High court backlog reduced, chief justice says

Friday, Oct. 8, 1999 | 9:29 a.m.

Rose said the court, operating under a new panel system, was able to reduce its backlog by 275 cases, down to 1,890 compared with 2,165 at the start of the year.

"If this productivity continues, the court will reduce the backlog by 400 cases in one year, or about a 20 percent reduction," he added.

"The only thing that could hamper, or even eliminate, our ability to reduce the backlog further would be a substantial increase in the number of cases appealed to the Supreme Court," Rose said.

"But it doesn't look like this will happen" in the near future, he added.

Rose also announced new assignments to the court's three-justice panels, which were started in January when the court expanded from five to seven justices. Big, precedent-setting cases are heard by the full court while other cases are heard by the panels.

Justices Cliff Young, Myron Leavitt and Deborah Agosti will serve on the northern panel, with Young acting as presiding justice; and Justice Bill Maupin will preside over the southern panel, joined by Justices Miriam Shearing and Nancy Becker.

Rose also said most of the justices have elected to extend their panel assignments from six months to one year.

"The operation of the panel system at the Supreme Court is still a work in progress," he said. "But the justices on the panels have accomplished great things thus far."