Adjudication Forums, Specialization, and Case Duration: Evidence from Brazilian Federal Courts

Abstract

Exploring a large-scale case-level dataset from Brazilian federal courts, we offer empirical insight into the implications of the organizational structure and jurisdictional specialization of in-court adjudication forums for case duration, a measure of tribunal efficacy. Federal trial courts in Brazil are organized into offices, with each office further divided into a titled and a substitute judgeship. Random case assignment between judgeships within the offices and between same-jurisdiction offices within the courts facilitates the estimation of causal effects of different adjudicatory forums on case duration. Titled judgeships on average exhibit a modest efficacy advantage over substitute judgeships, although substitute judgeships are more efficacious than titled judgeships in some of the court offices. Case duration differences between same-jurisdiction offices can be considerable, an indication of inequities in recourse to justice. Estimates exploiting variation in court offices' jurisdictional specialization suggest that office specialization reduces case duration only if offices are either specialized with respect to procedure or fully specialized with respect to issue, or both. Partial specialization in issue does not exhibit an effect on case duration. Because specialization of in-court adjudication forums is a common organizational feature of many justice systems worldwide, our findings are relevant beyond Brazilian borders.