Statistics on total State court appeals were obtained from 43 jurisdictions; between 1973 and 1983, the total number of appeals in these jurisdictions grew by 112 percent. In the 38 States in which civil and criminal appellate filings are available separately, criminal filings grew by 107 percent; civil filings grew by 114 percent. Overall, growth in total appeals filed from 1973 to 1983 ranged from 38 percent in Mississippi and 53 percent in Maryland to 305 percent in Alaska. Appellate case filings also grew exceptionally fast in Connecticut, Oregon, and Hawaii, where total appellate caseload growth exceeded 200 percent over the decade. Prison commitment growth surpassed appellate filing beginning in 1981. Twelve references and three tables are included.
Growth of Appeals - 1973-1983 Trends
NCJ Number
96381
Date Published
1985
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This bulletin reports the growth in State appellate court caseloads from the mid-1960's to the present, identifies factors associated with caseload growth, and describes the efforts undertaken to collect and analyze relevant data.
Abstract