Court Docket Cases

II. Judicial Administration
A. Analyze how federal, state, and local courts calendar and docket cases. Are these processes effective in promoting efficiency?
• Court dockets contain all materials filed by the court or by any party in a court proceeding. In general, courts assign each newly filed action with a docket number, which often refers to the year in which the case was commenced followed by a sequential reference number. Additionally, letters or numbers indicating the type (civil, criminal, family court, etc.) or location of filing and/or the initials of the judge to whom the case is assigned. Federal courts are different in that they use individual calendars. although this is often seen as a tool that helps the courts flow more efficiently, it is not clear that this would as well suited for state courts. The way in which the docket information is structured and input for each court system makes it much easier and more expedient to locate and identify information for a specific case.
B. Describe how the calendaring
It is maintained by a trial judge in some states and by a court clerk in others. Federal courts are extremely well-organized, with clear deadlines and specific dates for major events, which is a result of using individual calendars. State court differ from federal court in several important ways. While county courts handle a large volume of misdemeanors, criminal cases heard by the federal courts are almost exclusively felonies. As far as caseloads go, State courts handle a much greater number of cases, and have more contact with the public than federal courts do. Cases that tend to draw more national importance, are those that the federal courts as well as judges hear and decide on. This case belongs in the Federal system, where it is likely to be heard sooner than in a state