Yesterday, we reviewed the data for the average wait from filing of the opening brief to filing of the reply brief.  This time, we move to the next step: the average wait from filing of the reply brief to filing of the final brief – amicus or supplemental.

During the 1990s, the relatively few additional briefs in criminal cases typically occupied only four to seven months.  In 1990, the average was only 106.37 days.  It was 154.59 days in 1991, 261.73 in 1992, 192.92 in 1993 and only 125.93 in 1994.  The average was 156.65 days in 1995, 211.51 in 1996, 220.7 in 1997, 204.31 in 1998 and 142.17 days in 1999.

The wait edged up between 2000 and 2009: 222.98 (2000), 183.68 (2001), 180.37 (2002), 244.73 (2003), 239.76 (2004), 263.62 (2005), 291.44 (2006), 255.62 (2007), 296.12 (2008) and 319.36 days in 2009.

In the uncommon criminal cases where additional briefs were filed, the average wait has been over a year from reply brief to final brief in the past decade.  The average was 296.28 in 2010, 414.86 in 2011, 346.96 in 2012, 372.84 in 2013, 480 in 2014, 430.39 in 2015, 478.92 in 2016, 322.64 in 2017, 466.36 in 2018 and 409.52 days so far this year.

We end with the same caution as we began: these data are significant only for comparative trends – the evidence that the average lag time in cases with additional briefs seems to be edging upwards.  Any conclusions as to why that might be will have to await our posts in a couple of weeks separating out the data for non-death and death penalty cases.

Image courtesy of Flickr by Christopher Bowns (no changes).