NCJ Number
73023
Date Published
1978
Length
107 pages
Annotation
Statistical data reflecting the activities of the courts of Oregon during 1978 are presented primarily in tabular form; the State Supreme Court, court of appeals, and tax, circuit, and district courts are included.
Abstract
In 1978, 231 cases were filed before the State Supreme Court, 472 were terminated, and 142 were pending at year end. A total of 56 percent were terminated by opinion, and 44 percent were closed by dismissal, transfer, or without opinion. The court achieved a total average time from case filing to decision of 340 days during 1978. The number of case filings in the court of appeals increased 32 percent, from 2,348 to 3,106 cases. Terminations increased by 30 percent, and the total number of cases pending disposition at year end was 41 percent higher than the number pending in 1977. The number of appeals filed each year with the court has increased at an average annual rate of 22 percent through 1977. The circuit courts sustained a 12 percent increase in filings during the year, representing an increase of 6,917 total cases. Thirty-three percent of the 1978 filings were civil cases, 42 percent were dissolution matters, and 25 percent were for criminal offenses. The mean age of all criminal cases tried by the circuit courts was 94.6 days from the date of arraignment to trial, indicating greater efficiency in the criminal caseflow process. The 603,892 cases filed in the district courts represented a 54,738 case increase, 10 percent over the previous year. Traffic offenses made up 75 percent of such filings. In the municipal courts, 206,902 cases were filed for the year; 157,154 were filed in the justice courts. Tables provide the bulk of the document.