Reducing Court Costs and Delay: An Overview

The American legal system is unparalleled in its efforts to protect individual rights. A citizen’s access to the legal system provides the basis for our government of laws. Yet, it must be recognized that serious problems confront the American system and persist despite a long history of efforts at reform by the organized bar, the judiciary, and other interested parties. Years of delay exist in many of the nation’s busiest courts. The cost of maintaining or defending a suit has grown at an alarming rate. These infamous twin evils – delay and cost – do more than belie the standard of access; they contribute to a climate of cynicism and mistrust of the legal profession, the judiciary, and our judicial system.