Weighted Workload Study
Texas Judicial Workload Assessment
Frequently Asked Questions
Background and Goals of the Workload Assessment
What is the purpose of the Texas Judicial Workload Assessment?
The Texas Legislature requires the Texas Office of Court Administration (OCA) to use the workload assessment results to justify the need for new courts. The Texas Judicial Workload Assessment will use empirical data to construct a weighted caseload model. The model will provide an objective assessment of court workload and the number of judges required to handle that workload, allowing policymakers to make informed decisions regarding judicial need. The proposed project will build upon the previous workload assessment conducted in 2007.
Who is conducting the study?
OCA has contracted with the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) to develop a means to measure judicial workload in the Texas trial courts. NCSC and OCA staff are working directly with an advisory committee comprised of 16 district court judges and county court at law judges who will provide guidance in developing the approach and content of the current study.
How will the weighted caseload system be developed?
At the foundation of the workload assessment is a judicial time study, which will provide an empirical profile of the amount of time judicial officers in the district courts, county courts at law, and statutory probate courts currently spend handling different types of cases. The time study will be followed by a quality adjustment process, where, through focus groups with judicial officers, the amount of time allocated to various case types will be adjusted to ensure sufficient time for the proper adjudication of cases.
General Questions About the Time Study
Who will participate in the time study?
All district court judges, county court at law and statutory probate judges, associate judges (including magistrates, masters, and referees), and senior judges with standing dockets across the state will be asked to participate in the time study.
What data will be collected during the judicial time study?
The time study will gather data on judicial officer time spent on all phases of the life of a case from filing through post-judgment/post-disposition activity, whether on or off the bench, as well as all non-case related judicial work (e.g., work-related travel, continuing legal education, or administration).
Will the data collected during the time study be confidential?
Yes, all data collected during the time study will be stored securely by NCSC and will be kept confidential. The final report issued as a result of the weighted caseload study will discuss and analyze statewide data in the aggregate and will not identify specific judges or courts, except to indicate which jurisdictions participated in the study.
When will the time study occur?
The time study is scheduled for January 23 to February 26, 2023. Participating judicial officers will be asked to track and record all time spent on work-related activities during this period, including any evening and weekend work.
How will I track my time?
Participating judicial officers will be asked to track their work throughout the day using a simple paper form. At the end of each day, those individuals will enter their data into a secure database using a web-based form. Judicial assistants (court coordinators) can assist the judges with entering their data on the web-based form. The NCSC has conducted similar studies in more than 35 states and has developed a data collection strategy that minimizes intrusion on a judge’s day. In fact, the NCSC has found that participants spend an average of 7 minutes per day recording and entering time study data.
How much detail will I need to record?
During the time study, participating judicial officers will track all of their work-related time. Judicial work will be divided into case-related and non-case-related activities. Participating judicial officers will not be keeping track of the number of cases on which they work, only the amount of time they spend on the various case types.
Do I only record the time I spend working during normal office hours? What if I work at home on evenings or during the weekend?
It is important to record ALL time spent working, regardless of when and where it occurs. Please be sure to report all work time, including any time spent working overtime or during evenings and weekends. This includes paid time spent travelling to and from courts for judges on a circuit, any compensated time traveling to and from conferences or meetings, or for continuing educational purposes.
How will the results be used?
This effort is designed to update the case weights used by OCA and the Legislature for evaluating and certifying judicial need in Texas. In addition, including the full range of judicial officers will provide information on their contribution to the overall workload in each jurisdiction, thus lending itself to a better understanding of how work is distributed and processed.
If you have questions about the study, please contact OCA at timestudy@txcourts.gov.