Why so Fast, Why so Slow?: Explaining Case Processing Time

Abstract

From the time of Shakespeare and before, there have been complaints about "the law's delay," and it is a common perception that cases generally take too long to wind their way through American courts.'Normatively, this is a matter of "delay" versus "haste," but the factual question is simply of time: How long does a given case take?The answer is the variable increasingly known as case processing time.The cases involved may be civil or criminal, and if criminal they may be felony or misdemeanor, but here we restrict the discussion to felony cases.Why should we care about felony case processing time?At the individual level, the consequences are mostly for the defendant.Longer processing times are costlier in jail time and psychological wear-and-tear, but tend to lower the probability of conviction.Both