UNITED STATES DISTRICTCOOR'l' 

FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA 

ANNUAL ASSESSMENT 

UNDER THE 

CIVIL. JUSTICE REFORM ACT OF 1990 

FOR THE YEAR 19-95 

( 

June 1996 
1995 ADVISORY GROUP 

Joe Heaton, Chairman 

Members 

Ed Able 

Donna Blakley 

Guy Clark 

John Coyle 

Dianne Goldschmidt 

Melvin Hall 

Rohert A. Hodder 

Don Holladay 

Guy Hurst 

John Kenney 

U.S. Attorney, Pat Ryan 

Ex-Officio/Non-Voting Members 

Honorable David L. Russell 

Honorable Ralph G. Thompson 

Honorable Wayne E. Alley 

Honorable Robin J. Cauthron 

Honorable Timothy D. Leonard 

Honorable Vicki MileS-LaGrange 

Honorable Ronald L. Howland 

Honorable Pat Irwin 

Honorable Doyle W. Argo 

Honorable Bana Blasdel 

Honorable Gary M. Purcell 

Robert D. Dennis, Clerk of Court 

Reporter 

Ann D. Marshall, Law Clerk 

Special Assistant 
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

WESTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA 

FOURTH ANNUAL ASSESSMENT OF THE CONDITION OF THE COURT AND 

REVIEW OF THE CML JUSTICE EXPENSE AND DELAY REDUCTION PLAN BY THE 

ADVISORY GROUP APPOINTED UNDER THE CIVIL JUSTICE REFORM ACT OF 1990 

STATE OF THE COURT REPORT FOR 1995 

This is the fourth "State of the Court Report" and assessment made after the 

adoption on December 31, 1991 and the implementation in January, 1992 of the Civil Justice 

Expense and Delay Reduction Plan (The Plan) in this pilot district court.l This annual 

assessment of the condition of the court's criminal and civil dockets is in response to 28 

U.S.c. § 475 of the Civil Justice Reform Act of 1990 requiring annual assessments, 

consultation with and review by the Advisory Group through 1997 with a view toward 

determining appropriate additional actions that may be taken by the court to reduce cost 

and delay in civil litigation and to improve the litigation management practices of the court. 

This is an update of our prior annual assessments of the condition of the court with 

continued discussion of the impact of the court's Plan with assessment of the Plan's 

performance. This Report compares the data of the three years under the Plan and at least 

the two years prior to implementation.2 

April 19, 1995. Unfortunately the most significant event to the Western District of 

Oklahoma in 1995 was a tragedy - the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building -

directly across the street from our courthouse. 

Aside from the complete loss of the Murrah Federal Building, the 168 known deaths 

and countless injuries there, the bombing itself resulted in significant property damage to the 

courthouse and to the Old Post Office Building which houses the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, 

the U.S. Probation Office, and numerous other federal agencies but fortunately there were 

minimal physical injuries in those locations. We were very proud of the way the court family 

reacted to the tragedy. Notwithstanding the magnitude of this terrible event, the district 

court was back in operation and open to the public in less than a week. Demonstrating our 
resolve, only nine days after the bombing the court conducted a naturalization ceremony in 

which 166 people took the oath of citizenship in the courthouse which resembled a war 

zone. 

Many acts of kindness occurred from courts and judges near and far, from our local 

bar and many, many more people too numerous to name for which we all are truly grateful 

and thankful. We are also pleased that out of this, our Court Clerk, Robert Dennis, was 

given a Directors Award for Leadership which included a $5000 award from the 

Administrative Office of the Courts for his !eadership during and after the bombing. In spite 

of the obvious disruption caused by the bombing and its aftermath, the court stayed current 

on its civil and criminal dockets as this report and assessment demonstrates. 

CONDITION OF THE DOCKET: 

Caseload Volume: 

SY 1995 

Total Case Filings: 2330 

Total Civil Filings: 2168 

Total Crimina1 Fe10ny 

SY 1994 SY 1993 SY 1992 

Cases Filed:* 162 

Total Case 

Terminations: 

Total Cases 

Pending: 

* includes transfers 

2483 

1528 

2464 

2271 

193 

2522 

1707 

2610 

2375 

235 

2650 

1772 

2647 

2442 

205 

2248 

1907 

SY 1991 SY 1990 

2237 

1949 

225 

2145 

1508 

2474 

2288 

245 

2644 

1475 

Statistical data concerning caseload volume is a major source of information about 

the condition of the court's docket. The court continues to have a high civil caseload in 

relation to its criminal caseload just as it has had for more than a decade. However, it 

should be noted that both civil and criminal case filings continued to decrease. 

Criminal Statistics: 

Because a court's criminal caseload limits the resources available for work on a 

4 
court's civil caseload, the impact of criminal prosecutions must be reviewed annually to 

better assess the overall condition of the court's docket and whether this is an area that 

needs attention in order to continue to focus on the goal of avoidable expense and delay 

reduction for civil cases under the CJRA. 

Criminal Caseload Mix and Filing Trends: Chart I on the following page (i) describes 

criminal felony filings for 1995 by nature of offence. There were 36 criminal felony fraud 

cases in 1995 as compared with 40 in 1994 and this is still a significant part of the criminal 

caseload. In 1995 the statistical department at the Administrative Office of the Courts 

decided to combine all drug related offenses (marihuana, controlled substances, narcotics) 

into one category -"drugs" - which had 35 case filings in 1995 and 52 in 1994. Cases 

involving weapons and firearms increased in 1995 to 19 cases, up from 12 in 1994. 

Chart II on page (ii) following reflects filing trends in criminal cases by type. Note 

the increasing trend in certain drug, firearms and homicide cases. 

