RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVING THE EXISTING CASE PROCESSING SYSTEM INCLUDE REVISING THE SYSTEM TO IMPROVE MONITORING CAPABILITY, IDENTIFYING THE IMPACT OF THE PREHEARING CONFERENCE, USING THE SCHEDULING ORDER, USING A LAWYER INSTEAD OF A MEMBER OF THE COURT TO HANDLE PREHEARING CONFERENCES, MONITORING SPECIAL MATTERS PROCESSING, ESTABLISHING PERFORMANCE GOALS, AND REVISING THE RECORDKEEPING AND FILING PROCEDURES. IT IS ALSO SUGGESTED THAT THE ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD SYSTEM FOR ADMITTING ATTORNEYS TO THE BAR BE STREAMLINED TO ELIMINATE REPEATED RETYPING OF LISTS. THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THESE RECOMMMENDATIONS IS CONSIDERED SUFFICIENT FOR MEETING EXISTING NEEDS. THE VOLUME OF CASES PROCESSED BY THE APPELLATE CASEFLOW PROCESSING SYSTEM IS TOO LOW TO JUSTIFY AN AUTOMATED DOCKETING SYSTEM MEASURED ON A COST BASIS. IF BENEFITS SUCH AS REDUCTION IN CASE DELAY OR INCREASED MANAGEMENT CONTROL ARE THE BASIS FOR JUSTIFYING THE DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF AN AUTOMATED SYSTEM, IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT THE SYSTEM BE DESIGNED TO BE COMPATIBLE WITH AND PROVIDE SUPPORT TO THE PROPOSED STATE JUDICIAL INFORMATION SYSTEM. IN THIS CONNECTION, THE DEPUTY STATE COURT ADMINISTRATOR AND THE DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS SHOULD REVIEW IN DEPTH THE JUDICIAL INFORMATION SYSTEM EFFORTS OF THE STATE. THIS WOULD ASSURE A CAREFULLY PLANNED LONG-RANGE MASTER PLAN FOR INFORMATION SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT. (RCB)