Results revealed that between 1986 and 1988, increasing national State court backlogs added 3.6 months to average criminal case processing time and 2.7 months to average civil case processing time. State court backlogs nationwide increased by 5.5 million criminal and civil cases during the 3-year period; other studies have revealed that median civil processing time is 1.5 years or more in many courts. Although Federal courts are also experiencing backlog problems, the prospects for timely case termination at the Federal level by the end of the 1990's seem far better than those for State trial courts. Findings also revealed a demonstrable correlation between a State's population growth and the rate at which new cases are added to court backlogs. Figures, tables, and notes