Burden on the Court: Criminal case filings are continuing to decrease as they have 

for the last several years. The significantly lower number this year could be attributed to the 

possibility that the United States Attorney's office in our district had much of its attention 

devoted to the bombing case. The bombing case took up a great deal of time for many 

court staff as well processing thousands of documents, planning for the possibility of a trial 

in Lawton, Oklahoma, dealing with the media and coordinating many public hearings. 

By 1995 death penalty cases in the State of Oklahoma had risen sufficiently for the 

court to be allocated a full-time law clerk devoted solely to death penalty cases. There were 

close to 20 federal and state habeas death penalty cases in all of Oklahoma with most of 

those coming from the Western District. This Law Clerk assists all three federal districts in 

this area. 

Burden on the court in criminal matters statistically is measured by the number of 

criminal defendants per case. Two of the categories mentioned above (fraud and drugs) 

usually have more than one defendant per case. However the court averaged only 1.2 felony 

defendants per case in SY 1995, down from 1.4 in SY 1994. In fact the court has only 

varied from 1.2 to 1.5 felony defendants per case since 1988. 

Statistical information provided to us from the Administrative Office of the Courts 

5 
0 

CHART I 

Criminal Filings for Oklahoma Western District 

1995 

~ ~ Legend 

0 A-Immigration - 6 

• B-Embezzlement - 7 

C-Weapons and Firearms - 19 

• D-Escape - 5 

0 E-Burglary and Larceny - 13 

• F-Drugs-35 

G-not in use 

• H-Forgery and Counterfeiting - 2 

• I-Fraud - 36 

• J-Homicide and Assault - 9 

• K-Robbery - 1 

• L-A" Other Criminal Cases - 21 

(i) 
400 

350 

300 

250 

200 

150 

100 

50 

Criminal Cases Filed 

~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

Criminal Cases by Type 

-Jd""!:=..,....-,~ 

85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

D Fraud 

Firearm. 

Marijuana 

Criminal Cases by Type 

o ~---r-~--,-_<::::""-""= 

85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 

D Narcotics 

Homicide 

Forgery 

CHART II 

In EY95 154 CRIMINAL CASES 

Fraud (36) 

Marijuana and Controlled 

Substances (35) 

Weapons and Firearms (19) 

(ii) 

23% 

23% 

12% 
and the Federal Judicial Center also indicates a decrease in criminal misdemeanor 

defendants in SY 1994. However, it should be noted that during 1995, the Probation Office 

of our district continued to be very busy supervising an average of 650 offenders and 

defendants on any given day. - They prepared more than 200 presentence reports in 1995. 

Criminal Trials: 3 The Speedy Trial Act (18 U.S.c. §§ 3161-74) requires certain 

criminal matters to be held within specified times which often interferes with the prompt 

disposition of civil matters. Criminal felony trials numbers did decrease in keeping with the 

general decrease in criminal matters. There were 51 criminal felony trials held in 1995, 

down from 79 in 1994. Thus any potential problem observed in 1994 concerning the then 

increase in criminal trials vis-a-vis civil trials is moot for the time being. Again the burden 

of fraud and drug trials is evident due to their protracted nature. 

Comparison of Criminal Caseload in the Tenth Circuit: It is interesting to see how 

we compare with the rest of the Tenth Circuit. Charts III, IV and V (following on pages iii, 

iv and v) describe the caseload of the circuit in terms of criminal cases commenced, 

terminated and pending for the last 5 years. 

Civil Statistics: 

The 1995 Federal Court Management Statistics reports a 5.4% decrease in total 

filings for the Western District of Oklahoma since SY 1994 and a 10.7% decrease in total 

filings since SY 1993. There was a 4.5% decrease in civil filings from 1994 to 1995. 

Civil Caseload Mix and Filing Trends. Caseload mix and filing trends show the 

variety of cases making up the case load and is helpful for assessment purposes because 

different types of cases tend to move through the court system is different ways. The 

following pie graph at Chart VI, following on page (vi), demonstrates civil filing types for 

1995. 

The complexion or mix of case types is virtually the same in 1995 as in 1994 with civil 

rights cases continuing to increase. Generally the numbers of the various types of cases or 

nature of suits that are filed in this court have changed over time. The civil cases showing 

the greatest decrease in filings are contract cases while the civil cases showing the greatest 

increase in filings are prisoner and habeas corpus cases with non-prisoner civil rights (i.e. 

6 
CHART III 

CRIMINAL CASES COMMENCED) 

All District Courts within the Tenth Circuit as of December 31, 1995 

1000 

800 .. 

• .. 

41 600 0 

.... 

0 

.Q • 400 

e 

:::II 

z 

200 

0 

1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 

• DISTRICT OF COLORADO • DISTRICT OF KANSAS 

0 DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO • NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA 

• EASTERN OISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA • WESTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA 

• DISTRICT OF UTAH • DISTRICT OF WYOMING 

CRIMINAL CASES COMMENCED FROM 1991 THROUGH 1995 

1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 

District of Colorado 415 502 373 413 498 

District of Kansas 382 328 318 360 332 

District of New Mexico 673 742 875 922 864 

Northern District of Oklahoma 163 152 168 179 158 

Eastern District of Oklahoma 60 59 46 57 62 

Western District of Oklahoma 453 445 612 542 353 

District of Utah 337 339 345 230 287 

District of Wyoming 99 109 121 115 93 

(iii) 
CHART IV 

CRIMINAL CASES TERMINATED) 

All District Courts within the Tent,h Circuit as of December 31, 1995 

8o0 -.------------------------------------~-----------------, 

700 --------------------------~ ~--------~ 

.600 ~------~-------r~--------4 

• :: 5 00 ~---l 1--------------1 

o 

~400 --~ -- --l ------~ 

.i300 E 

i200 

100 

o 

1991 1992 1993 1994 

• DISTRICT OF COLORADO • DISTRICT OF KANSAS 

1995 

D DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA 

• EASTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA • WESTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA 

