The collection of statistical information about the operation of Indiana's courts and their offices is a central responsibility of the Indiana Office of Court Services. The Office collects and publishes information on the caseload and fiscal activities of all courts and probation offices throughout the state. This data provides the empirical basis for policy decisions by both the Indiana Supreme Court and the Indiana General Assembly and provides important management information for individual courts.
As the name suggests, the Weighted Caseload Measures System is based upon assigning time values to specific case types. Quantification of these values presents a projection of the average judicial time available in any given Indiana district, county, or court for a specified time period. These statistics provide the Indiana Supreme Court and the Indiana General Assembly with the information necessary for appropriate allocation of judicial resources.
Trial courts also use these statistical measures to develop district and county plans to reduce disparity in caseloads and judicial resources so that all the courts in a county fall within a set variance range of the average county caseload.