NCJ Number
217266
Date Published
2006
Length
92 pages
Annotation
This report describes the caseloads of State courts in 2004.
Abstract
Data on State court caseloads is presented for seven main areas: (1) overview; (2) civil courts; (3) domestic relations courts; (4) criminal courts; (5) juvenile courts; (6) traffic/violations; and (7) appellate courts. According to the general overview of caseloads in State courts, there were an estimated combined total of 100 million incoming cases in the United States and Puerto Rico during 2004. This figure works out to an average of one case for every three citizens of the United States. Of these 100 million cases, 45.4 million were non-traffic cases. Of the 45.4 million non-traffic cases in 2004, almost half (20.7 million) were criminal cases. Incoming cases to State civil courts in 2004 totaled over 15 million, with small claims cases accounting for 42 percent of these cases. The median number of incoming domestic relations cases in 41 States was 1,667 cases for every 100,000 citizen. Divorce cases accounted for over 30 percent of the domestic relations caseload. During 2004, nearly 21 million criminal cases entered or reentered State courts across the United States. State courts also reported a total of 2.1 million incoming juvenile cases in 2004, which included newly filed, reopened, or reactivated cases. State trial courts handled nearly 55 million traffic, parking, or ordinance violations cases in 2004, which represents a rate of 18,000 cases for every 100,000 residents of the United States. The traffic caseload has grown at a rate of 1 percent per year since 1995. On the other hand, appellate court caseloads have decreased 5 percent over the last 5 years. Total appellate filings in 2004 numbered over 250,000 cases. Data were drawn from published and unpublished sources supplied by State court administrators, appellate court clerks, and official Web sites. Tables, figures, appendixes