DISTRICT OF UTAH • DISTRICT OF WYOMING 

CRIMINAL CASES TERMINATED FROM 1991 THROUGH 1995 

1991 1992 1993 1994 

District of Colorado 364 396 370 255 

District of Kansas 379 320 321 368 

District of New Mexico 569 614 728 782 

Northern District of Oklahoma 150 165 181 167 

Eastern District of Oklahoma 67 58 54 46 

Western District of Oklahoma 438 442 577 582 

District of Utah 311 298 323 253 

District of Wyoming 116 96 134 107 

(iv) 

1995 

370 

339 

770 

158 

54 

333 

263 

125 
CHART V 

[ CRIMINAL CASES PENDING) 

All District Courts within the Tenth Circuit as of December 31, 1995 

700 -.--------------,,---------- ----------------------------~ 

600 ~--------------~ --------~ --------------------~r_----~ 

500 -+-----l 1-----------1 --------~ 1-----------1""l------------I I-----~ 

400 -+-----l 1-----------1 --------~ 1-----------1 I-----------l I---------i 

300 -+-----l \---- -

200 

100 

o 

1991 1992 

• District of Colorado 

D District of New Mexico 

• Eastern District or Oklahoma 

District of Utah 

1993 1994 

• District or Kansas 

• Northern District of Oklahoma 

Western District of Oklahoma 

District of Wyoming 

1995 

CRIMINAL CASES PENDING FROM 1991 THROUGH 1995 

1991 1992 1993 1994 

District of Colorado 263 369 304 177 

District of Kansas 225 233 178 190 

District of New Mexico 570 698 690 511 

Northern District of Oklahoma 132 119 75 97 

Eastern District of Oklahoma 26 27 12 20 

Western District of Oklahoma 144 147 201 95 

District of Utah 196 237 242 196 

District of Wyoming 66 79 76 67 

(v) 

1995 

305 

183 

605 

86 

28 

115 

220 

35 
~ 

@] 

CHART VI 

Civil Filings for Oklahoma Western District 

1995 

~ Legend 

D A-Social Security - 95 

• B-Recovery of Overpayment - 11 

[!] • Coprisoner Petitions - 488 

• D-Forfeitures and Penalties - 49 

~ • E-Real Property - 314 

• F-Labor Suits - 77 

[g L:J G-Contracts - 284 

• H-Torts - 292 

• I-Copyrights, Patents, Trademarks - 11 

• J-Civll Rights - 380 

• K-Antitrust - 2 

[IJ L-AII Other Civil Cases -165 

(vi) 
employment discrimination and § 1983 actions) steadily continuing to rise in number of 

filings. The graph at Chart VII on page (vii) shows these trends. 

Burden on the Court. Although prisoner filings did decrease slightly, they continued 

to be a sufficiently substantial piece (23%) of the court's civil docket. These numbers 

entitled the court to an additional (we already had one) Pro Se Law Clerk to work 

exclusively on prisoner habeas and civil rights cases. The greatest time burden for this type 

of case is on magistrate judge time but federal district judges usually must review their 

reports and recommendations. 

While total number of cases filed is an important figure, numbers combined with case 

types provides information about the workload the cases will impose on the court. However, 

to help assess the workload burden on the judiciary, the Judicial Conference u,ses a system 

of case weights based on measurements of judge time devoted to different types of cases. 

The significant difference in the court's weighted case load from last year (see Chart VI on 

the page (vi) of the Annual Assessment for 1994) is an increase in weighted civil case filings 

in the civil rights category - up to 30% from 25% - of a judge's time in this district devoted 

to this type of case. 

While this court was first in the nation in 1985 in the number of weighted cases per 

judgeship, it has continued to have an active workload. Today we thankfully do not have that 

distinction. We are currently 71st in the nation and 6th in the circuit in weighted civil 

caseload. Chart VIII (following at page (viii) shows weighted filings per judgeship as of 

December 31, 1995 for the Western District of Oklahoma, Chart IX at page (ix) shows 

weighted filings per judgeship in the Tenth Circuit and Chart X at page (x) compares 

weighted civil filings per judgeship for each district court in the Tenth Circuit. 

Civil Trials: Another indicator of burden is the incidence of civil trials. According 

to our court's own JS-lO Forms for the calendar year 1995, it appears that the court 

completed 99 civil trials (we had 97 in 1994). Thus civil trials represented 66% of all trials 

conducted. Trials in civil matters appeared to average 3-4 days each. 

7 
3500 

300() 

2500 

2DDO 

1500 

1000 

500 

CHART VII 

Civil Cases 

O~~~~~~~--~~~~~ 

85 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 

700 

600 

SOD 

400 

300 

200 

100 

Civil Cases byType 

85 86 87 88 89 80 91 82 93 94 95 

o Prisoner Civil Rights 

Rea' Property 

(vii) 

IN FY 95 2168 CIVIl. CASES 

Prisoner (488) 23% 

Civil Rights (380) 18% 

R.eal Estate (314) 15% 

COntracts (284) 13% 

Torts (292) 13% 
CHART VIII 

( WESTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA) 

Weighted Filings Per Judgeship as of December 31, 1995 

500 ~-------------------------------------------------------, 

400 ----------------------------~ ----------------------~ 

41 

• : 300 -+-------; 

o 

"0 

~ 

~200 -+---- :::s 

Z 

100 -1---

o 

1991 

CRIMINAL FILINGS 

1992 1993 1994 1995 

CIVIL FILINGS TOTAL FILINGS 

WESTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA WEIGHTED FILINGS PER JUDGESHIP 

1991-1995 

1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 

Criminal Filings 35 37 102 61 57 

Civil Filings 286 306 303 306 308 

Total Filings 321 343 405 367 365 

(viii) 
CHART IX 

[ ALL TENTH CIRCUIT DISTRICTS) 

Weighted Civil and Criminal Filings per Judgeship 1991 - 1995 

3500 ~----------------------------------------------------~ 

3000 ~----------------.--.------~ 

2500 -1----1 .. 

