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Evaluation of Pre-Trial Conferences in the Christchurch District Court

NCJ Number
106561
Author(s)
J White; J Briggs
Date Published
1987
Length
185 pages
Annotation
A pilot program using pretrial conferences for civil cases in the Christchurch District Court, New Zealand, has succeeded in reducing the frivolous filing of notices of intention to defend, the proportion of cases going to defended hearing, and the delays between the filing of the notice of intention to defend and the final judgment.
Abstract
However, the program has not achieved its two other goals: reducing the time spent in a defended hearing and improving the accuracy of estimates of the duration of defended hearings. The program's goal is to ensure that all cases were ready to proceed to a hearing. The conferences give the judge an opportunity to check that interlocutory procedures have taken place and to set times for further procedures. The analysis compared 2,695 cases from the pilot program in 1984 with 2,864 cases used as a control group that were handled in 1983. The cases were not randomly assigned, so the evaluation did not use a true experimental design. Data also came from interviews and questionnaires completed by 42 lawyers, court staff, and judges who took part in the pilot program. Most respondents regarded the pilot program as worthwhile and felt that it should become a permanent part of the civil process. Data tables; 3 references; and appended forms, questionnaire, and comparative data.