It isn't a race, but courts are somewhat defined by pace.

Justice is swift. Trials are speedy.

A recent report by the

New Jersey

Judiciary assesses county trial courts with these maxims in mind, and when it comes to backlog, slow and steady wins the lowest rankings.

Warren County

has one of the worst criminal case backlogs in terms of the number of defendants awaiting review by a grand jury when compared to the number of cases filed monthly, according to the

The volume of pre-indictment cases is something the county's new prosecutor, Richard Burke,

when he came into office.

"Things simply were not moving," Burke said.

As of June, Warren County ranked 18th out of 21 counties in New Jersey, with 188 cases backlogged for every 100 filed each month in 2012, according to the report. Cases are considered in backlog if they have not been brought before the grand jury after two months. The county has made small strides in improving its numbers in the past few months, inching its way from where it stood when Burke arrived in March, he said.

"The

Warren County

pre-indictment backlog was the worst in the state," Burke said. "We went from 21 up to 18, so we're moving. We're getting better."

A new approach

This improvement is due partially to a new approach by his office, Burke said. In the past few months, prosecutors have worked to get defendants and their attorneys plea offers as early in the process as possible, he said. This, in theory, allows the defendant to take or reject the plea, then move on to either sentencing or grand jury.

"Our belief is generally that's the best offer you're going to get," Burke said. "The closer to trial, the worse it will get. The word's kind of getting out that you can't just wait and wait and wait and drag your feet."

Cases reportedly move quicker post-indictment, but Burke said the post-indictment backlog is also a concern. The Judiciary's

shows 70 cases in backlog out of 110 active cases, meaning they remained open four or more months after being reviewed by the grand jury. Out of 107 cases added from July to August, 18 were resolved. Post-indictment,

Warren County

ranks comparatively well: seventh in the state, with 139 backlogged cases per 100 filed in 2012, according to the June report.

Occasionally, Hunterdon County Judge John Pursel aids with sentencing in Warren County, Burke said. He hopes that more trials will be ready in the coming months, and that this ad hoc system could lead to more cases being resolved. Trials resume in October, with one of the first defendants scheduled being Peter Dalrymple, whose case has been in backlog for about four years. He was indicted in 2008 on sex abuse charges, and his case has been delayed for a number of reasons, most recently due to his attorney being hospitalized.

Aging cases can't be traced to a singular cause, said

Warren County

public defender Bruce Farrier.

"It's not anybody's fault, really," Farrier said. "It's just kind of the nature of the system."

Multiple factors in delays

Time is a major factor in the progress of a case.

One judge resides over criminal cases in

Warren County

, which limits what can get done, Farrier said. Judge Ann R. Bartlett sits on proceedings throughout the week, but a majority of plea hearings, sentences, conferences and other events are scheduled for Thursdays and Fridays. Drug court precedes criminal court on Thursdays, and though scheduled for

9 a.m.

, court very rarely starts on time.

The events are sometimes complicated by a number of factors. Sometimes prosecutors and attorneys can't agree on a plea, or the defendant changes his or her mind about pleading. Hearings are supposed to be held Fridays, but have largely been taken up by other matters, leaving little time for motions to be heard in court.

"You take three or four cases, and you start filing motions in these cases, somehow, somewhere, these cases are going to have hearings," Farrier said. "There's only so many hours in the day."

The type of case also contributes to how long it takes to resolve, said Linnette Higley, of the trial court services division for Vicinage 13, which encompasses

Somerset

, Warren and Hunterdon counties.

"There is no single factor or simple explanation for the backlog of criminal cases," she said in an e-mail. "Criminal cases go into backlog post-indictment after four months, regardless of the crime -- whether it is a murder charge or a possession of controlled dangerous substance charge.

"So the types of cases affect how quickly they are processed. More complex cases can take much longer to reach a disposition."