.. • 

(J2000 -t----

-

o 

j 1500 -t----

E 

~ 

z1000 -1---

500 -1-- -

o 

1991 

Criminal Filings 

1992 1993 1994 1995 

Civil Filings Combined Total 

WEIGHTED CIVIL & CRIMINAL FILINGS PER JUDGESHIP 

1991 - 1995 

1991 1992 1993 1994 

Criminal Filings 421 406 979 908 

Civil Filings 2280 2598 2319 2301 

Combined Total 2701 3004 3298 3209 

(ix) 

1995 

950 

2256 

3206 
CHART X 

ALL TENTH CIRCUIT DISTRICTS) 

Weighted Civil Filings Per Judgeship 1991 - 1995 

500 -.-------------------------------------------------------

400 -r----,.---- ---- -----=~~~---- -------- ---------4 

• • • 

~300 

o 

1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 

• DISTRICT OF COLORADO 

D DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO 

• EASTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA 

DISTRICT OF UTAH 

DISTRICT OF KANSAS 

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA 

WESTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA 

DISTRICT OF WYOMING 

WEIGHTED CIVIL FILINGS PER JUDGESHIP 

1991-1995 

1991 1992 1993 1994 

District of Colorado 351 449 391 431 

District of Kansas 273 349 279 285 

District of District New Mexico 269 345 287 280 

Northern District of Oklahoma 282 306 244 275 

Eastern District of Oklahoma 403 427 452 341 

Western District of Oklahoma 286 306 303 306 

District of Utah 273 263 232 265 

District of Wyoming 143 153 126 117 

(x) 

1995 

420 

292 

318 

264 

316 

308 

231 

107 
CASE PROCESSING: 

Median Times to Disposition: 

This section is intended to assist in assessments of "delay" in civil litigation in this 

district. These data are commonly used to assess the dispatch with which cases have moved 

through a court in the past. When enough years are shown and the data for those years are 

looked at collectively, reasonable assessments of a court's pace might be made. 

Criminal. The 1995 Federal Court Management Statistics rates the Western District 

of Oklahoma third nationwide for timely disposition of criminal felony cases with a median 

time of only 4.1 months and we ranked first in the Tenth Circuit. We disposed of criminal 

felony cases in the same time as in 1994 but we ranked fifth nationally then. OUf court has 

always maintained excellent ratings in this area and at least since 1991, our court has ranked 

at between 2nd and 5th in the nation in prompt disposition of criminal felony cases. 

Civil: According to the 1995 Federal Court Management Statistics, in 1995 our court 

ranked seventh in the nation and first in the circuit in median time (months) from filing to 

disposition of civil cases. The national average was eight months, while our court's average 

was six months. Furthermore, our court ranked sixth in the nation in the median time 

(months) from issue to trial of civil cases. The national average was eighteen (18) months 

while our court's average was only eleven (11) months. It would seem impossible as well as 

unnecessary to do much better. 

Relationship of Civil Terminations to Civil Pending Cases. Another measure of how 

well the court is processing and managing its civil caseload is to review the relationship of 

terminations to number of cases pending at the end of given year. See the following annual 

comparison: 

Western District of Oklahoma Comparison of Total Civil Terminations and Pending Cases, 

SY1990 . 1995 

1995 

Civil Terminations: 2315 

Civil Pending: 1497 

1994 

1734 

1595 

1993 

2378 

1679 

8 

1992 

1988 

1571 

1991 

2092 

1296 

1990 

2470 

1344 
The 1995 data demonstrates an increase in terminations and a decrease in pending 

cases from the immediate prior year. The court is clearly handling the caseload 

expeditiously. The following Charts, Chart XI at page (xi), Chart XII at page (xii) and Chart 

XIII at page (xiii), show a comparison of civil cases commenced, terminated and pending 

for all the district courts in the Tenth Circuit. The Western District of Oklahoma appears 

to hold its own. 

Diversity Filings. Because discussions surrounding the concept of diversity and how 

it impacts federal filings have become prevalent in recent years in judicial and congressional 

committees, included for review is Chart XIV at page (xiv), comparing diversity filings of 

each district court in the Tenth Circuit. The Western District of Oklahoma is second highest 

only after the District of Colorado in the number of diversity filings. 

Number of Cases Over 3 Years Old. This measure has long been seen as a guideline 

for determining delay problems in court processing. Currently we are first in the circuit and 

10th in the nation in the fewest older cases. We had 27 in 1995 and 22 of such cases in 

1994. Chart XV following at page (xv) compares the number of civil cases pending from 

1991 through 1995 in our district for 1,2,3 and more years. Chart XVI following at page (xvi) 

is the similar chart for the Tenth Circuit. 

Alternative Dispute Resolution Programs: 

This court has recognized since the early 1980's that full, formal litigation of claims 

can impose serious economic burdens on parties and can delay resolution of disputes for 

considerable periods. Because this court has made available to litigants a broad array of 

court-sponsored dispute resolution and settlement options and has involved both private 

attorneys and court personnel in these processes, we believe we have helped fulfill our 

responsibility for the delivery of effective, fair and timely judicial services for all civil cases. 

