In Support of the Model Time Standards for State and Territorial Appellate Courts
Resolution 5: In Support of the Model Time Standards for State and Territorial Appellate Courts
WHEREAS, time standards promote the fair and expeditious disposition of cases, establish goals for appellate courts and the management of their cases, set expectations for both the public and the bar, stimulate innovations in appellate procedures and programs, and foster internal and external accountability; and
WHEREAS, the time standards included in the Standards Relating to Appellate Courts adopted by the American Bar Association (ABA) in 1977 and amended in 1994 have served as useful models for a number of individual appellate courts and state appellate systems throughout the nation; and
WHEREAS, there have been significant changes in appellate court workload, staffing, case management processes and use of technology since the ABA time standards were last amended; and
WHEREAS, improvements in communication and technology have changed the public's expectations regarding the appropriate pace and efficiency of business and government operations, including those of the appellate courts; and
WHEREAS, a broad-based committee led by members of the Conference of Chief Justices and including representatives of the Conference of State Court Administrators, the Conference of Chief Judges of the State Courts of Appeal, the American Bar Association, and the National Conference of Appellate Court Clerks, with staff support from the National Center for State Courts, has prepared a comprehensive set of model time standards for state and territorial appellate courts with recommendations regarding their use and implementation, building upon a review of existing national and state time standards, the experience of courts in utilizing those standards, and available data on the time to disposition in various types of appellate cases; and
WHEREAS, these model time standards for state and territorial appellate courts are designed for use by the judicial branch leadership of each state as a basis for developing or updating appellate court time standards covering both intermediate appellate courts and courts of last resort, taking into account the procedures, statutory time periods, jurisdictional structure, demographic and geographic factors, and resources available to them;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Conference of Chief Justices and the Conference of State Court Administrators endorse the Model Time Standards for State and Territorial Appellate Courts and urge their members to use them as a basis for establishing appellate court time standards in their states and territories.
Adopted as proposed by the CCJ/COSCA Court Management Committee at the CCJ 2014 Annual Meeting.