State Court Caseload Statistics: Annual Report 1988 Xi FIGURE D: Criminal Case Unit of Count Used by the State Trial Courts
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AJIIL State court T caseload statistics: Annual Report 1988 Wyoming Conference of State Court Administrators Alabama Alaska Arizl :alifornia Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida laho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Mary1 Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevad; ew Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohia C 'ennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota ' tah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming ourt Administrators Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Coll elaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois In Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Mint lissouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New orth Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Pui ;land South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Conference of State Court Administratc Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District1 1 NCSC 1 KF i A joint effort of the Conference of State Court Administrators i 180 , .c74 I and the National Center for State Courts : 1988 I c. 2 I bu .CT q IC1 bS glib state court c ,a-- T caseload statistics: Annual Report, 1988 Funding Provided by the STATE JUSTICE INSTITUTE Grant Number SJI 88-07X-067 ~pdcJ-3-clO A joint effort of the Conference of State Court Administrators, State Justice Institute, and the National Center for State Courts’ Court Statistics Project February 1990 Library National Center for State Courts 300 Newport Av~. WilIiarnsburg, VA 231 87-8798 Copyright@by The National Center for State Courts ISBN 0-89656-097-X National Center Publication No. R-115 This report was developed under Grant SJI-88-07X-067 from the State Justice Institute. Points of view expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the State Justice Institute. Conference of State Court Administrators Court Statistics and Technology Committee Larry P. Polansky, Chairman (1979 to present) Jane A. Hess (1987 to present) Executive Officer, District of Columbia Courts State Court Administrator, Missouri William G. Bohn (1982 to present) David Lampen (1987 to present) State Court Administrator, North Dakota Clerk of the Appellate Courts, Alaska John A. Clarke (1988 to present) Mary Campbell McQueen (1988 to present) Trial Court Administrator, State Court Administrator, Washington Hudson County, New Jersey J. Denis Moran (1983 to present) Hugh M. Collins (1982 to present) Director of State Courts, Wisconsin Judicial Administrator, Louisiana Jerry Short (1987 to present) Sue K. Dosal (1982 to present) Manager, Court Consultative Services, State Court Administrator, Minnesota California Marc Galanter (1986 to present) Francis J. Taillefer (1982 to present) Evjue-Bascom Professor of Law, Wisconsin Director of Information Services, North Carolina National Center for State Courts Board of Directors Warren E. Burger, Honorary Chairman Edward 8. McConnell Chief Justice of the United States, Retired President, National Center for State Courts Chief Justice Harry L. Carrico, Chairman Chief Justice Vincent L. McKusick, Chairman-elect Supreme Court of Virginia Supreme Judicial Court of Maine Arthur H. Snowden II Judge Margie M. Meacham Administrative Director of the Courts, Alaska County Court of Carbon County, Wyoming Robert N. Baldwin, Vice-chairman James D. Thomas State Court Administrator, Virginia State Court Administrator, Colorado Judith A. Cramer Chief Justice Robert N.C. Nix, Jr Court Administrator, Ohio Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Donald Cullen John H. Pickering, Esq. District Administrator, Minnesota Wilmer, Cutler & Picketing, District of Columbia Judge Sophia H. Hall Judge Floyd E. Propst Cook County Circuit Court, Illinois Probate Court of Fulton County, Georgia Judge Harriet P. Henry, Judge at Large Chief Justice Dorothy Comstock Riley Maine District Court Supreme Court of Michigan Judge Charles V. Johnson Nicholas de B. Katzenbach Superior Court, King County, Washington Riker, Danzig, Sherer, Hyland & Perrett, New Jersey Presiding Justice Harry W. Low District Judge Charles H. Pelton Court of Appeal, California 7th Judicial District, Iowa Associate Judge Fritz W. Alexander II New York Court of Appeals iii NATIONAL CENTER FOR STATE COURTS Geofl Gallas, Director Research and Technical Services Court Statistics Project Staff David B. Rottman, Director Brian J. Ostrom, Staff Associate Todd M. Stickle, Staff Associate Karen Gillions Way, Staff Associate Carol R. Flango, Staff Associate Natalie B. Davis, Administrative Secretary James D. Brunk, Part-time Research Associate Publication Service