VIRGIN ISLANDS SUPERIOR COURT TIME STANDARDS

• Jurisdiction: United States

VIRGIN ISLANDS SUPERIOR COURT TIME STANDARDS

Originally Effective: June 1, 2013

(Super. Ct. Misc. No. 39/2013 [STX])

IN RE: ADOPTION OF TIME STANDARDS FOR THE DISPOSITION OF CASES IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS

Super. Ct. Misc. No. 39/2013 (STX)

ORDER

Pursuant to the authority provided in Title 4, Sections 72b (a) and 83 of the Virgin Islands Code, and Section 21(c) of the Revised Organic Act of 1954, (as amended) (48 U.S.C. § 1611(c)), regarding the Rules governing the operations and conduct of the Superior Court and the responsibility of the Presiding Judge to administer the court in such manner to ensure the prompt dispatch of the court's business, the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands hereby states:

WHEREAS, the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands recognizes that a major challenge facing our nation's justice system is the delay in the administration of justice; and

WHEREAS, the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands recognizes that the challenge of delay in the administration of justice is similarly reflected in our trial court; and

WHEREAS, the Superior Court, in an effort to address the challenges of delay in the administration of justice within the trial court, has embraced as its mission a commitment to improve the quality of justice and increase public confidence in the courts, through the implementation of an efficient, uniform system of case management which will reduce backlog, promptly resolve disputes, and improve service to the people of the Virgin Islands; and

WHEREAS, the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands desires to reduce the delay in the processing of its cases by implementing a Differentiated Case Management System, which is the process of developing for each case a schedule of events that achieves its earliest disposition consistent with fairness and due process; and

WHEREAS, the American Bar Association and the National Center for State Courts have adopted reference time standards models for the timely disposition of cases and core court performance measures to assist trial courts in establishing efficient, productive case flow management that produces quality results; and

WHEREAS, the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands has determined that it would be in its interest, the interest of the public, and further improve the administration of justice, to utilize the nationally adopted standards of performance measures as adopted by the American Bar Association and the National Center for State Courts as guides in developing its own...