These programs and procedures are designed to provide quicker, less expensive and often 

more satisfying alternatives to the civil litigation process without impairing the quality of 

justice or the right to trial. ADR programs " and settlement procedures for civil cases go a 

long way in assisting with prompt case processing and management as well as potentially 

positively affecting costs. 

In comparing and contrasting these programs, both the court-annexed arbitration and 

9 
CHART XI 

( CIVIL CASES COMMENCED) 

All District Courts within the Tenth Circuit as of December 31, 1995 

3500 ~----------------------------------------------------~ 

3000 ~--------------------------------~'-----------------~ 

:2500 ~------------ ---------- --~=----- -------- --------~ II) 

1"11 

~2000 

o 

j1500 

e 

~1000 

500 

o 

1991 1992 

• DISTRICT OF COLORADO 

D DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO 

• EASTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA 

• DISTRICT OF UTAH 

1993 1994 1995 

• DISTRICT OF KANSAS 

• NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA 

• WESTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA 

• DISTRICT OF WYOMING 

CIVIL CASES COMMENCED FROM 1991 THROUGH 1995 

1991 1992 1993 1994 

District of Colorado 2202 2648 2855 3068 

District ofKansas

O ...,// 1744 2034 1938 1910 

District ofDistrtot New Mexico 1264 1495 1627 1532 

Northern District of Oklahoma 1017 1202 1216 1280 

Eastern District of Oklahoma 794 864 1014 701 

Western District of Oklahoma 2092 2350 2411 2238 

District of Utah 1235 1197 1271 1359 

District of Wyoming 383 385 430 381 

(xi) 

1995 

3340 

2019 

1621 

1280 

701 

2238 

1359 

381 
CHART XII 

[ CIVIL CASES TERMINATED) 

All District Courts within the Tenth Circuit as 01 December 31, 1995 

3000 ~-------------------------------------------------= ------~1 

2500 ~----------------------

.. :2000 -t-__ ------, 

• o 

~1500 

.Q •

~1000 

z 

500 

o 

1991 1992 

• DISTRICT OF COLORADO 

o DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO 

• EASTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA 

• DISTRICT OF UTAH 

1993 1994 1995 

• DISTRICT OF KANSAS 

• NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA 

• WESTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA 

• DISTRICT OF WYOMING 

CIVIL CASES TERMINATED FROM 1991 THROUGH 1995 

1991 1992 1993 1994 

District of Colorado 2183 2211 2707 2826 

District of Kansas 1874 2156 1990 1913 .,-

District ofp ew Mexico 1168 1754 1742 1539 

Northern District of Oklahoma 1506 1043 1146 1331 

Eastern District of Oklahoma 730 767 753 961 

Western District of Oklahoma 1815 2073 2375 2454 

District of Utah 1346 1348 1226 1194 

District of Wyoming 361 368 435 414 

(xii) 

1995 

2959 

1966 

1521 

1341 

793 

2225 

1272 

334 
CHART XIII 

CIVIL CASES PENDING 

All District Courts within the Tenth Circuit as of December 31, 1995 

3000 ,,------------------------------------------------------,11 

2500 ~-------------------------------- -------- ------~11 

)2000 

~1500 

.: 

~1000 

500 

o 

1991 1992 

• DISTRICT OF COLORADO 

D DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO 

• EASTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA 

• DISTRICT OF UTAH 

1993 1994 1995 

• DISTRICT OF KANSAS 

• NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA 

• WESTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA 

• DISTRICT OF WYOMING 

CIVIL CASES PENDING FROM 1991 THROUGH 1995 

1991 1992 1993 1994 

District of Colorado 1926 2363 2254 2496 

District of Kansas 

/ 

1965 1843 1793 1790 

District of Qj~ew Mexico 1904 1645 1620 1613 

Northern District of Oklahoma 951 1110 1152 1101 

Eastern District of Oklahoma 453 550 815 555 

Western District of Oklahoma 1524 1801 1711 1495 

District of Utah 1549 1398 1444 1609 

District of Wyoming 353 370 366 333 

(xiii) 

1995 

2886 

1841 

1759 

1053 

397 

1422 

1577 

426 
CHART XIV 

DIVERSITY FILINGS SUMMARY 

Tenth Circuit District Courts 

Total N urn ber of Cases Filed) 

For 12-month periods as of December 31st 

800 -r--------------------------------------------------------~ 

700 ------------------------------------------------

.600 ------ ----------------- <II 

1500 

(.) 

'0400 

.. 

• 

~300 

:::I z200 

100 

o 

1993 

• District of Colorado 

1994 

• District of Kansas 

0 District of New Mexico • Northern District of Oklahoma 

• E •• tern District of Oklahoma • W.st.rn District of Oklahoma 

• District of Utah • District of Wyoming 

TOTAL DIVERSITY CASES 

1993 - 1995 

1993 1994 

District of Colorado 571 661 

District of Kansas 548 526 

District of New Mexico 303 308 

Northern District of Oklahoma 293 268 

Eastern District of Oklahoma 179 170 

Western District of Oklahoma 601 592 

District of Utah 241 259 

District of Wyoming 149 144 

(xiv) 

1995 

1995 

763 

442 

313 

302 

144 

530 

294 

167 
CHART XV 

COMPARITIVE NUMBER OF CIVIL CASES PENDING 

FOR RESPECTIVE LENGTHS OF TIME 

( WESTERN OKLAHOMA) 

1991 - 1995 1400 ,-----------------------------------------------~1I 

1200 

:1000 

.. 

o 800 

'0 

$ 600 ... 

~ 400 z 200 

o 

1991 1992 

_ Less Than 1 Year 

D 2 to 3 Years 

1993 1994 1995 

1 To 2 Years 

3 Years and Over 

CIVIL CASES AND LENGTH OF TIME PENDING 

1991 - 1995. 

