Judge Zayas on scheduling orders and proactive case management

So what is the court system doing about case processing?

For starters, we are urging judges and court attorneys to take a more proactive approach to case management and giving them the tools and resources to do so effectively.

Throughout New York City's Supreme Courts, where indicted felonies are handled, judges are now issuing scheduling orders that set clear timelines for getting through the case's preliminary stages.

These orders establish deadlines for the production of discovery by the prosecution, as well as for the defense, to raise issues with the people's discovery compliance.

And they mandate court attorney-led conferences with the parties which provide a forum for discovery disputes to be resolved efficiently, hopefully without the need for time-consuming motion practice.

Importantly, these conferences also encourage early discussions about case resolutions.

In Brooklyn, where we first began issuing these orders at the end of 2024, an executive assistant district attorney

attends every conference, and makes a plea offer, which helped contribute in 2025 to a nearly 100% increase in the number of dispositions in the two court parts that were part of the pilot.

Perhaps this scheduling order initiative doesn't sound that groundbreaking, but it is.

When I was a public defender for nine years, and also when I was a judge,

It was basically unheard of for judges in New York City's criminal courts to issue scheduling orders.

But for reasons that almost go without saying, it's best practices for judges at the beginning of every case to set clear scheduling expectations

so that the parties understand that the case is going to proceed on the court's timeline, not theirs.