FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS PAPER, PLANNING AND RESEARCH UNITS ARE DEFINED LOOSELY TO INCLUDE ALL MAJOR AGENCIES WHICH HAVE AS THEIR PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY RESEARCH AND PROGRAM PLANNING (INCLUDING ASSISTANCE IN IMPLEMENTATION) TO IMPROVE THE FUNCTIONING OF THE COURTS. THIS REPORT REVIEWS MANY FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL EFFORTS AND PRESENTS A CASE STUDY OF THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUNICIPAL COURTS PLANNING AND RESEARCH UNIT (PRU) TO ILLUSTRATE ONE TYPE OF UNIT THAT IS WORKING WELL IN A LARGE METROPOLITAN AREA. THIS PRU PROVIDES A VARIETY OF SERVICES TO THE LOS ANGELES COURTS, INCLUDING STUDYING PROBLEM AREAS AND DESIGNING, IMPLEMENTING, AND EVALUATING COURT IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS. SINCE IT OPERATES WITHIN A COURT 'SYSTEM' COMPOSED OF A FEDERATION OF 24 OTHERWISE INDEPENDENT MUNICIPAL COURTS, THE LOS ANGELES PRU HAS ADOPTED A PROJECT-SPECIFIC APPROACH TO COURT PLANNING AND REFORM, I.E., IDENTIFYING PROBLEMS IN THE MUNICIPAL COURT SYSTEM AND DEVISING PROJECTS TO SOLVE THEM. THIS MONOGRAPH DISCUSSES THE WAY THE PRU OPERATES AND THE REASONS FOR TAKING THE APPROACH AND DEVELOPING THE PROJECTS IT HAS. A SAMPLE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT PRU PROJECTS IS ALSO OUTLINED, SUCH AS BAIL BY MAIL, IMPLEMENTATION OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY'S FIRST ALCOHOL DETOXIFICATION CENTER, AUTOMATED CRIMINAL AND CIVIL CASE FOLLOWING AND CALENDARING, AND TRIAL COURT REORGANIZATION. IN ADDITION, A 'COMMENTARY' EXPLORES THE CHOICES WHICH ARISE IN THE PROCESS OF IMPLEMENTING A COURT PLANNING UNIT IN A GIVEN LOCALITY -- SCOPE OF PROBLEM AREAS (LONG-RANGE PLANNING VERSUS PROBLEM-ORIENTED PLANNING) AND ADMINISTRATIVE AFFILIATION OF THE UNIT (WITHIN THE JUDICIARY OR EXECUTIVE BRANCH OR AS A QUASI-INDEPENDENT AGENCY). APPENDED IS A DISCUSSION OF AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION AND NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS ON COURT-RELATED STANDARDS. THE APPENDIX ALSO DESCRIBES SPECIFIC PROGRAMS INITIATED BY THE LOS ANGELES PRU AND REFERENCES OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION ON VARIOUS COURT IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)