NCJ Number
51884
Date Published
1978
Length
8 pages
Annotation
THIS REPORT PRESENTS SELECTED CASEFLOW DATA FOR GENERAL JURISDICTION COURTS FOR 1975, REPORT METHODOLOGY, DATA LIMITATION AND AVAILABILITY INFORMATION, AND A GUIDE TO UNITS OF COUNTING FOR THE REPORT.
Abstract
GENERAL JURISDICTION COURT DATA WERE COMPILED FROM PUBLISHED AND UNPUBLISHED DATA RECEIVED FROM THE STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. DATA IS LIMITED BY THE STATES' VARIATIONS IN REFERENCE PERIODS, JURISDICTION, DEFINITIONS OF UNITS OF COUNTING, AND DATA COMPLETENESS AND ACCURACY. GENERAL FINDINGS INDICATE THAT MORE THAN 6 MILLION CRIMINAL, CIVIL, AND JUVENILE CASES WERE FILED IN COURTS OF GENERAL JURISDICTION IN 1975; 63 PERCENT OF THESE WERE CIVIL CASES, 28 PERCENT WERE CRIMINAL, AND 8 PERCENT WERE JUVENILE. MOST OF THE REPORTING STATES HAD AN INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF PENDING CASELOADS AT THE END OF 1975 COMPARED WITH THE BEGINNING OF THAT YEAR. ALTHOUGH THERE WERE 4.5 TIMES AS MANY CIVIL CASES PENDING AS CRIMINAL CASES, PERCENT INCREASES IN THE PENDING CRIMINAL CASELOAD WERE GREATER THAN IN THE PENDING CIVIL CASELOAD. THE MAJORITY OF STATES INDICATED THAT THEY HANDLE ALL OR SOME OF THEIR JUVENILE CASES IN GENERAL JURISDICTION COURTS, BUT ONLY HALF OF THESE STATES REPORTED PENDING JUVENILE CASE DATA FOR THE BEGINNING AND END OF 1975. (DAG)