Judicial Needs Assessment

GOAL

In general, the purpose of a judicial needs assessment (or weighted caseload study) is to develop an objective and statistically reliable method for determining the need for additional courts.

BACKGROUND

The recommendation for conducting a weighted caseload study originated with the Texas Judicial Council ("Council"), which advocated a more objective and accurate methodology to properly evaluate the workload of the courts. In December 2000, the Council recommended the state seek "the assistance of the National Center for State Courts or some other outside entity to conduct a weighted caseload study."

In May 2001, the 77^th Legislature attached a rider to SB 1 (the Appropriations Act) that required the Council to "prepare a report on current district court locations, populations served, docket activity, and other appropriate variables that would inform a legislative determination on the need for creating additional district courts." In the report [pdf] prepared by the Judicial Council Committee on District Courts, and adopted by the Council in September 2002, it was recommended that the legislature should appropriate the necessary funding to the Office of Court Administration (OCA) and the Council for the implementation of a weighted caseload study for district courts. It was further recommended that the legislature consider appropriating the necessary funding for a weighted caseload study of Texas' entire court system.

In 2005, the Legislature (79^th Regular Session) passed S.B. 729, which calls for a weighted caseload study of the district courts to be undertaken "for the purpose of making recommendations regarding the implementation of a systematic approach for analyzing the need for new district courts." S.B. 729 directed OCA to contract with a nonprofit organization that specializes in providing consulting services to courts to conduct a weighted caseload study of the district courts.

The legislature, however, did not provide funding for the study, which had a price tag of approximately $300,000 at that time. In FY 2006, OCA identified agency cost savings, and obtained a $100,000 grant from the State Justice Institute and $21,126 in federal Court Improvement Project funds, for the study.

In October 2006, OCA contracted with the National Center for State Courts to conduct a workload assessment that will result in the development of case weights that can be used to determine district court workload and judicial need throughout the state. It will measure the amount of judge time currently spent on handling different types of cases from filing to disposition. The evaluation is scheduled to be completed by March 31, 2008.

At the end of 2006, a Judicial Needs Assessment Committee (JNAC) was created to provide guidance and oversight during the life of the project. The Committee consists of 12 district judges, two county court at law judges, one child protection associate judge, two district court administrators, and one county court administrator. The role of the Committee is to advise and comment on: the general study design, the identification of the general case types (e.g., criminal, civil, family, probate, and juvenile), the time study design, and the approach to reconcile and finalize the workload standards.

JNAC met for the first time on February 23, 2007 to discuss the purpose and design of the weighted caseload study. It met again on May 18, 2007 to further discuss those matters. The time study was initially planned for May 2007. However, in consultation with the JNAC, NCSC, and Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson, the pace felt rushed and the time study has been postponed until September/October 2007.