October 20, 1998

Mr. Joseph J. Mittleman

Executive Administrator

Superior Court of Pennsylvania

530 Walnut Street

Third Floor, Suite 319

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106

Dear Mr. Mittleman :

Chief Judge Gary B. Andrews of our Court has asked me to respond to your recent memorandum with the attached case management survey. Enclosed please find the responses to the questions asked in the survey. If you have any questions about the responses, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

William L. Martin, III

Administrator/Clerk

Court of Appeals of Georgia

WLM , III/ld

Enclosure

SUPERIOR COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA

COURT CALENDAR CONTROL &

CASE-MANAGEMENT SURVEY

1.	Q.	Do you have any differentiated case management techniques in order to expedite the calendar, either generally or in particular classes of cases, including summary disposition programs, and if so, how do you protect the "regular" calendars from any imbalance that may result?

A.	The State of Georgia has the constitutional requirements that the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals dispose of every case within two terms. Article VI Section XI Paragraph II states, "The Supreme Court and Court of Appeals shall dispose of every case of the term which is entered on the Court's docket for hearing or at the next term". If the Court's fail to meet the standard, the case is affirmed by operation of law. It is thought that no case has ever been affirmed by operation of law.

The Court of Appeals divides cases equally among the ten judges on the Court, with each judge receiving cases assigned by four "wheels" on the Court's computerized docket system. These wheels are criminal, civil, interlocutory application and discretionary application.

State law requires certain cases be expedited: civil cases in which the State of Georgia is the plaintiff; criminal cases in which the defendant is incarcerated and Parental Notification Act cases (cases involving abortion requests for minors). By Court policy the Court expedites child custody matters, denial of appeal bonds in criminal cases and denial of supersedeas in civil matters. Personally, I take the position that the two- term rule expedites every case in the Court.

The Court uses summary disposition of some cases. This is called a Rule 36 case, which is an affirmance without a written opinion. I am not sure what the question means regarding how does one protect the "regular calendars" from any imbalance that may result.

2.	Q.	Pro se litigants -- Are they becoming an increasing problem, how are they dealt with, how much help are they given by court personnel?

A.	Pro se litigants file frequently in the Court of Appeals of Georgia. The clerk's office staff tries to give pro se litigants as much help as possible, directing them to the proper statutes, giving them copies of the Court's rules and trying to communicate to them the basics of structure and content in filing briefs and/or applications. The clerk's office also maintains a public file cabinet with examples of various types of filings filed in the Court of Appeals. The files are open to the public for inspection.

The Court is presently looking at the issue of pro se litigation under a commission of the Supreme Court of Georgia. The Court of Appeals may develop a pro se guide or handbook.

3.	Q.	Publications of opinions -- Is limited publication still a viable policy in view of electronic information access? Are unpublished opinions eligible for citation by litigant or the court? What are the standards for publication and who applies them? Are unpublished opinions accorded stare decisis effect and should they be?

A.	The judges offices of the Court of Appeals transfer opinions to the reporter's office electronically, contemporaneously with filing a hard copy of the opinion in the clerk's office. The reporter's office in turn transfers electronically these opinions to the official reporter and collateral reporters. Below is the Court's policy regarding publication of decisions. Unpublished opinions establish the law of the case but are not to be cited for authority.

The following criteria shall be considered by panels in determining whether decisions will be designated for publication in the Georgia Appeals Reports:

(a)	whether it establishes a new rule of law, or alters or modifies an existing rule of law, or applies and established rule of law to a novel fact situation;

(b)	whether it creates or resolves a conflict of authority between panels within the Court;

(c)	whether it is accompanied by a concurring opinion;

(d)	whether it reverses the decision below, unless:

( i )	the reversal is caused by an intervening change in law or fact, or

(ii)	the reversal is a remand without further comment to the trial of a case reversed or remanded by the Supreme Court;

(e)	whether it is a Whole Court opinion, in which case it shall be published.

There shall be a presumption in favor of publication. An opinion shall be published if a majority of the panel deciding the case designates the opinion for publication after consideration of the foregoing criteria. Provided, however, that the author of the opinion, whether a majority opinion, a concurring opinion, or a dissenting opinion, may designate that such opinion be published, and in the event of such designation, the Clerk shall cause such opinion to be published.

4.	Q.	Transcripts -- What is your experience in accuracy and efficacy as between court reporters and sound recordings? Video cameras? Compressed transcript? Who is in charge of reporters and how do you get transcripts prepared and filed with reasonable dispatch? Do you allow audio recordings in lieu in any cases or classes of cases?

A.	The Court of Appeals uses a transcript as certified by the Court reporter and the clerk at the trial court. The Court assumes the transcript is correct as certified, but the parties may raise issues as to the correctness of the transcript. Should that occur, the case is remanded to the trial court for an evidentiary hearing and either party may appeal that ruling.

The Court discourages compressed transcripts, however, the Court does review audio and video tapes. Official court reporters work for the individual trial judges. It is the responsibility of the trial court, the court reporter and the attorney seeking the transcript to have the transcripts prepared and filed with reasonable dispatch.