NEWS RELEASE

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

BJS

Examining the Work of State Courts, 2003
State Court Caseload Statistics, 2003

Williamsburg, VA (April 29, 2004) – 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 jointly supported by the NCSC and the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) through grant number 2003-BJ-CX-K103.

Examining the Work of State Courts, 2003 provides accurate, objective, and comparable data that allow states to consider their performance, identify emerging trends, and measure the possible impact of legislation. This edition has been redesigned to incorporate more graphics and features a new section entitled “State Profiles,” where comparable baseline data for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico are displayed in a clear and easy-to-understand graphical format.

Among this year’s findings:

  • 96.2 million cases were filed in state trial courts in 2002, the most since 1989;

  • 29,500 judicial officers are distributed among 15,600 state courts, nationally;

  • The frequency of civil and felony trials is down for the last 10 years

  • Tort filings decreased 5 percent while contract filings increased 21 percent since 1993;

  • Felony filings showed an average state increase of 9 percent since 2000;

  • Delinquency cases dominate state court juvenile caseloads at 60 percent;

  • Felony filings rose for the third straight year in 2002 following a small decline in 1999;

  • Driving while intoxicated (DWI) filings increased for a fifth consecutive year;

  • Total appellate court filings increased by 9 percent since 1993.

State Court Caseload Statistics, 2003 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.

These reports are available electronically at www.ncsconline.org and click on
Court Statistics under Quick Links.
To order a hardcopy, please contact Brenda Otto at 757-259-1596,
or botto@ncsc.dni.us at the National Center for State Courts.

For more information about the National Center for State Courts, visit its website at http://www.ncsconline.org.

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