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328 Annals Am. Acad. Pol. & Soc. Sci. vii (1960)

handle is hein.cow/anamacp0328 and id is 1 raw text is: FOREWORD When Attorney-General Herbert Brownell, Jr., called the first Attorney-General's Conference on Court Congestion and Delay in 1956, he focused national attention on a problem that had been growing year by year since the end of the last war and was then approaching crisis proportions. At the close of the war, the federal courts were abreast of their work, and court delay was nowhere a serious problem. New factors then clouded the scene. The moral aftermath of the war swelled criminal dockets everywhere. Population zoomed. Anchorage, Alaska, a village of a few thousand in the early 1940's, can now count nearly 100,000 and is still growing. Phoenix, Albuquerque and many cities have a similar story to tell. Business activity of all kinds has expanded on an unprecedented scale. The judicial machine, organized by Constitutional directives and its manpower determined by legislative action, is not quickly adaptable to such changes, and it is a tribute to the hard work and devotion of the courts and their staffs that as much of the increased load has been absorbed. Today, most American courts are operating without delay, and most cases are heard and decided promptly. It is only in certain classes of cases, in certain courts, and certain localities that delay is a problem. Although the number and the percentage of these courts and their cases is relatively small, their relative importance is great. The cases most affected- automobile accident damage suits-are in most instances a once-in-a-lifetime ex- perience for the plaintiffs, with home, savings, and livelihood affected by the out- come. At the same time, those cases represent a large part of the business of an important segment of the business community-the insurance companies. The obvious answer to more work is more judges, and their number has been increased, although by no means enough. While awaiting legislative action on bills for more judges, professional and community leaders concerned about court delays may find other things to do to increase both quantity and quality of the present judicial output. More efficient calendar practices can avoid needless waste of judges' time. Encouragement of settlements can dispose of many cases without going to trial. Pre-trial conferences can shorten trial time. Use of auxiliary judges and quasi- judicial personnel can ensure that the judges' time is spent on the hard cases that need it most. Statistical reports and assignment systems, under an administrative officer, can put idle judges to work relieving the burdens of their overworked brethren. Simplification of procedure, modern discovery practices, impartial medi- cal testimony-even adoption of a rule of law like comparative negligence-all have their place in increasing the productiveness of the courts of justice. In the various chapters of this volume, one of a long series of ANNALS volumes devoted to various aspects of judicial administration, the background and present status of court congestion are reviewed, its causes examined in detail, and experience with the outstanding measures that have been invoked against it is described and explained. vii

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