Nancy F. Jacobs and Ellen Chayet, with Charles Meara (1986). Bang the Gavel Slowly: Felony Case Processing in New York City’s Supreme Court. New York, NY: Criminal Justice Center, John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

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At the request of the Florence V. Burden Foundation, the Criminal Justice (later renamed Research and Evaluation) Center, John Jay College of Criminal Justice undertook an exploratory study to examine the dynamics of case processing time in New York City’s Supreme Courts, Criminal Branch. An aggregate analysis of 8,219 violent felonies arraigned in the Supreme Courts of Manhattan, Queens, Kings and Bronx counties found that felony cases lingered in the system. Only half of the sample reached disposition within six months of Supreme Court arraignment. The study provided a robust picture of the reasons for lengthy case processing time and called attention to the processes generating them.