THE FUNCTIONS OF COURTS ARE IDENTIFIED AS ADJUDICATION, JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION, AND POLICYMAKING. THE ANALYTICAL PERSPECTIVE LINKS THE ORGANIZATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COURTS TO THEIR SOCIOHISTORICAL CONTEXT AND TO CERTAIN FEATURES OF THEIR ENVIRONMENT. THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COURTS ARE DESCRIBED: (1) NETWORKS OF ORGANIZED ACTIVITIES, AS OPPOSED TO BUREAUCRATICALLY INTEGRATED FORMAL ORGANIZATIONS; (2) LEGAL AND POLITICAL HETERONOMY (I.E., EXTERNAL CONTROL OF RESOURCES, JURISDICTIONS, ETC., BY LEGISLATURES OR EXECUTIVES); (3) LABOR-INTENSIVE PROFESSIONAL SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS; (4) AN ARM OF GOVERNMENT; (5) SPECIALIZATION; (6) PASSIVE ORGANIZATIONS WITHIN DEMANDING ENVIRONMENTS; (7) VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL INTERRELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS; AND (8) TASKS INFLUENCED BY THE DEMOGRAPHIC, ECONOMIC, AND LEGAL-GOVERNMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE JURISDICTIONAL ENVIRONMENT. THE OUTPUT OF THE COURTS (VOLUME AND NATURE OF DISPOSITIONS) IS VIEWED AS BEING DETERMINED BY THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROFILE AND THE COMPLEXITY OF THE TASK STRUCTURE, WITH FISCAL RESOURCES AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AS INTERVENING VARIABLES. MAJOR ORGANIZATIONAL DIMENSIONS AND VARIABLES ARE ILLUSTRATED WITH DATA ON THE SIX DISTRICT COURTS OF THE SECOND CIRCUIT. THE EFFECTS OF JURISDICTIONAL ENVIRONMENT ON VARIOUS TYPES OF FILINGS IN ALL DISTRICT COURTS IN 1950, 1960, AND 1973 ARE EXAMINED STATISTICALLY. THE FINDINGS CONFIRM THE INCREASING INVOLVEMENT OF GOVERNMENT IN THE COURT-MEDIATED ASPECT OF ECONOMY AND SOCIETY. JUDICIAL, BUREAUCRATIC, AND TECHNOCRATIC RESPONSES TO THE CRISIS OF THE JUDICIARY ARE DISCUSSED. A LIST OF REFERENCES AND SUPPORTING DATA ARE INCLUDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED).