state court caseload statistics:

Annual Report,

I

1980

CONFERENCE OF STATE COURT ADMINISTRATORS ALABAMA ALASKA ARIZONA AR CALIFORNIA COLORADO CONNECTICUT DELAWARE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA GEORGIA HAWAII IDAHO ILLINOIS INDIANA IOWA KANSAS 0 KENTUCKY 0 LO MAINE MARYLAND MASSACHUSETTS MICHIGAN MINNESOTA MISSISSIPPI M MONTANA NEBRASKA '0 NEVADA NEWHAMPSHIRE NEWJERSEY NEWMEXICO NE NORTHCAROLINA NORTHDAKOTA OHIO OKLAHOMA OREGON PENNSYLVANIA ISLAND SOUTH CAROLINA SOUTH DAKOTA TENNESSEE TEXAS UTAH V VIRGINIA WASHINGTON WESTVIRGINIA WISCONSIN WYOMING ALABAMA ALA ARKANSAS CALIFORNIA COLORADO CONNECTICUT DELAWARE DISTRICT OF C FLORIDA GEORGIA HAWAII IDAHO ILLINOIS INDIANA IOWA KANSAS KEN LOUISIANA MAINE MARYLAND MASSACHUSETTS MICHIGAN MINNESOTA MIS MISSOURI MONTANA NEBRASKA NEVADA NEW HAMPSHIRE NEW JERSEY NEW NEWYORK NORTH CAROLINA NORTH DAKOTA OHIO OKLAHOMA OREGON PE PUERTORICO RHODEISLAND SOUTHCAROLINA SOUTHDAKOTA TENNESSEE TEXAS UTAH VIRGINIA WASHINGTON WESTVIRGINIA WISCONSIN WYOMING ALABAMA

NATIONAL CENTER FOR STATE COURTS

Library National Center for State Courts

300 Newport Ave. Williamsburg, VA 231 85

Court Statistics and ln'formation Management Project July, 1984

I M P O R T A N T

We have prov ided an eva lua t i on sheet a t the end o f t h i s pub l i ca t i on . It w i l l a s s i s t us i n Improving f u t u r e r e p o r t s i f you complete and r e t u r n i t a t you r convenience.

This p r o j e c t was supported by Federal Grant No. 83-BJ-CX-KO18 awarded t o the Nat ional Center f o r State Courts, Will iamsburg, V i r g i n i a , by the Bureau o f J u s t i c e S t a t i s t i c s (BJS), U.S. Department o f Just ice, under t h e Omnibus Crime Control and Safe S t r e e t s Act o f 1968, as amended. The Court S t a t i s t i c s and In format ion Management P r o j e c t i s d i rec ted by V i c t o r E. Flango f o r t h e National Center f o r S ta te Courts and monitored by Carla K. Gaskins f o r MS. opin ions s ta ted i n t h i s document are those o f t he author and do no t necessa r i l y represent the o f f i c i a l p o s i t i o n o r p o l i c i e s o f t ne U.S. Department o f Just ice.

Points o f view o r

Copyr ightol984 by Nat ional Center f o r S ta te Courts P r i n t e d i n Un i ted States o f America

Nat ional Center Pub l i ca t i on No. R-092

ii

This S ta te Court Caseload S t a t i s t i c s : Annual i s t he s i x t h i n a se r ies con ta in ing

data ComDiled from t h e annual repo r t s o f each s t a t e c o u r t system and f rom o t h e r unpubl ished data. product o f the cooperat ive e f f o r t between t h e Nat ional Center f o r S ta te Courts and the Conference o f S ta te Court Admin is t ra tors (COSCA), t o develop w i t h i n the Center a na t i ona l database o f s t a t e c o u r t caseload s t a t i s t i c s . The e f f o r t i s funded by the Bureau o f J u s t i c e S t a t i s t i c s .

Th is i s t he second volume i n the se r ies whose data are a v a i l a b l e on computer tape. Machine readable data i s a major asset t o those conduct ing research on s t a t e c o u r t management and f a c i l i t a t e s g r e a t l y t he comp i la t i on o f t he sumnary tab les i n t h i s volume. The Center hopes t o cont inue t h i s automation i n f u t u r e years.

