cases back up in state courts

It looks as though someone from the Wilmington News Journal has been carefully studying statistics about the court system in Delaware. They've come up with a number of good points, and some excellent quotes from participants in the State's judicial system.

In their article entitled Cases back up in state courts, it's noted that

The number of cases filed in Delaware's state court system increased by 30 percent in the last decade, and the backlog waiting to be tried in some lower courts at the end of each year doubled and tripled.

It's good to get that decade long perspective, to see what changes have taken place. It would be interesting to define some aims or goals to use to measure the effectiveness of the courts over that period of time. A few are mentioned in passing, such as the length of time from arrest to disposition in cases.

There are signs in these numbers that the Courts, and the Public Defender and Attorney General need more personnel. When the State's Chief Justice asks for more people, it's a request worth considering seriously.