New Orleans - A Metropolitan Crime Commission study on efficiency at Orleans Parish Criminal Court shows some small improvements since last year.
The study found that case processing time went down by 20 days, the court closed 36 percent more cases in 2009 compared to 2008 and backlogged cases saw a slight improvement. In 2008, 21 percent of the court's cases were more than a year old. That number went down to 17 percent in 2009.
"Across the board a positive message about Criminal District Court. The judges are doing more efficient administrations of justice and that's a healthy sign. But there's still a few judges at the bottom of the court that are not using some of the practices utilized by their peers to efficiently manage their docket," said Rafael Goyeneche with the Metropolitan Crime Commission.
The study ranks the court's 12 judges by their level of efficiency. Judges Karen Herman, Robin Pittman and Terry Alarcon are the top three.
Judges Julian Parker, Arthur Hunter and Lynda Van Davis rank at the bottom.
Hunter issued a statement in response to the study. He points out that last year he presided over two death penalty trials, which took about three months to finish. Hunter also says that many cases are reversed by the appellate court due to expediency and the rush to judgment.
"The Section K docket is not inefficient, the facts are not excuses and cases are resolved pursuant to constitutional due process and compliance with the law," the statement reads.
Parker and Van Davis declined to comment on the study.
Goyeneche says the court has improved efficiency steadily since Katrina, although there is room for more improvement.