The Court S t a t i s t i c s and In format ion Management P r o j e c t (CSIM) cont inues t o expand t h e scope o f i t s a c t i v i t i e s and c a p a b i l i t i e s , s h i f t i n g i t s focus from data c o l l e c t i o n and p u b l i c a t i o n t o t h e ana lys i s o f these data f o r t h e b e n e f i t o f t he cou r t s community. descr ibed above should enhance s t a f f ' s a b i l i t y t o conduct such research. This Annual Report -cries,

This volume i s a

The automation

The Conference o f S ta te Court Admin is t ra tors (COSCA) cont inues t o support t h e Court S t a t i s t i c s and In fo rma t ion Management P r o j e c t i n i t s e f f o r t s t o es tab l i sh , w i t h i n t h e Nat ional Center f o r S ta te Courts (NCSC), t h e c a p a b i l i t y t o gather, analyze, and disseminate s t a t i s t i c a l i n fo rma t ion on s t a t e c o u r t systems. made a cooperat ive e f f o r t between COSCA and t h e NCSC by g i v i n g p o l i c y c o n t r o l and d i r e c t i o n over the p r o j e c t t o a committee composed o f s t a t e c o u r t admin is t ra tors , c o u r t data processing personnel, a t r i a l c o u r t admin is t ra tor , and a rep resen ta t i ve f rom t h e academic comnuni ty se lected by COSCA.

improves upon t h e data and t a b d i n previous e d i t i o n s o f t he repor t . improvements, we cont inue t o be guided by the users o f t h i s informat ion. Many o f t h e summary tab les have been rearranged t o i d e n t i f y comparable data. This i s an ongoing process t h a t w i l l cont inue t o b e n e f i t f rom increased awareness o f comparable subjec t -mat ter j u r i s d i c t i o n among the s tates. Mod i f i ca t i ons have a l s o been made t o t h e way i n which the t r i a l data f rom general and l i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n cou r t s are presented. It i s our b e l i e f t h a t these add i t i ons and mod i f i ca t i ons w i l l he lp t h e users o f t h i s r e p o r t t o f i n d t h e i n fonna t ion they need i n a form t h a t i s use fu l t o them.

contained w i t h i n t h i s Re o r t w i l l g r e a t l y improve s t a f f ' s a b i l i t y t o c o n d k o p h i s t i c a t e d ana lys i s

The p r o j e c t has been

This s i x t h e d i t i o n o f the Annual Re o r t

I n making these

This y e a r ' s cont inued automation o f t h e data

however, w i l l cont inue t o be the p r i n c i p a l p r o j e c t pub l i ca t i on . From year t o yea r t h e quan t i t y and q u a l i t y o f t he repo r ted data demonstrate gradual improvement.

The Nat ional Center has been ass i s ted i n data gather ing f o r t he product ion o f t he Annual Re o r t by s t a t e and l o c a l - l e v e l c o u r t p e r s o d across t h e country. The leadership o f COSCA and e s p e c i a l l y t he COSCA-CSIS Comnittee, now chai red by Walter Kane, have helped guide p r o j e c t s t a f f i n t h e i r search f o r ways t o present these data i n a way t h a t i s both parsimonious and comparable.

Edward B. McConnell, Execut ive D i r e c t o r Nat ional Center f o r S ta te Courts

o f c o u r t management data, and f a c i l i t a t e t h e p r o j e c t ' s goal o f d isseminat ing s t a t i s t i c a l i n fo rma t ion i n a form conducive t o research.

r e p o r t t o pay c lose a t t e n t i o n t o a l l i n d i c a t i o n s o f t he completeness and comparab i l i t y of data, and t o read the i n t r o d u c t i o n t o the r e p o r t where t h e methodology used t o cons t ruc t t he r e p o r t i s discussed. Face sheets f o r t he sumnary tab les f u r t h e r o u t l i n e t h e soutxes o f data, t he r a t i o n a l e behind some o f t h e summary s t a t i s t i c s , and minimum l i m i t a t i o n s t h a t should be considered i n i n t e r p r e t i n g the data. An inspec t i on o f t h e c u r r e n t e d i t i o n and t h e f i v e prev ious e d i t i o n s o f t h i s r e p o r t should demonstrate t o the reader t h a t t h e q u a l i t y and q u a n t i t y o f cour t - re1 ated data cont inue t o improve.

