The Supreme Court has established case disposition guidelines. Basically, those guidelines provide a framework within which trial judges can measure whether the cases are moving through a particular judge's court within a reasonable time. By proper use of the guidelines, judges are in a better position to track their own efficiency. However, I have always been cautious to remind everyone that the quality of justice cannot be measured by how fast we dispose of cases. Every case and every court's docket is unique.
Every case involves the life, liberty or property of some real person.
The delivery of quality justice remains the primary focus of our work. Educational programs have assisted in handling caseloads. In the early 1980's, a program was established to ensure that Missouri's trial judges had an opportunity at least once annually to receive an update on changes in the statutes, new case law, and the most current information regarding procedures. This year, for the first time, we are asking for a significant increase in our training budget to provide regional in-service training programs for the clerical staff. Just as it is important that judges keep up to date on new law and innovations in court administration, it is also critical that our clerks be given similar opportunities for continuing education, particularly in view of constantly increasing caseloads.