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In the US, courts widely perceive that judicial scarcity is a common problem threatening the fair and timely resolution of disputes. Courts cite the attendant interest in judicial economy to justify interpreting the procedural and substantive law to reduce the judicial workload or accelerate the resolution of cases. But courts' assumption that there are too few judges to handle the current caseload is hard to substantiate. First, it may not be possible to infer from excessive judicial backlogs or other perceived judicial deficiencies that a shortfall of judges is to blame. Second, even when one confidently perceives that a judicial backlog or other deficiency in a particular US court is attributable to a dearth of judges, one cannot fairly generalize from that example to other US courts and jurisdictions. And third, judgments about judicial deficiencies popularly attributed to the inadequacy of judicial resources may turn on contestable assumptions about judges and adjudication. Given these challenges to measuring the adequacy of judicial resources, one might be skeptical whether judicial economies are worth the costs they impose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While many judicial systems in the Western World are coping with a shortage of judges, the public is not always aware of the overload and its reasons. Our claim is that the reason for this is the fact that the judicial system preferred to preserve an ideal image of the judiciary and control all information about it, rather than to publicize the judicial overload problem. In this paper, we aim to show that, until recently, the issue of judicial overload was hidden from the public eye. We deal with the importance and advantages of presenting the relevant facts to the public. We shall empirically show that the judicial system has begun to legitimize the exposure of judicial overload to the public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Use of technology significantly impacts the nature of judicial work. While audio-visual ("AV") links may generate some efficiencies, the increasing use of this technology conflicts with other important developments, notably procedural justice and therapeutic jurisprudence, which recognise and valorise the interactive nature of judicial work, especially sentencing in criminal cases. Analysing judicial perceptions of AV use in courts creates a clearer picture of its benefits and disadvantages, particularly in light of expectations of direct personal engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the diversity of the judiciary in Canada's most diverse urban centres of Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal, and it measures the gap between the demographic composition of the judiciary and the population that it serves. The paper then considers the factors that contribute to and perpetuate the homogeneity of Canadian courts, and it addresses the arguments that an identity-conscious appointment process could compromise meritocracy, or that it would challenge the presumed objectivity of judicial decision-making. We argue that reliable public data on the composition of the bench and a clear government vision and strategy are crucial for the administration of justice in Canadian courts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, court systems in the US and abroad have begun to adopt objective, empirically based methods for determining the need for judges. This methodology, called workload assessment or weighted caseload, provides an empirical basis to measure judicial work and assess how many judges are needed to handle the work in a particular jurisdiction, how judicial resources can be equitably allocated, and how much work any particular judge should handle. This article provides a general introduction to the basic elements and applications of the weighted caseload model in both nascent and transitional democracies, outlines the advantages and disadvantages of two alternative methods (Delphi v. time study) for developing case-weighting systems, and summarizes real-world applications in the US and other nations. The article concludes with a set of practical findings regarding the development and implementation of a case-weighting system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Israel the shortage of judges that has worsened over the years has led to a serious deterioration in the operation of Israel's judicial system. The article is ascertaining the intensity of the shortage by using international comparisons and comparing the rate of growth in the number of judges with the rate of growth of the general population. The article further describes the three main areas affected by the shortage. The first area is the judicial system itself where the shortage is the primary determinant of the delay and what the public often perceives as procrastination plaguing Israeli courts. Second area affected is due process-the shortage has led, in tandem with other factors, to inefficiency in the judicial system, compelling it, most prominently in the last decade or so, to be "innovative", that is, introduce procedures devoid of any legal footing. Third area affected are judges themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtually all judicial systems employ judicial staff members to assist judges in their work. However, except for US Supreme Court law clerks the role of these judicial assistants in judicial decision-making is minimally understood. This observation also holds true for the Netherlands, where an increased focus on managerial issues, such as efficiency and effectiveness, seems to have resulted in a growing number of judicial duties being assigned to judicial assistants. This article provides an initial reflection on such reliance on assistants. The context in which this development occurred is clarified, and the manifestation of the role of judicial assistants within the judicial process is described. This article also discusses two factors that require consideration when reliance on assistants increases: (1) the mechanisms for safeguarding the profession of the judge and the judicial assistant; and (2) the position of the judicial assistant in the judicial decision-making process. The consideration demonstrates the advantages of employing judicial assistants and also sheds light on serious risks relating to an increased role of judicial assistants in judicial decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper conducts a mapping for the regions of England and Wales of legal specialisms which are explained in terms of spatial forces of gravitation. There are geographic barriers to access to justice arising out of the 'friction of distance'. There is a filter effect which varies, depending on the type of legal problem which correlates with distance in respect of some categories of legal work which, in turn, raises considerations of territorial justice. Whether the role of law in this respect is thought of as a matter of access to justice or of access to competitive advantage raises important issues as to the effectiveness of the current organisation of the legal profession. Significant questions arise as to the capacity of solicitor firms within the regions of England and Wales to support the development of regional knowledge-based economic strategies. In turn, this has implications for the reform of the court structure in England and Wales and also various policy considerations in respect of nurturing the development of high level legal skills within the regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]