Chronically late Austin court begins making progress
Austin American-Statesman, January 23, 2010

The Austin American-Statesman posted an excellent in-depth article about the backlog on the Third Court of Appeals, how the court works, and why it is imperative that Justice Patterson’s seat be filled by a true appellate expert. Excerpts are below.

The appeals court serving the Austin area for years the least efficient appellate court in Texas has finally made progress cleaning up an extensive backlog of cases that delayed justice and led some litigants to drop appeals as the years dragged on.

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Appellate law is nuanced, subtle, arcane and complex; the workload is heavy. A hardworking justice can average a new merits opinion — rulings deciding a case that are often five to 10 pages but sometimes novella length — every 2½ workdays.

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The 3rd Court’s docket, heavy on complex appeals about regulatory rules and actions by state government, is considered to be the most challenging in Texas. And with at least 800 cases arriving each year — more than 130 per judge — there is little slack in the court’s schedule.

Read the whole article in the Austin American-Statesman.