§472 Development and implementation of a civil justice expense and delay reduction plan

Summary

District courts must create or choose a plan to cut costs and speed up civil cases after considering advice from an advisory group appointed under section 478. The advisory group must give the court a public report that: assesses the court’s caseload, explains why it recommends making or selecting a plan, suggests measures, rules, and programs, and explains how the recommendation meets the requirements of section 473. The group must quickly do a full review of the court’s civil and criminal dockets, looking at docket conditions, filing trends and resource pressures, main causes of cost and delay (including court procedures and how lawyers handle cases), and how new laws affect court workload. The plan must include important steps for the court, the parties, and their lawyers. The chief judge must send the plan and report to the Administrative Office Director, the circuit’s judicial council, and the other district courts’ chief judges in the circuit.