National Center for State Courts COURT CASE MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS MANUAL: with Model Data Elements, Reporting Forms, and Management Reports, by Mary Louise -Clifford and Lynn A. Jensen prepared by the State Judicial Information Systems Project and the National Court Statistics Project in cooperation with the Conference of State Court Administrators The material contained in this report was prepared by the National Center for State Courts' State Judicial Information Systems Project staff, with support from the staff of the National Court Statistics Project. These two projects were supported by Federal Grant No. 82-CJ-CX-KOOl, awarded to the National Center for State Courts, Williamsburg, Virginia, by the Systems Development Division, and Federal Grant No. 82-BJ-CX-K014, awarded by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, part of the U.S. Department of Justice, under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, as amended. The State Judicial Information Systems Project has been directed by Lynn A. Jensen for the National Center for State Courts and monitored by Donald A. Manson for the Bureau of Justice Statistics. The National Court Statistics Project has been directed by Victor E. Flango for the National Center and monitored by Carla Gaskins for the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Points of view or opinions stated in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Clifford, Mary Louise. Court case management information systems manual. Bibliography: p. 1. Court adrninistration--United States. I. Jensen, Lynn A. 11. National Center for State Courts. State Judicial Information Systems Project. 11. National Court Statistics Project (u.S.) IV. Conference of State Court Administrators. V. Title. KF8733. ~581983 347.73 1 068 83-17382 ISBN 0-89656-071-6 347.3071068 Copyright @ 1983 by National Center for State Courts National Center Publication No. R-082 ii COSCA Committee on Court Statistics and Information Systems Walter J. Kane L. M. "Pat" Jacobs, IV State Court Administrator Circuit Court Administrator Rhode Island Detroit, Michigan ( CHAIRMAN) Elizabeth D. Relshaw J. Denis Moran State Court Administrator Director of State Courts Oregon Wisconsin William G. Bohn Larry P. Polansky State Court Administrator Executive Officer North Dakota Courts of the District of Columbia Hugh M. Collins Professor Richard J. Richardson Deputy Judicial Administrator University of North Carolina Louisiana Sue K. Dosal Francis J. Taillefer State Court Administrator Administrator, Information Minnesota Systems Division, North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts Honorable Roy 0. Gulley Director, Administrative Office of the Courts I1 1inois National Center for State Courts EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Edward B. McConnell DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR PROGRAMS: John M. Greacen STATE JUDICIAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS PROJECT STAFF: Lynn A. Jensen, Project Director Mary Louise Clifford, Staff Associate Brenda W. Jones, Administrative Secretary NATIONAL COURT STATISTICS PROJECT STAFF : Victor E. Flango, Project Director Mary E. Elsner, Staff Associate Robert R. Roper, Staff Associate Brenda W. Jones, Administrative Secretary OTHER STAFF CONTRIBUTORS: Carter C. Cowles, Senior Staff Associate Don E. Hardenbergh, Staff Associate iii National Center for State Courts Board of Directors Honorable Lawrence H. Cooke Honorable William H. D. Fones President Chief Justice, Supreme Court Chief Judge of the State of Tennessee of New York Honorable Ralph J. Erickstad Mr. Linwood Holton President-Elect Vice-president and General Counsel Chief Justice, Supreme Court American Council of Life Insurance, of North Dakota Washington, D.C. Mr. Lester Earl Cingcade Honorable Wilfred W. Nuernberger Vice-president Judge, Separate Juvenile Court Administrative Director of of Lancaster County, Nebraska the Courts, The Judiciary of Hawaii Honorable B. Don Barnes Honorable John T. Racanelli Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Presiding Justice, California Oklahoma Court of Appeal, First District Honorable Dorothy T. Beasley Honorable Howard C. Ryan Judge, State Court of Fulton Chief Justice, Supreme Court County, Georgia of Illinois Honorable George C. Berry Honorable Kaliste J. Saloom, Jr. Judge, Probate Court, Missouri Judge, City Court of Lafayette, Louisiana Honorable Robert C. Broomfield Honorable Leo M. Spellacy Presiding Judge, Superior Court Presiding Judge, Court of of Maricopa County, Arizona Common Pleas of Cuyahoga County, Ohio Honorable Mercedes F. Deiz Mr. Charles H. Starrett, Jr. Fourth Judicial District Court Administrator, Court of Judge, Circuit Court of Oregon Common Pleas, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Mr. Haliburton Fales, 2d Mr. James D. Thomas White and Case, New York City State Court Administrator, Judicial Department, Colorado National Center for State Courts 300 Newport Avenue Williamsburg, Virginia 23185 iv Acknowledgments Court Case Management Information Systems Manual with Model Data Elements, Reporting Forms, and Management Reports has been prepared by the staff of the State Judicial Information Systems and National Court Statistics projects of the National Center for State Courts. This publication is an integral part of a continuing effort by the National Center and the Conference of State Court Administrators to develop within the National Center a national data base of comparable state court caseload statistics and to help state courts collect, report, and use more comprehensive, accurate, and timely management information through the development of effective and efficient court management information systems. The functions and applications normally associated with court management information systems are discussed and the primary management uses of case-related data identified. Further, the case management information requirements of administrative offices of the courts and of trial and appellate courts are surveyed. The case-related model data elements, presented in earlier SJIS and NCSP publications such as the State Court Model Statistical Dictionary and the State Court Model Annual Report, are expanded and clarified. These model data elements are then arranged in a logical classification framework and used to develop several sets of model data collection forms and management reports for use in trial courts, appellate courts, and state-level administrative offices. The preparation of this document has been supervised and greatly assisted by the advisory committee appointed by the Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA), The committee members have given generously of their time and experience, and their participation has been invaluable to the project staff. The positive control exerted by COSCA through this committee, using the review and approval process, has greatly enhanced the quality of this report. The members of the COSCA Committee on Court Statistics and Information Systems, however, are not the only COSCA members whose assistance has been vital to the production of this document. The administrators and their staffs in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands have provided the National Center staff with vital survey data and information detailing the types of court statistics they collect and report. They have been consistently patient and helpful in answering written and telephone inquiries for more data or for explanations of the use of the data provided. V The members of the National Conference of Appellate Court Clerks, National Association of Trial Court Administrators, National Association for Court Administration, and National Council for Judicial Planning were also requested to furnish data on case management reporting techniques. Their prompt and complete responses are very much appreciated. The project monitors in the Bureau of Justice Statistics--Carla Gaskins for the National Court Statistics Project, and Don Manson for the State Judicial Information Systems Project--have been most supportive in encouraging us to combine two monographs, which were to be produced separately by the two projects, into one comprehensive manual. This merger of a document on data collection and a document on output reports has eliminated redundancy and permitted a much broader treatment of court management information systems. We appreciate the use of the library facilities and the availability of cooperative staff members at the College of William and Mary, the Institute for Judicial Administration, the Institute for Court Management, the American University Criminal Courts Technical Assistance Project, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, the National Center for Juvenile Justice, the Federal Judicial Center, and the National Center for State Courts. Their assistance has been invaluable in enhancing the quality of the compilation and research represented in this publication. Other individuals at private institutions and universities across the country were also queried, and their assistance in identifying and gathering valuable research material is gratefully acknowledged. In addition, the authors would like to acknowledge the individual contributions of Victor Flango, Mary Elsner, Robert Roper, Don Hardenbergh, at the National Center for State Courts for their assistance in gathering research materials and patience in discussing the concepts in and reviewing this document. Brenda Jones deserves special commendation for her patience in dealing