Dennis Miller, Director Bill Fishback, Editor Charles F. Campbell, Associate Editor Hisako Sayers, Graphic Artist Mary McCall, Publications Production Coordinator V Acknowledgements We gratefully acknowledge assistance and guidance will end upon his retirement as Executive Officer of the from the following groups and individuals. Our main debt Courts of the District of Columbia in February 1990. But is to state court administrators and their staff. They are he will leave a strong legacy of commitment to continuous the source for most of the information contained in this improvement and a firm belief that national caseload report and its compilation depends on the patience and statistics from the state courts should be published early expertise with which they respond to requests for addi- in the following calendar year. tional detail or clarifications. We particulady acknowl- Funding from the State Justice Institute made the edge the staff members in the administrative officesof the preparationand publicationof the report possible through courts who serve as contact persons between their of- Grant SJI-88-07X-067. We appreciate the Institute’s fices and the Court Statistics Project. continuing financial support and the interest shown by our The clerks of the appellate courts in many states also project monitor, Kathy Schwartz. It should be noted that provided caseload statistics in published or unpublished the points of view expressed in the report are those of the form for inclusion in the report. Their willingness to Court Statistics Project staff and do not necessarily repre- provide and verify information about the appellate courts sent the official position or policies of the State Justice is much appreciated. Institute. The 12 members of the Conference of State Court Advice on the draft was also received from our col- Administrators’s Court Statistics and Technology Com- leagues Joy Chapper and Roger Hanson. Their sugges- mittee were charged with overseeing the production of tions on matters editorial and substantive is received with this report. In addition to providing general direction for thanks. our approach to collecting and reporting state court Full responsibility for the information reported herein caseloads, the committee members reviewed the con- and the text of Parts I and II lies with the Court Statistics tents of the report in draft form. Their corrections, Project staff. The more general responsibilityfordevelop- suggestions, and comments were vital to the process of ing the report series and promoting improvements to the producing the report. accuracy and usefulness of court statistics lies with NCSC Larry Polansky was a member of the COSCA Court management and Court Statistics Project staff, working Statistics and Technology committee for 10 years, serv- with the policy direction of the COSCA Court Statistics ing as its chairman since January, 1987. Larry’s formal Committee. association with the work of the Court Statistics Project vii Contents Acknowledgments ..................................................... vii Overview of the Report ................................................. ix Part I: State Court Caseloads in 1988 .................................. 1 Planof Analysis ........................................................... 3 Comparability and Reliability ............................................... 4 Trial Court Caseloads in 1988 ............................................... 4 Overview ............................................................. 4 General and Llmlted Jurisdiction Courts ................................... 5 Completeness and Comparability of Data ................................. 6 The Cornposition of Trial Court Caseloads In 1988 ........................... 6 Civil Filings in 1988 .................................................. 6 Clearance Rates for Civil Cases ..................................... 9 CriminalFilingsin1988 ............................................... 10 Clearance Rates for Criminal Cases .................................. 12 Juvenile Filings in 1988 ............................................... 13 Clearance Rates for Juvenile Petitions ................................ 16 Trial Courts In 1988: A Summary ........................................ 17 Appellate Court Caseloads In 1988 .......................................... 17 Oveffiew ............................................................ 17 Appellate Court Structure and Jurisdiction In 1988 ......................... 18 Completeness and Comparability of Data ................................. 18 The Composition of Appellate Court Caseloads in 1988 ...................... 19 Mandatory Appellate Caseloads in 1988 .................................. 22 Mandatory Appeals Filed in State Appellate Courts .....................