The Dallas County Budget Office periodically publishes a Management Report which details a variety of information, including the number of dispositions and the cost per disposition, for each court in Dallas County.
The Management Report for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2001 (FY 2001), the most recent year-end Report available, indicates that County Court at Law Number Four was fifth among the five County Courts at Law in the number of dispositions and the cost per disposition for Court Number Four was above the average for the County Courts at Law. To see the relevant page of the Management Report,
click here.
The Management Report for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2000 (FY 2000), indicates that County Court at Law Number Four was third among the five County Courts at Law in the number of dispositions and the cost per disposition for Court Number Four was substantially above the average for the County Courts at Law. To see the relevant page of the Management Report,
click here.
These statistics are surprising since Judge Woody often touts his disposition statistics as evidence that he is an efficient and effective judge. Whether disposition statistics are meaningful in evaluating a judge's performance is certainly subject to debate -- being a good judge means much more than dismissing the most cases. But these statistics are the criteria that Judge Woody has chosen to illustrate his judicial performance, and based on these very criteria, Judge Woody's performance in recent years has been sub-par.
