Federal Judicial Center, Federal Judicial Center Research Division
January 1, 1977
An attempt to develop estimates of relative workload in the courts of appeals without detailed timekeeping by judges. Judges estimated the relative workload associated with various appeal types, and their estimates were used to calculate case weights.
After initial forecast modeling was done for each district, circuit, and for the nation as a whole, case filing volumes for 42 case categories were projected for 1979, 1984, and 1995.
A summary of the first phase of the Center's project to develop a caseload forecasting model. The study concludes that indicator-based forecasts can and should be used to help allocate district court resources.
Volume I: An Executive Summary -- Volume II: Development and Test of a New Methods for Estimating Case Type Burdens -- Volume III: Development and Test of a New Method for simulating Case Type Burdens -- Appendices
The goal of this study was forecasts of case filing volumes in federal district courts. The effort was interdisciplinary involving statisticians, computer scientists, political scientists, lawyers, and economists.
This is a reference guide to the demographic, economic and social indicator variables used in the development of forecasts for case filing volumes in the federal district courts.