Trial as error, jurisdiction as injury: Transforming the meaning of article III

Harvard Law Review

Volumn 114, Issue 4, 2000, Pages 925-

  Resnik, Judith ^a  

^a NONE

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Indexed keywords

EID: 0042726062     PISSN: 0017811X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.2307/1342436     Document Type: Article

References (3)

1. Estimates vary depending on the ways in which data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO) are evaluated. The eight percent figure is derived by combining, for the year ending in September of 1994, the cases "terminated during/after trials" (7,910) with those in which trials were "completed," (10,473) and then using the numbers of cases "commenced" (236,391) in the same year as the baseline, resulting in a 7.8% trial rate. See ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE U.S. COURTS, 1994 ACTIVITIES OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES COURTS app. at I-81 tbl.C-4A, app. at I-90 tbl.C-7, app. at I-48 tbl.C. Of course, the trials held in 1994 may not be in cases commenced in that year. While about half of the cases "close within 9 months of filing," the rest remain pending longer. JAMES S. KAKALIK, TERENCE DUNWORTH, LAURAL A. HILL, DANIEL MCCAFFREY, MARIAN OSHIRO, NICHOLAS M. PACE & MARY E. VAIANA, AN EVALUATION OF JUDICIAL CASE MANAGEMENT UNDER THE CIVIL JUSTICE REFORM ACT 158-64 (RAND 1996) [hereinafter RAND JUDICIAL CASE MANAGEMENT EVALUATION]. The average time from filing to disposition in cases tried was about 16 months. See ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE U.S. COURTS, JUDICIAL BUSINESS OF THE UNITED STATES COURTS at tbl.C-10 (1994). Therefore, the eight percent rate provides a snapshot of the likelihood of trial rather than describing which cases went to trial.
2. Estimates vary depending on the ways in which data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO) are evaluated. The eight percent figure is derived by combining, for the year ending in September of 1994, the cases "terminated during/after trials" (7,910) with those in which trials were "completed," (10,473) and then using the numbers of cases "commenced" (236,391) in the same year as the baseline, resulting in a 7.8% trial rate. See ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE U.S. COURTS, 1994 ACTIVITIES OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES COURTS app. at I-81 tbl.C-4A, app. at I-90 tbl.C-7, app. at I-48 tbl.C. Of course, the trials held in 1994 may not be in cases commenced in that year. While about half of the cases "close within 9 months of filing," the rest remain pending longer. JAMES S. KAKALIK, TERENCE DUNWORTH, LAURAL A. HILL, DANIEL MCCAFFREY, MARIAN OSHIRO, NICHOLAS M. PACE & MARY E. VAIANA, AN EVALUATION OF JUDICIAL CASE MANAGEMENT UNDER THE CIVIL JUSTICE REFORM ACT 158-64 (RAND 1996) [hereinafter RAND JUDICIAL CASE MANAGEMENT EVALUATION]. The average time from filing to disposition in cases tried was about 16 months. See ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE U.S. COURTS, JUDICIAL BUSINESS OF THE UNITED STATES COURTS at tbl.C-10 (1994). Therefore, the eight percent rate provides a snapshot of the likelihood of trial rather than describing which cases went to trial.
3. Estimates vary depending on the ways in which data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO) are evaluated. The eight percent figure is derived by combining, for the year ending in September of 1994, the cases "terminated during/after trials" (7,910) with those in which trials were "completed," (10,473) and then using the numbers of cases "commenced" (236,391) in the same year as the baseline, resulting in a 7.8% trial rate. See ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE U.S. COURTS, 1994 ACTIVITIES OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES COURTS app. at I-81 tbl.C-4A, app. at I-90 tbl.C-7, app. at I-48 tbl.C. Of course, the trials held in 1994 may not be in cases commenced in that year. While about half of the cases "close within 9 months of filing," the rest remain pending longer. JAMES S. KAKALIK, TERENCE DUNWORTH, LAURAL A. HILL, DANIEL MCCAFFREY, MARIAN OSHIRO, NICHOLAS M. PACE & MARY E. VAIANA, AN EVALUATION OF JUDICIAL CASE MANAGEMENT UNDER THE CIVIL JUSTICE REFORM ACT 158-64 (RAND 1996) [hereinafter RAND JUDICIAL CASE MANAGEMENT EVALUATION]. The average time from filing to disposition in cases tried was about 16 months. See ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE U.S. COURTS, JUDICIAL BUSINESS OF THE UNITED STATES COURTS at tbl.C-10 (1994). Therefore, the eight percent rate provides a snapshot of the likelihood of trial rather than describing which cases went to trial.