As always, we must cau t ion t h e reader o f t h i s

Walter J. Kane, Chairman COSCA-CSIS Committee Conference o f S ta te Court

Admin is t ra tors

iii

Conference of State Court Administrators Court Statistics and Information Management Project Committee

Walter J. Kane, Chairman (1982 t o present) S ta te Court Admin is t ra tor , Rhode I s l a n d

La r ry P. Polansky, Chairman (1981 t o 1982) Execut ive O f f i c e r o f t h e D i s t r i c t L. M. Jacobs I V (1982 t o 1984)

Roy 0. Gul ley (1978 t o present) D i rec to r , Admin i s t ra t i ve O f f i c e o f t h e Courts,

I1 1 i n o i s

o f Columbia Courts Execut ive Court Admin is t ra tor , D e t r o i t , Michigan

Wi l l i am G. Bohn (1982 t o present) S ta te Court Admin is t ra tor , Nor th Dakota

J. Denis Moran (1983 t o present) D i r e c t o r o f S ta te Courts, Wisconsin

Hugh M. C o l l i n s (1982 t o present) Deputy J u d i c i a l Admin is t ra tor , Louis iana

Richard J. Richardson (1982 t o present) U n i v e r s i t y o f Nor th Caro l ina

Sue K, Dosal (1982 t o present) State Court Admin is t ra tor , Minnesota

Abraham J. Gafni Court Admin is t ra tor , Supreme Court o f Pennsylvania

Franc is J. T a i l l e f e r (1982 t o present) D i r e c t o r o f In format ion Services, Nor th Caro l ina

National Center for State Courts Board of Directors

Chief J u s t i c e Ralph J. Er icks idd, Pres ident Supreme Court o f Nor th Dakota

Chief J u s t i c e W. Ward Reynoldson, Pres ident-e lect Vernon M. Geddy, Jr. Supreme Court o f Iowa

Chief J u s t i c e Wi l l i am H. D. Fones Supreme Court o f Tennessee

McGuire, Woods and B a t t l e , V i r g i n i a

Lester Ea r l C i ngcade, Vice-president D i r e c t o r o f t h e Courts o f Hawaii

Chief J u s t i c e 8. Don Barnes Supreme Court o f Oklahoma

Judge Dorothy 1. Seasley S t a t e Court o f Fu l t on County, Georgia

Judge George C. Berry Probate Court, Missour i

P res id ing Judge Robert C. Broomf ie ld Super ior Court o f Maricopa County, Ar izona

Judge Mercedes F. Deiz C i r c u i t Court o f Fourth J u d i c i a l D i s t r i c t ,

Ha l i bu r ton Fales, 2d White and Case, New York City, New York

Oregon

Chief J u s t i c e Edward F. Hennessey Supreme J u d i c i a l Court o f Massachusetts

P res id ing J u s t i c e John T. Racanell i Court o f Appeal, C a l i f o r n i a

Judge K a l i s t e J. Saloom, Jr. C i t y Court o f Lafayet te , Louis iana

Pres id ing Judge Leo M. Spel lacy Court o f Cornon Pleas o f Cuyahoga County,

Charles H. S t a r r e t t , Jr. Court Admin is t ra tor , Court o f Comnon

James D. Thomas S ta te Cour t Admin is t ra tor , Colorado

Execut ive D f rec to r : Edward B. McConnell

Ohio

Pleas o f Allegheny County, Pennsylvania

National Center for State Courts Staff

Court S t a t i s t i c s and In fo rma t ion Management P r o j e c t S t a f f

V i c t o r E. Flango, P r o j e c t D i r e c t o r Mary Louise C1 i f f o r d , S t a f f Associate Mary E. Elsner, S t a f f Associate Jeanne A. I t a , S t a f f Associate Robert T. Roper, S t a f f Associate Brenda W. Jones, Admin i s t ra t i ve Secretary Tina Beaven Cather ine 6. Minga Cheryl H. Letchworth, Research Ass i s tan t Carolyn R. McMurran Joy S c o t t

