Judicial accountability in the US State Courts Measuring court performance

Abstract

Current efforts at performance measurement in the state courts are described, situated in a global and historical context, using the framework of Pollitt and Bouckaert (2000). The structure of state courts in the US is described, with attention given to structural issues that affect implementation of performance measurement at the state and local levels. The history of prior attempts at court performance measurement is reviewed, along with current efforts in several states to implement performance measures based on the CourTools performance measures designed by the National Center for State Courts. General findings on the measurement of access and fairness and court employee satisfaction are presented. Challenges for ongoing court performance measurement are described.