managing CFM projects personally and through others, including those under and outside direct court control and supervision;

J Ability to conceptualize, to gain funding, and to oversee court construction, court renovation, and office and office furniture upgrades which enhance caseflow management;

K Skill in bringing about continuous evaluation with the understanding that caseflow problems are never solved once and for all.

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TECHNOLOGY

Technology supports caseflow management through creation and maintenance of records concerning case processing and schedules, structuring management of pre-trial, trial, and post-dispositional events, conferences, and hearings; monitoring case progress; flagging cases for staff and judge attention; enabling verbatim records of court proceedings; and providing needed management information and statistics.

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A Knowledge of the caseflow functions to which technology can be applied and which caseflow problems can and cannot be solved through technology;

B Ability to translate user information and experience into effective caseflow technology applications and systems and to prepare succinct and focused caseflow functional requirements;

C Knowledge of the case management functional standards being developed by the National Consortium on Court Automation Standards through NACM and the Conference of State Court Administrators;

D Ability to distinguish between fads and unstable hardware and software and reliable caseflow technology;

E Ability to lead technical people supporting caseflow management, whether in-house, central judicial (e.g., administrative office), executive branch, or outsourced and contractual;

F Ability to evaluate contractor responses to caseflow technology RFIs (Requests for Information) and RFPs (Requests for Proposals) and to get the right answers to the right questions before signing a contract;

G Knowledge of the uses and misuses of the Internet and web pages for caseflow management;

TECHNOLOGY

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H Knowledge of telecommunication options and their practical impacts on caseflow management;

I Skill in conveying the reasons for changes and technical information to insiders and outsiders, including higher judicial authorities, funding authorities and those who actually process and manage cases;

J Knowledge of alternative methods to produce verbatim records of court hearings, and their potential to expedite trial and appellate processes;

K Knowledge of technology to store, index and access archival and active court records;

L Ability to convince funding authorities of the need for caseflow technology applications based on cost-benefit or other analysis, and to complete funded projects on time and within budget;

M Ability to stay current with the state of art and to update the court’s application of hardware and software, to caseflow management and to respect the fact that today’s technology innovation is inevitability tomorrow’s tired solution.

TECHNOLOGY

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Court leaders need to personally intervene, communicate, and negotiate to bring about just and efficient case processing for all case types from filing to closure and court event to court event.

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A Ability to think strategically about caseflow challenges and to act proactively to address them by intervening at the right time with the right people;

B Ability to inspire the trust and cooperation that is absolutely necessary to improve caseflow management;

C Ability to assess the needs, demands, desires, skills, and performance of individual judges and to implement caseflow plans and programs that are understood and supported by the judges;

D Ability to model desired behaviors, particularly listening and teamwork with judges, court staff, and justice system caseflow partners;

E Ability to communicate CFM issues and goals clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing;

F Knowledge of the print and electronic media and what they need to cover court processes, cases, and decisions fairly and effectively without interfering with the process itself;

G Skill in gaining positive media coverage of exemplary CFM projects and achievements, and rewarding reporters for positive CFM coverage;

H Ability to make decisions, to act decisively, and to exert leadership with respect to caseflow management.


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THREE AXIOMS

1. Lawyers settle cases not judges

2. Lawyers settle cases when prepared

3. Lawyers prepare for significant events

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FIVE PRINCIPLES

1. Early control

2. Continuous control

3. On a short schedule

4. Be reasonably arbitrary

5. Create the expectation and reality that events happen when scheduled

CASEFLOW MANAGEMENT

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