NEWS RELEASE

The National Center for State Courts
300 Newport Avenue · Williamsburg, Virginia  23185

Contact:
Lorri Montgomery
Communications Manager
The National Center for State Courts
757.259.1525

         

                                        BJS

Examining the Work of State Courts, 2000-2001
State Court Caseload Statistics, 2000-2001

Williamsburg, VA (March 28, 2002) – The Court Statistics Project of The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) recently completed its annual compilation and analysis of caseload data collected in the nation’s state trial and appellate courts. This project is supported by the State Justice Institute (SJI) and the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) through grant number

SJI-91-N-007-001-1. Examining the Work of State Courts, 2001 provides accurate, objective, and comparable data that allow states to consider their performance, identify emerging trends, and measure the possible impact of legislation. Without the baseline information provided in this report, many vital questions facing the state courts will go unanswered.

Among this year’s findings:

  • an eight-year high of 92 million cases were filed in state trial courts;

  • tort filings have decreased since 1991;

  • domestic violence filings increased 11 percent over the last five years;

  • 2.8 million children reported abuse and neglect in 1998;

  • the number of felony cases filed in state courts hasn’t increased between 1998 - 2000;

  • criminal petitions filed in state supreme courts have increased substantially;

  • an estimated 88,000 jury trials were conducted nationwide in 1999.

This year’s edition of Examining the Work of State Courts also includes a special section on the role of juries in state courts.

State Court Caseload Statistics, 2001 is a basic reference containing detailed caseload data reported by each state court system. Individuals requiring more complete information on the organization of state courts, total filings and dispositions, the number of judges, factors affecting comparability between states, and other jurisdictional and structural issues, will find this volume most useful.

To order, please contact Melissa Cantrell at 757-259-1526, or mcantrell@ncsc.dni.us at The National Center for State Courts.  For more information about the National Center for State Courts, visit its Web site at http://www.ncsconline.org.

The State Justice Institute is a non-profit organization established by Federal law to award grants to improve the quality of justice in State courts nationwide, facilitate better coordination between State and Federal courts, and foster innovative, efficient solutions to common problems faced by all courts.  More information about the Institute is available on the SJI Web site at http://www.statejustice.org.

Information about the Bureau of Justice Statistics is available on their Web site at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/.

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