Word Processing Department

P a t r i c i a H. Maddox, Word Processing Supervisor Stacey A. Healy, Word Processing Secretary F. Robyn Smith, Word Processing Secretary

Pub l i ca t i ons

Student Asst s tan ts

E l i zabe th E. Ewing, Legal Research Ass i s tan t Thomas P. Gorman, Legal Research Ass i s tan t Terry N. Grimes, Legal Research Ass i s tan t Kfmberly H. Humes, Legal Research Ass i s tan t

John J. Jarosak, Legal Research Ass i s tan t P a t r i c i a L. Phelan. Legal Research Ass i s tan t W i l l i a m H. Wright, Legal Research Ass i s tan t

iv

Acknowledgments

The p repara t i on o f S ta te Court Caseload S t a t i s t i c s : Annual Report, 1980 h as been supervised and g r e a t l y ass i s ted by t h e Court S t a t i s t i c s and in fo rma t ion Systems (CSIS) Committee appointed from the membership o f t he Conference o f S ta te Court Admin is t ra tors (COSCA). generously o f t h e i r time, t a l e n t , and experience. The i r p a r t i c i p a t i o n has been inva luab le t o the p r o j e c t s t a f f . The p o s i t i v e c o n t r o l exer ted by COSCA through t h i s committee, us ing a rev iew and approval process, has g r e a t l y enhanced the q u a l i t y o f t h i s repor t .

are n o t t h e on ly COSCA members whose ass is tance has been v i t a l t o the product ion o f t h i s document. The admin i s t ra to rs and t h e i r s t a f f i n a l l t h e 50 states, the D i s t r i c t o f Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico have prov ided t h e Court S t a t i s t i c s and In fo rma t ion Management P r o j e c t with whatever research ma te r ia l s they had avai lab le, bo th publ ished and unpublished, and

The C S I S C o n i t t e e members have g iven

The COSCA C S I S Comnittee members, however,

they have been c o n s i s t e n t l y p a t i e n t and he1 p f u l i n answerfng w r i t t e n and telephoned i n q u i r i e s f o r more data o r f o r explanat ions o f t he data provided. The i r con t i nu ing suppor t o f t h e development o f a na t i ona l data base o f s t a t e c o u r t s t a t i s t i c s w i t h i n t h e Nat ional Center f o r S ta te Courts i s t he c r u c i a l element i n determin ing t h e q u a l i t y o f t h e s t a t i s t i c s t h a t a re be ing gathered.

Appe l l a te Court Clerks a re o the r ind ispensable sources o f much-needed data. The c l e r k s volunteered t o prov ide and v e r i f y a p p e l l a t e c o u r t data t h a t i n many s t a t e s a r e unava i l ab le f rom any o t h e r source. T h e i r assistance has been inva luab le i n i nc reas ing the q u a l i t y o f appe l l a te c o u r t data a v a i l a b l e t o t h e p ro jec t .

The Court S t a t i s t i c s and In fo rma t ion Management P r o j e c t s t a f f would l i k e t o recognize and thank a l l these many i n d i v i d u a l s who have con t r i bu ted t o t h i s s i x t h i n t h e se r ies o f annual r e p o r t s on s t a t e c o u r t caseload s t a t i s t i c s .

The members o f t h e Nat ional Conference o f

V

Highlights

Product ion o f t he Annual Re o r t s e r i e s i s an evo lu t i ona ry process w d t e r m goal o f improvjng the s t a t i s t i c a l se r ies p l a y i n g an impor tant r o l e f o r the Court S t a t i s t i c s and I n f o m a t i o n Management Pro ject . Th is process i s f u r t h e r discussed i n the i n t roduc t i on .

h a l f o f t h i s century, when the f i r s t na t i ona l comp i la t i on o f caseload data was attempted. gross volume data are d isp layed i n t h i s r e p o r t f o r a l l appe l l a te courts, f o r most o f t he t r i a l cou r t s OF general j u r i s d i c t i o n , and f o r many o f t he t r i a l c o u r t s o f l i m i t e d o r spec ia l J u r i s d i c t i o n . However, the v a l i d i t y and r e l i a b i l i t y o f much o f t he data repor ted has n o t been ascertained.

