The objective of this assignment is to enable you to demonstrate your understanding of how the increases and/or changes in court workloads are impacting the offices that are responsible for court management. It has been said (e.g., by Walter Olson in a 1991 book titled The Litigation Explosion) that there has been a "litigation explosion" in the courts, at both the trial and appellate levels. Respond to the following questions in an essay:
- What does it mean that there is a "litigation explosion," and is this accurate? (Be sure to address both trial and appellate levels.)
- Are more cases being settled before coming to trial through a variety of mechanisms (e.g., plea bargaining, out-of-court settlement, mediation, arbitration)?
- How does this "explosion" or the changes to how disputes are resolved affect court administrators?