Setting 80% of jury trial requests within 120 days of request ensures all parties to the case timely access to the court without undue delay and timely resolution of their cases. This allows the Court to measure its efficiency and use of court personnel and space.

A jury trial request is how a defendant informs the court that he/she wants a trial before a jury. That means that the case will be tried before a jury and the jury will have the responsibility to decide whether a defendant is guilty or not guilty. The other option for a trial is a trial before a judge, known as a bench trial. In a bench trial the judge has the responsibility for deciding whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty. The jury trial request is unique because of the “path” the case takes following the request is substantially different from and more time consuming than the path for a bench trial. In the past, there has been a substantial backlog of cases waiting for a jury trial. As of this date, that backlog has been virtually eliminated. By tracking the number of cases set for jury trial, we hope to insure that a backlog does not reoccur.

All data is gathered from the various setting ticklers and is compiled in the FS100 .  There is currently no automated process in place to track these percentages, however they can be calculated from the raw data.  The plan is to incorporate an automatic tracking and setting system into the upcoming court management system (CMS).

Actual = Total number of cases set/Total number of cases available to set