Appellate Subject Matter Organization: The German Design from an American Perspective

Growth in the appellate caseload in the United States has caused a substantial increase in the number of judges and decisional units within a given appellate system. The author notes that a new judicial structure and procedure may be necessary to accommodate this growth. One possible solution is subject matter organization of the courts, a system used in the Federal Republic of Germany. The Article outlines the West, German judicial system, and explains in detail the administration of subject matter organization on the appellate level.

The author concludes with a discussion on the possibility of using the German model as a basis for experimentation in the United States, suggesting approaches to overcome common objections of over-specialization and boredom in the work of appellate judges if a system of subject matter organization is used.