1991 1992 1993 1994 

Less Than 1 Year 1319 1318 1337 1225 

1 to 2 Years 242 321 314 171 

2 to 3 Years 58 122 44 78 

3 Years and Over 33 40 20 21 

(xv) 

1995 

1169 

185 

41 

27 
CHART XVI 

COMPARITIVE NUMBER OF CIVIL CASES PENDING 

FOR RESPECTIVE LENGTHS OF TIME 

ALL TENTH CIRCUIT DISTRICT COURTS 1 

1991 - 1995 8000 ~------------------~ -----------------=~-----.1I 

7000 

::6000 

~5000 

'04000 

13000 

:i20OO 

1000 

o 

1991 1992 

II Less Than 1 Year 

D 2 to 3 Years 

1993 1994 1995 

1 To 2 Years 

3 Years and Over 

CIVIL CASES AND LENGTH OF TIME PENDING 

1991 - 1995 

1991 1992 1993 1994 

Less Than 1 Year 6961 7434 7701 7537 

1 to 2 Years 2274 2209 2285 2105 

2 to 3 Years 941 875 662 864 

3 Years and Over 621 562 500 486 

(xvi) 

1995 

7768 

2330 

832 

431 
the summary jury trial are analogous to a trial - the "third party neutral" (the arbitrator or 

an advisory jury) reviews facts, hears arguments by both sides and then renders a decision 

(albeit non-binding unless agreed to be by stipulation). Both are rights-based processes with 

win-loose outcomes. They focus on the past - right or wrong, fault or blame and is 

sometimes, but not always, divisive. Mediation and the judicial settlement conference, on 

the other hand, can be rights-based or interest-based and can have more creative solutions 

and can focus on the future rather then the past - how best to solve or resolve the conflict. 

It is the parties themselves who make their own decisions working with their attorneys as 

advisors with the help of the neutral third party facilitator (an advocate for settlement and 

cooperation rather than a decision maker). 

The use of court-sponsored procedures such as ours is generally controll~d by judicial 

referral. -The judges are allowing cases to opt out of mandatory arbitration in favor of 

mediation or an early judicial settlement conference and are not referring cases to summary 

jury trial. Neither the arbitration nor the summary jury trial has been widely embraced bY 

the bar in recent years, although some attorneys prefer arbitration and a few privately 

indicate that a summary jury trial would be helpful to their case. In the early years of 

arbitration in this court, the judges would gladly refer mandatory cases as it was the only 

early dispute resolution choice. The arbitration process in our court has appeared to work 

best when the approach of the arbitrator was flexible, acting as an evaluator an often a 

mediator. The only active arbitrators at this time appear to be those with subject matter 

knowledge - especially in the employment discrimination arena. 

With the advent of mediation in our state and the implementation of a well-defined 

program in our court, that became the process of choice. Now with civil case filings down 

and more time available for the settlement magistrate judge to hold conferences, counsel 

and parties frequently request his services as they like his judicial evaluative approach and 

his services are free. However, he is only one person. 

Many attorneys are becoming quite sophisticated when it comes to ADR and, 

according to the ADR Committees of the OBA and the Oklahoma County Bars, we are 

seeing an increase in pre-litigation mediation, very early mediation (pre or directly following 

-status/scheduling conferences) as well as private mediation during the litigation process all 

10 
without court referral. 

This analysis may help explain the following ADR and settlement data for this year 

and prior years. The volume or number of cases utilizing non-binding arbitration and the 

summary jury trial has decreased significantly over the years while those utilizing mediation 

and the judicial settlement conference did not vary much from prior years. The following 

comparison data is prepared for review by the CJRA Advisory Group. 

Non-binding arbitration: 

1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 

Cases referred 82 113 177 201 190 223 

mandatory (75 96 138 150) 

voluntary (7 17 39 51) 

Hearings Scheduled 47 48 119 188 

Hearings Held 17 29 60 92 130 89 

Trial de Novo Demand 9 18 36 54 69 39 

Mediation: 

1995 1994 1993 1992 

Cases referred 142 135 145 109 

Court-ordered (0 0 o 28) 

Voluntary (142 135 145 81) 

Sessions Held 105 114 108 62 

Settled at Mediation 42 41 51 27 

Not Settled at Session 61 68 52 35 N.B. many do settle shortly thereafter 

Other important efforts in this area included special training for the mediator panel 

in handling the various types of employment discrimination cases before the court since that 

appears to be a major category of cases in this district. The trainer was a skilled labor 

mediator from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service who trained in interest-based 

mediation and all aspects of employment conflicts. 

As of December 31, 1995, there are 62 mediators on our panel with several more 

applications pending. Those should be processed sometime in 1996. 

One interesting observation of some of the mediators is an indication from attorneys 

11 
and litigants that, especially in employment litigation where race and sex play such an 

important role and issues are highly charged, choice of mediator is sometimes determined 

by those factors as well. For instance, some women in sexual harassment cases, feel more 

comfortable with a female mediator. 

Summary Jury Trials: 

1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 

Cases referred 0 3 5 19 20 46 

Settled Prior 0 0 0 3 6 17 

SJT Held 0 2 5 14 11 25 

Settled After SJT 0 1 4 12 10 13 

Trial after SJT 0 1 3 1 1 10 

Settlement Conferences: 1995 was no different than prior years with this settlement 

tool. Approximately 500 settlement -conferences were held in by the full-time settlement 

magistrate judge with occasional settlement conferences held by other federal and magistrate 

judges. The court schedules settlement conferences in all civil cases placed on trial dockets 

and in cases where district judges determine that a settlement conference should be held 

either on their own motion or at the request of the parties. Many are able to be held earlier 

in the litigation process due to the overall decrease in the numbers of civil cases. More than 

one settlement conference per case then frequently occurs. 