and In fo rma t ion Management P r o j e c t ( C S I M ) s t a f f and the Conference o f S ta te Court Admin is t ra tors C S I S Corn i t t ee was requ i red t o develop a methodology f o r d i s p l a y i n g nat ionwide s t a t e c o u r t caseload f o r t he f i r s t annual repor t , publ ished f n 1979 t o cover the 1975 c o u r t year. Dur ing p re l im ina ry at tempts t o aggregate a v a i l a b l e s t a t i s t i c s i n t o s p e c i f i c groupings, i t became obvious t h a t any r e a l i s t i c compi 1 a t i o n must have a s t r u c t u r e der ived from, n o t superimposed upon, the data repor ted by the s tates. The second annual r e p o r t ti.e., 19761, publ ished i n 1980, r e f l e c t e d t h a t o r i e n t a t i o n and emphasis, w i t h augmentations made t o improve the p resen ta t i on o f the data and t o accomnodate t h e a d d i t i o n of l i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n data. o f the Annual Re a r t ser ies, the sumnary tab les were ex+ v i sed t o r e f l e c t recommendations made by members o f t he Methodological Review Panel. The sumnary s t a t i s t i c s as presented i n t h i s s i x t h annual r e p o r t r e f l e c t t h e e x i s t i n g s i t u a t i o n i n s t a t e c o u r t s t a t i s t i c s and are presented i n a format designed t o increase t h e i r usefu l ness.

notes necessar i ly abound. t o - s t a t e v a r i a t i o n s i n the k inds o f data reported, t h e sumnary tab les i n t h i s annual r e p o r t do no t pe rm i t extensive, va l i d , d i r e c t comparisons o f caseload among s ta tes w i thou t c a r e f u l examination o f a1 1 t h e f a c t o r s i nvo l ved i n assur ing t h a t t h e data are comparable. Va r ia t i ons i n data a v a i l a b i l i t y . c o u r t osgani z a t i on, subject mat ter j u r i s d i c t i o n , definitions o f case types and u n i t s o f count, repo r t i ng per iods, and t h e degrees o f completeness and accuracy o f data a l l combine t o make c r o s s - j u r i s d i c t i o n a l comparisons extremely complex. These v a r i a t i o n s a r e discussed i n general terms i n the i n t r o d u c t i o n t o t h e repor t . The l i m i t a t i o n s on ana lys i s sec t i on can be found i n the face sheets accompanying each sumnary table.

Compari sons among the 1 980 data conta ined i n t h i s r e p o r t and the 1975 through 1979 data contained i n the f i r s t f i v e repo r t s i n t h I s se r ies should be made on ly a f t e r c a r e f u l examination o f t he f a c t o r s mentioned above t o asce r ta in t h a t these f a c t o r s have n o t changed f o r the cour ts o f i n t e r e s t .

The r e p o r t i s d i v ided i n t o two par ts , each w i t h i t s own purpose. The sumnary s t a t i s t i c a l t ab les i n P a r t I were const ructed from t h e i n d i v i d u a l cour t p r o f i l e s f o r a l l t he s ta tes found i n Par t 11. t h e user, he can proceed from the general t o the

Data a v a i l a b i l i t y has improved from the f i r s t

Some

Substant ia l e f f o r t by the Cour t S t a t i s t i c s

I n t h e t h i r d e d i t i o n

Fo r the reader o f t h i s document, caut ionary Became o f many s ta te -

Depending on the i n t e r e s t o f

s p e c i f i c o r v i c e versa. Users o f t h e r e p o r t may l o c a t e a summary t a b l e o f i n t e r e s t i n Pa r t I, f o r example, one con ta in ing case1 oad inven to ry data f o r domestic r e l a t i o n s cases. An examination o f t h e data contained i n t h e t a b l e may s t i m u l a t e quest ions t h a t are answered, i n pa r t , by re ference t o e i t h e r the c o u r t o rgan iza t i on c h a r t s o r i n d i v i d u a l c o u r t p r o f i l e s conta ined i n Par t 11. Another approach i s t o f i r s t examine a c o u r t p r o f i l e i n Pa r t I 1 o f t he document, and then t u r n t o t h e appropr ia te sumnary t a b l e s i n P a r t I t o compare caseload volume o f o the r c o u r t s w i t h s i m i l a r j u r i s d i c t i o n , t o t h a t o f t h e c o u r t o f i n t e r e s t .

