Time Spent in Federal Court: U.S. Forest Service Land Management Litigation 1989–2008
Time Spent in Federal Court: U.S. Forest Service Land Management Litigation 1989–2008
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在联邦法院花费的时间：1989-2008 年美国林务局土地管理诉讼
DOI：
10.1093/forsci/fxx005
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发表时间：
2018
期刊：
影响因子：
1.4
通讯作者：
R. Malmsheimer
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
D. Keele;R. Malmsheimer
林业局此前曾表示，诉讼是项目延误的主要原因，但没有经验证据量化案件持续时间。本研究分析了1989-2008年间林业局向联邦法院提起的所有土地管理案件的处分时间。所有病例的处理时间中位数为534天，即一年半。林业局的损失比该机构的胜利花费了更长的时间，和解的时间中值为一年。一些案件的特点导致处理时间明显延长，包括：1)起诉林务局要求更多资源使用的当事人，2)源于林务局落基山脉和北部地区的诉讼，3)涉及石油和天然气项目或准入问题的管理决定的质疑，以及4)涉及《国家森林管理法》的案件。案件工作量的增加与较长的处置时间以及上诉法院的裁决是否公布(通常是案件复杂性的代表)密切相关。除了提供准确的数据为政策制定者的选择提供信息外，这项研究还证实了许多政策制定者和利益相关者对法律挑战耗时的看法。
The Forest Service has previously indicated litigation as a major cause of project delay, yet no empirical evidence quantifies case duration. This research analyzed the time to disposition for all Forest Service land management cases filed in federal court from 1989 to 2008. The median time to disposition for all cases was 534 days, or a year and a half. Forest Service losses took longer to complete than the agency’s wins, and settlements had a median time of one year. Some case characteristics resulted in significantly longer times to disposition, including: 1) parties who sued the Forest Service for greater resource use, 2) litigation originating in the Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain and Northern Regions, 3) challenges involving a management decision on an oil and gas project or an access issue, and 4) cases involving the National Forest Management Act. Increasing caseload was significantly associated with longer times to disposition as well as whether a Court of Appeal decision was published (often a proxy for case complexity). In addition to providing accurate data that can inform policymakers’ choices, this study confirmed many policymakers’ and stakeholders’ perceptions of legal challenges as time consuming.