Our hats are off to those members of the bar and to the settlement conference 

magistrate judge who continued to hold settlement conferences in local law offices directly 

after the bombing before the courthouse was again habitable. This went a long way towards 

assisting litigants in this district who had already made travel plans as well as helping keep 

the civil docket on course. 

Consent to Civil Trials before a U.S. Magistrate Judge: 

The referrals to magistrate judges of civil matters began to accelerate again after 

the "moratorium" on such referrals beginning in late 1993 and continuing through mid to late 

1994. In 1995 magistrate judges held 30 civil consent trials and handled over 73 discovery 

matters. The following is annual numerical statistical comparison on magistrate judge consent 

12 
trials: 

Maa:;istrate Judge Consent Trials: 

1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 

30 11 33 66 15 2 

Case Disposition: 

How cases are "disposed of' or terminate is important to the annual assessment. 

Generally cases terminated by the same percentages in the same various categories in 1995 

as they did in 1994. Approximately 4% by jury verdict, 2% by bench trial, 11% by judgment 

on a pretrial motion, and in the dismissed or settled categories (before answer, after answer, 

after pretrial conference) - 47%. 

OTHER INFLUENCES ON THE COURT. THE DOCKET. OR THE CIVIL JUSTICE 

EXPENSE AND DELAY REDUCTION PLAN. 

Statutory Effects on The Plan. 

According to the Judicial Improvements Act of 1990, § 105 of Pub.L. 101-650, as 

amended Pub.L. 103-420, § 4, Oct. 25, 1994, (which Act incorporated the Civil Justice 

Reform Act of 1990) Pilot Courts are to conduct pilot programs for a five year period 

beginning January 1, 1991, and, in addition to complying with all other applicable provisions 

of the CJRA, shall include in their expense and delay reduction plans the 6 principles and 

guidelines of litigation management and cost and delay reduction identified in 28 U.S.C. § 

473 (a). 

Also, § 105 (b )(3) of the Judicial Improvements Act of 1990, as amended, states that 

the expense and delay reduction plans implemented by the Pilot Districts shall remain in 

effect for a period of 4 years. At the end of that 4-year period, the Pilot Districts shall no 

longer be required to include, in their expense and delay reduction plans, the 6 prinCiples 

and guidelines of litigation management and cost and delay reduction as set forth in the Act. 

For our Pilot District, the 4 year period ended December 31, 1995, and the 5 year period 

ended January 1, 1996. 

It will be necessary for the Court to decide how it wishes to proceed. The CJRA 

13 
Advisory Group may want to make suggestions. The Judicial Amendments Act of 1994 

extended the due date until December 31, 1996, for the RAND Corporation's study of civil 

litigation and the impact that CJRA has had on the federal courts. Once that report is 

delivered to the Judicial Conference, they will also need some time to review it. We may 

want to see what that study shows before any major changes are made to our Plan -or local 

~:----------~------------~-- ---- ~------------- rul . ...... 

Judicial Events: 

There was a full complement of District Judges, Magistrate Judges and Bankruptcy 

Judges during 1995. A new part-time magistrate judge for Lawton, OK, Shon T. Erwin, was 

appointed on June 1, 1995 to fill the position held by Sam Joyner, who resigned the parttime position to take a full-time magistrate judge position with the Norther~ District of 

Oklahoma. 

The State-Federal Judicial Council, chaired by U.S. District Judge Robin Cauthron 

through its Prisoner Litigation Study Committee was instrumental in encouraging the State 

of Oklahoma Department of Corrections to get its prisoner grievance certified, which it did 

in the fall of 1995, so that exhaustion of administrative remedies for state prisoner civil rights 

cases may be required pursuant to 42 U.S.c. § 1997(e). It is hoped that this and other 

measures will help reduce prisoner litigation. 

Local Rules Revisions: 

In 1995 the court began a major undertaking to first revise the civil local rules to 

shorten them, reduce repetition and have them numerically correspond to the Federal Rules 

of Civil Procedure. Draft rules were submitted to the CJRA Advisory Group for comment 

and recommendations. The ADR and settlement local rules are also being reviewed. 

Revisions to criminal local rules will begin after the civil are completed also to correspond 

to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. 

Space, Facilities and Personnel: 

There was substantial damage to the Federal Courthouse and Old Post Office 

Building from the Murrah Building bonbing. There was over one million dollars of damage 

to the buildings resulting from 238 broken windows, window frames, falling ceiling plaster, 

light fixtures, etc. There was also damaged furniture, office equipment and automation 

14 
equipment throughout the remaining federal buildings. There are still areas of damage which 

have gone undiscovered. Despite these problems, we were able to complete the large 

renovation project which included seven new courtrooms and chambers and ancillary space 

throughout the courthouse. During this tumultuous year, the district court clerk's office was 

staffed at only 80% of its staffing formula. One district court clerk employee's 12 month old 

daughter was killed and another court employee's young son was severely injured. Generally 

all personnel pulled together and everyone helped to get the court on track. 

Technological Advances within the Court: 

The automation group continues to contribute to enhanced automation systems 

throughout the courthouse. Data Communications Network (DeN) was installed in our 

court which enhances our communication capabilities throughout the judiciary. 

Beginning in January 1995, the Bankruptcy Court began the implementation of a plan 

to ultimately scan and image all pleadings filed in the court, and to create an electronic file 

in addition to the normal paper file. This procedure received a significant setback due to 

the bombing and its aftermath. That court is now in the process of completing the 

development of a system to make all documents scanned and imaged available to the public 

through remote access by telephone, thus making travel to and from the courthouse and 

actual handling of the file unnecessary. The development of this imaging program has 

resulted in Ms. Leah Arms, Systems Manager, being awarded the Administrative Office 

Director's Award for Administrative Excellence for the year 1995. 

