The Efficiency of Federal Appellate Decisions: An Examination of Published and Unpublished Opinions

Almost 60 years ago, James Gough, wrote of the "pathologies" of the federal appellate process-particularly institutional characteristics that obstructed swift, meaningful justice. While some researchers have explored these institutional pathologies for published cases, the present piece extends our understanding in two ways. First, we introduce an empirical measure of judicial efficiency, "swift justice," in terms of adjudicatory disposition time. Second, we examine the impact of particular institutional characteristics-whether a case is orally argued, or whether the decision is published-on judicial efficiency. We analyze the population of published and unpublished U.S. federal appellate decisions from 1976-97, using institutional variables to identify prescriptions that might attenuate pathologies of adjudicatory speed. Our historical analysis provides some baseline evidence that publication status influences the timeliness of appellate decision making.