Recent Developments in Drug Case Management: Re-engineering the Judicial Process

Abstract

The authors discuss how the explosion of drug cases during the past decade has stimulated many judicial system officials to reexamine the traditional case disposition process, with its uniform time frames and procedures. In its place, some have begun to introduce methods to differentiate the management of the caseload, and of drug cases, in particular, to permit the use of a variety of caseprocessing mechanisms, which can be adapted to the individual characteristics of the cases filed and the litigants involved. The concept of case differentiation has provided the foundation for transforming the judicial process from a homogeneous set of procedures to a dynamic and flexible system, which can accommodate multiple case disposition processes tailored to the management complexities of the cases filed and the range of judicial intervention strategies appropriate for the sanctioning and sentencing process. In the drug case arena, particularly, this transformation has permitted much greater judicial involvement in individualizing sanctioning strategies—a role that judges in many jurisdictions heretofore felt they had lost as a result of mandatory sentencing provisions, sentencing guidelines, and the sheer volume of cases handled.

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