Prehearing Research and Screening in the Michigan Court of Appeals: One Court's Method for Increasing Judicial Productivity

30 Pages Posted: 1 Jan 2011

See all articles by Norman Otto Stockmeyer

Norman Otto Stockmeyer

Cooley Law School

T. John Lesinski

affiliation not provided to SSRN (deceased)

Date Written: 1973

Abstract

The Michigan Court of Appeals was created in 1965. Within three years, it was inundated with appeals. As an alternative to adding judges or multiple law clerks, in 1968 it became the first state appeals court to employ a central research staff. The staff screens and prepares bench memos on every appeal that passes through the court. This 1973 article was written by the court’s Chief Judge (now deceased) and its Research Staff Director. They describe the methods used to research and screen appeals, and the selection, direction, and tenure of the research staff. They also address the benefits of the prehearing-report system and concerns about potential delegation of judicial authority. The use of prehearing research staffs by other pioneering courts is described and compared with the Michigan experience. That experience led national advisory commissions to recommend that central staffing and screening be incorporated within appellate court systems generally.

Keywords: appellate courts, judicial staff, prehearing research, judicial productivity

Suggested Citation

Stockmeyer, Norman Otto and Lesinski, T. John, Prehearing Research and Screening in the Michigan Court of Appeals: One Court's Method for Increasing Judicial Productivity (1973). Vanderbilt Law Review, Vol. 26, p. 1211, 1973, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1733120

Norman Otto Stockmeyer (Contact Author)

Cooley Law School ( email )

300 S. Capitol Avenue
P.O. Box 13038
Lansing, MI 48901
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.cooley.edu/faculty/norman-stockmeyer

T. John Lesinski

affiliation not provided to SSRN (deceased)

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