NCJ Number
194260
Editor(s)
Brian J. Ostrom,
Neal B. Kauder,
Robert C. LaFountain
Date Published
2001
Length
112 pages
Annotation
This 2001 report provides a comprehensive analysis of the business of State trial and appellate courts for the purpose of providing accurate, objective, and comparable data across States.
Abstract
These comparable data permit States to gauge their performance, identify emerging trends, and measure the possible impact of legislation. An overview of State trial court caseloads shows that 92 million State court filings in 2000 represented an 8-year high; there were 16,300 State courts in the United States with just over 29,000 judicial officers; most States had 2 to 6 judges per 100,000 persons; and criminal filing decreased slightly in States courts while increasing by almost 5 percent in Federal courts. Data are provided on Civil caseloads in State trial courts, tort and contract caseloads in State trial courts, domestic relations caseloads in State trial courts, juvenile caseloads in State trial courts, criminal caseloads, and felony caseloads. Data also cover State court appellate case filings. Sections on the roles of civil and criminal juries in State courts discuss the basics of jury service, present the results of jury outcomes in both civil and criminal trials, and provide an estimate of the number of cases resolved by jury trial. Extensive tabular and graphic data and appended index of States included in section graphics, the methodology of the Court Statistics Project, State court caseload statistics for 2001, a description of the National Center for State Courts Court Statistics Project, and a profile of the Caseload Highlights Series