Courts: The Law's Delay

The biggest traffic jam in U.S. courts comes from personal-injury cases, usually growing out of automobile accidents. Such cases now take an average 17.6 months to reach jury trial in the nation's principal courts of general jurisdiction,— reports New York University's Institute of Judicial Administration. Although this year's delay is less than last year's (18.7 months), and is actually down to two months in Spokane, Wash., things still look grim in the heavily populated urban areas that handle most of the cases. The country's 13 slowest jurisdictions:

Cook County (Chicago), Ill 57.6 months

Suffolk County (Long Island), N.Y 52.6

Kings County (Brooklyn), N.Y...