Since the first serious examination of the State's criminal courts in 1929, researchers have argued that the work load is far too high to process cases effectively. However, an examination of crime survey data since the 1920s revealed that in urban and rural jurisdictions, dismissal and guilty plea rates and court delays have been similar despite vastly different caseload problems. For the present study, a sample of 816 felony cases disposed of during 1972-73 in the criminal division of the Cook County Circuit Court was examined to discover the effects of caseload on case outcome. During the study period, judges' monthly dockets varied between 109 and 559 cases, with a mean of 283. With extraneous factors controlled, the effects of different levels of caseload pressure upon case outcomes were found to be negligible. During the study period, judges worked only between 3 and 5 hours per day. The court was able to respond to demands for increased services by increasing its output without affecting the indictment rate. The results imply that the judge, the prosecutor, and the defense attorney, like other individuals in bureaucracies, utilize the resources under their control for their own self-interest. Additional resources would make the pursuit of this self-interest easier with little effect on the outcome of cases. Measures for decentralizing power and for institutionalizing adversary relations are suggested. Two data tables are included.