Terms Used In Missouri Laws 476.412

  • Chief judge: The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court but also decides cases; chief judges are determined by seniority.
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
  • State: when applied to any of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" includes such district and territories. See Missouri Laws 1.020
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.

In addition to any other report required by law or court rule, or in conjunction with such report, each presiding judge of a judicial circuit and the chief judge of each district of the court of appeals shall file an annual report by September first of each year or such other date as directed by the supreme court. The report shall be in the form prescribed by the state courts administrator and shall provide statistical information, where applicable, on the performance of the reporting court and each judge of the reporting court in relation to caseload handled by the court during the period between reports, the rate of disposition of cases, the average duration of cases until final disposition, the number of cases requiring trial, the number of cases disposed of by settlement, the average time between filing of a case and final disposition and the average projected time between filing of a case and final disposition. Such statistical information shall be particularized according to type of case, including but not limited to personal injury, contract, domestic relations, equity, juvenile, felonies and misdemeanors. The report made by the presiding judge of each circuit shall also include the number and type of circuit division cases handled by associate circuit judges and the number and type of such cases handled by senior judges, if any, assigned to the circuit. Each report shall also include an analysis by the reporting judge on the success of the court in handling its caseload, procedures adopted by the court to handle caseload, projected ability of the court under existing conditions to handle projected future caseload, any needs of the court for additional judges, additional court personnel, space, facilities, and equipment and necessary or desired changes in court rules or procedures or in state law. In connection with any recommendation for additional judges, the report shall specify in detail the conditions requiring additional judges and whether the needs of the court could be satisfied by the appointment of senior judges as provided in section 476.681, or by assignment of judges from other circuits, how many such judges would be required, for what periods of time, and the type of cases proposed to be handled.