SURVEY RESEARCH PROJECT ON THE FEASIBILITY OF A NATIONAL PROGRAM OF COURT CASELOAD STATISTICS - FINAL REPORT

• NCJ Number: 27724
• Author(s): ANON
• Date Published: Unknown
• Length: 125 pages
• Grant Number(s): 75-SS-99A-002
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice
• Corporate Author: US Dept of Commerce
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Statistics
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

A CANVASS OF THE STATES TO ASCERTAIN THE COMPARABILITY OF DATA GENERATED BY THEIR JUDICIAL REPORTING SYSTEMS WAS UNDERTAKEN.

Abstract

THE CANVASS CONFIRMED PRELIMINARY FINDINGS THAT CASELOAD DATA FOR COURTS OF GENERAL JURISDICTION ARE AVAILABLE FROM CENTRAL STATE SOURCES IN MOST STATES. ONLY SIX STATES (GEORGIA, INDIANA, MISSISSIPPI, MONTANA, NEVADA, AND WYOMING) DO NOT NOW HAVE AN OPERATING JUDICIAL STATISTICS PROGRAM. THE CANVASS ALSO REVEALED VARIATION AMONG STATES IN THE DEFINITIONS OF TERMS AND STATISTICAL ACCOUNTING PRACTICES USED IN COMPILING JUDICIAL STATISTICS. DESPITE THESE VARIATIONS, IT APPEARS FEASIBLE TO PRESENT COMPARABLE NATIONAL DATA. IN SOME INSTANCES, THE DIFFERENCES ARE NOT SIGNIFICANT; IN OTHERS, HOWEVER, STATES WILL HAVE TO BE GROUPED WITH MAJOR DEFINITIONAL DIFFERENCES NOTED IN ORDER TO PREVENT MISINTERPRETATION OF THE DATA. THE SURVEY REVEALED THAT STATE OFFICIALS WERE VERY COOPERATIVE AND THAT THEY WERE EXTREMELY INTERESTED IN REMOVING OBSTACLES IN THE WAY OF NATIONAL COURT CASELOAD STATISTICAL COMPARABILITY. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)