The Orleans Parish Criminal District Court has released numbers from a Metropolitan Crime Commission analysis of 2009 showing that judges have reduced the buildup of old cases on their dockets. Following Hurricane Katrina, the courts were swamped with a backlog of cases that slowed proceedings in the Criminal Courts. The statistics released from the Crime Commission show that judges have diminished their pileup of old cases with improved case processing. Time between arrest and completion of trial has dramatically fallen since Hurricane Katrina. The 2009 median case processing time for all 12 sections of criminal court was 120 days, 20 days shorter than the 2008 number, and a far cry from the 232 days in 2007. Over the three year period, the courts have made tremendous progress in operating more efficiently. Particularly when considering the actions of District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro in accepting more cases, and loading judges with more cases. This trend is very beneficial for the city of New Orleans. Decreased time between arrest and trial conclusion means less money spent by the city in housing defendants in jail. This allows the city to focus their expenditures on other areas that need improvement. Hopefully the Orleans Parish judges continue their good work and we will see their case load reach the national level of efficiency.
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