THE GENERAL ASSESSMENT IS THAT THE COMPUTER HAS NOT BEEN USED EFFECTIVELY IN THE COURTS FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS: A DIFFUSION OF MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITY; NO MECHANISM FOR REMOVING POORLY FUNCTIONING PORTIONS OF COURT COMPUTER SYSTEMS; AN ABSENCE OF EXPLICIT GOALS AND EVALUATION CRITERIA; AND A PROCLIVITY AMONG COURT EXECUTIVES TO OPT FOR THE MOST MODERN EQUIPMENT RATHER THAN THE MOST COST EFFECTIVE COMPUTER SYSTEMS. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT CLEAR LINES OF AUTHORITY AND MANAGEMENT OPERATION BE SET FOR THE OPERATION OF THE SYSTEM, ALONG WITH THE SPECIFYING OF EXPLICIT GOALS AND EVALUATION CRITERIA. COST-EFFECTIVENESS AND THE CONTAINMENT OF AN EXPERIMENTAL COMPONENT IN THE SYSTEM TO TEST NEW IDEAS WITHOUT INTERRUPTING NORMAL OPERATIONS ARE RECOMMENDED. ...RCB