BANKRUPTCY COURT CASELOAD. 

Because the Bankruptcy Court is a intregal part of the Western District of Oklahoma, 

even thought it was not part of the CJRA, here is some information about their docket for 

1995 that will complete the picture for our court. Chart XVII at page (xvii) indicates 

information on the total case load and Chart XVIII and page (xviii) gives the caseload 

summary for types of bankruptcies filed. Although numbers are increasing, most appear to 

be Chapter 7 cases which do require staff time but not as burdensome on judicial time. 

OTHER CJRA INFORMATION. 

In 1995 The Federal Judicial Center published The Civil Justice Reform Act Expense 

15 
CHART XVII 

BANKRUPTCY CASELOAD SUMMARY 

Western District of Oklahoma 

( Total Caseload ) 

For 12-month periods as of December 31st 

10000 

8000 

.. 

.. • 6000 

() • 

.... 

0 

.A • 4000 E 

::::II 

Z 

2000 

0 

1993 1994 

Authorized Judgeships . .. .......... . 3 

TOTAL BANKRUPTCY CASES 

1993 - 1995 

1993 1994 

Total Cases Commenced 7668 7379 

Total Cases Tenninated 6929 7794 

Total Pending Caseload 9061 8649 

(xvii) 

1995 

1995 

7995 

7425 

9219 
and Delay Reduction Plans: A Sourcebook. It provides a district-by district summary of the 

principal components of the CJRA plans, arranged according to key case management 

topics, such as case scheduling, differential case tracking, discovery requirements and 

alternative dispute resolution: 

The CJRA Advisory Group full committee met in January of 1995. Various subcommittees met throughout the year. The committee members were asked by the Court and 

made recommendations concerning proposed revisions to the local civil rules. 

CONCLUSION 

Chief Judge Russell has said in his 1995 Annual Report to the Tenth. Circuit that 

although 1995 involved tragedy for our court, it was also a year in which we can take great 

pride in the manner in which we handled adversity and fulfilled our mission. Since the Plan . of the district basically was a continuation of our pre-CJRA policies and procedures and an 

current civil local rules are based on these concepts, if there are any more suggestions for 

fine-tuning or any innovative ideas to contain the continuing high costs of litigation in federal 

court, those are always encouraged. As with all of these assessments, it continues to appear 

that our Civil Expense and Delay Reduction Plan promotes efficiency and economy and 

therefore, satisfies the purpose of the CJRA. 

16 
ENDNOTES 

1. The Judicial Conference selected the Western District of 

Oklahoma as a pilot district for purposes of the civil Justice 

Reform Act of 1990. See the Judicial Improvements Act of 1990, § 

105 of Pub.L. 101-650, as amended by Pub.L. 103-420, Oct. 25, 1994, 

for a description of the program requirements of pilot Programs. 

N.B. In accordance with the above cited Act and amendments, after 

1995, pilot Courts do not appear to be required to keep the 

statutory requirement of their Plans in effect. 

2. Except the portions on Alternative Dispute Resolution, Consent 

to civil Trials with Magistrate Judges, and some information on 

civil and criminal trials which is prepared by the court and is 

based on the calendar year, the statistical data used throughout 

this report was derived from the 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994 and 

1995 Federal Court Management Statistics, prepared annually by the 

Administrative Office of the Courts, the Guidelines to Advisory 

Groups Appointed Under the civil Justice Reform Act of 1990. 

February 1991, the SY 91 statistics Supplement. October 1991, the 

SY 92 statistics Supplement. September 1992, the SY 93 statistics 

Supplement. September 1993, the SY 94 statistics Supplement. 

October 1994 and the SY 95 statistics Supplement. October 1995 

prepared by the Administrative Office of the Courts and the Federal 

Judicial Center. Also used were actual statistics from the 

Statistics Division of the Federal Judicial Center and the 1995 

Annual Report for the Western District of Oklahoma, prepared by 

Chief Judge Russell and Robert Dennis, Clerk of Court for the Tenth 

Circuit. These are some of the same or similar resources utilized 

and given the Advisory Group for preparation for the Advisory Group 

Report in the Fall of 1991. Please recall that the assessment of 

the court's criminal and civil dockets used in the Advisory Group 

Report was based primarily on statistics from SY 1990. 

N.B. "SY" indicates statistical year. The SY year end date is 

June 30 for the data used for 1990 and 1991 and September 30 for 

1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995. The Judicial Conference approved the new 

statistical reporting period to coincide with the federal fiscal 

year. Some references are to FY years (fiscal year). 

Many of the Charts utilized in the Report were supplied by The 

Honorable Stephanie Seymour, Chief Judge of the Tenth Circuit, 

which were based on statistical information from the Administrative 

Office of the Courts. Some of the court's charts were prepared for 

Senator Charles E. Grassley, Chairman, Subcommittee on 

Administrative Oversight and the Courts, for purposes of a Judicial 

Survey he conducted in early 1996. 

3. According to the Federal Judicial Center Research/Statistics 

Division, the definition of "trial" for statistical purposes as 

used by the Administrative Office of the Courts and the Federal 

17 
Judicial center is broader than merely jury or non-jury trials and 

includes in-court proceedings completed by court decision. For 

civil cases, hearings on preliminary injunctions and TRO's and a 

category entitled "all other" are included. For criminal trials 

the same is true and "all other" would include hearings that were 

completed by a court decision such as hearings on motions to 

suppress. Contested sentencing hearings are also considered trials 

for statistical purposes. The JS-10 Form itself that the court's 

statistical clerk furnishes the Administrative Office from much of 

this data is derived, includes these as "types of trial." 

18