This inaugural report from the Court of Appeals details the nine months’ of case filings and processing following the January 1, 2022 effective date of the Court’s expanded jurisdiction. At this early stage trends are to be viewed with caution, particularly given the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the transformation required by the expansion of the Court’s jurisdiction. Key points regarding the Court’s workload and processes include the following:

→ The Court’s existing legacy case management system hinders the ability to accurately track the workflow from case initiation to completion. An updated case management system would promote efficiency in processing cases and enhance the Court’s ability to provide the General Assembly with more accurate data.

→ The Clerk’s office and the Chief Staff Attorney’s office were reorganized to accommodate the Court’s expanded jurisdiction and improve the Court’s workflow.

→ The Court and its staff are adapting to new procedures and a learning curve associated with the new civil matters. Once these matters are more familiar to the Court and personnel, efficiency will necessarily improve.

→ Despite pandemic-related disruptions in the trial courts, the total filings in this Court are approaching pre-pandemic levels. As of September 30, 2022, the Court had received 1470 new case filings (an average of 163.2 per month). The Court anticipates approximately 1950 total new case filings in 2022 (there were 2086 new case filings in 2019).

→ New criminal case filings have not yet rebounded to pre-pandemic levels. Through September 30, 2022, the Court has averaged 81.2 new criminal case filings per month, compared with the 2019 monthly average of 124.4 new criminal case filings.

→ Expanded jurisdiction civil case filings increased steadily throughout the year. The Northern region accounted for more than one-third of the total filings in this category.

→ The Court increased its docket from 28 panels in 2021 to 44 panels in 2022 then to 48 panels in 2023 to address a growing case inventory and improve the clearance rate.

→ After a sluggish start, the Court’s overall efficiency has improved in the second and third quarters of 2022. Nevertheless, a gap persists in the Court’s clearance rate (ratio of new case filings to completed cases) compared to recent pre-pandemic years.

→ The Court has identified four key factors impeding the clearance rate:

o The sudden conversion of 331 criminal cases from petitions to appeals of right on January 1, 2022;

o The necessarily longer processing time for criminal appeals of right;

o The increased motions practice and proliferation of pro se litigants associated with new civil appeals; and,

o The significant rise in concurring and dissenting opinions.