This two-par t s t r u c t u r e f o r t h e document requ i red i t s p repara t i on t o proceed i n stages. F i r s t an overview c o u r t o rgan iza t i on c h a r t and an i n d i v i d u a l s t a t i s t i c a l p r o f i l e was prepared f o r each s t a t e ' s appe l l a te and t r i a l courts. The r e s u l t i n g documentation makes up Par t I 1 o f t h i s repor t . Data were then compiled i n t o nat ionwide inven to ry s t a t i s t i c s (beg in pending, f i l e d , d i sposed, and end pending 1. The i nventory s t a t i s t i c s were separated where poss ib le i n t o broad case category c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s , chosen t o r e f l e c t t h e k inds o f data be ing repo r ted by t h e s tates.

Several general observat ions can be made about t h e 1980 s t a t e c o u r t caseload data. i n a d d i t i o n t o the increase i n a v a i l a b l e data, t he number o f cases f i l e d i n t h e c o u r t s has a l s o increased from 1979 t o 1980. The caseload est imates i n d i c a t e t h a t t h e number o f cases f i l e d pe r judge has increased. Most t r i a l c o u r t s a l s o repo r ted increases i n the number o f f i l i n g s f rom 1979 t o 1980. Second, t h e c o u r t s have managed t o handle t h i s increase i n f i l i n g s f a i r l y w e l l wi th most cou r t s d ispos ing between 90 and 100 percent o f t h e number o f cases f i l e d . A few c o u r t s disposed more cases than were f i l e d . d i s p o s i t i o n r a t e s o f l e s s than 100 percent, however, mean t h a t most c o u r t s a r e adding t o t h e i r pending caseload. pending caseload, most had increases o f l e s s than 20 percent. F i n a l l y , f o r cou r t s r e p o r t i n g pending and f i l e d data, t h e number of cases pending a t t h e end o f t he y e a r as a percent o f t he number o f cases f i l e d was l e s s than 60 percent f o r most cou r t s o f l a s t reso r t , l e s s than 90 percent f o r most in termediate appe l l a te cou r t s and f o r c i v i l caseload i n most t r i a l cour ts , l e s s than 50 percent f o r c r i m i n a l caseload i n most t r i a l cour ts , and l e s s than 50 percent f o r j u v e n i l e caseload i n most t r i a l cour ts .

The composi t ion o f t h e caseload o f t h e cou r t s i s a l s o o f i n t e r e s t . the data a v a i l a b l e i n d i c a t e t h a t approximately 55 percent o f t h e appeals f i l e d i n 1980 were c i v i l appeals. caseload est imates i n d i c a t e t h a t o f t h e 85.8 m i l l i o n cases f i l e d , approximately 14.6 m i l l i o n were c i v i l cases, 11.3 m i l l i o n were c r i m i n a l cases, 58.4 m i l l i o n were t r a f f i c cases, and 1.5 m i l l i o n were j u v e n i l e cases.

The c o u r t o rgan iza t i on cha r t s and s t a t i s t i c a l p r o f i l e s i n Pa r t I 1 are h e l p f u l re ferences because they i n d i c a t e n o t on l y t h e o rgan iza t i on and sub jec t ma t te r j u r i s d i c t i o n o f t he cou r t s i n each s tate, b u t a l s o the d i f f e rences i n r e p o r t i n g per iods, u n i t s o f count, and v a r i a t i o n s i n case categor ies and c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s . They show a t a glance how much data were a v a i l a b l e f o r compari son purposes.

F i r s t ,

The

For c o u r t s r e p o r t i n g

I n the appe l l a te cour ts ,

For t h e t r i a l cou r t s i n 1980 the

vi

Contents

Page Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V H i g h l i g h t s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v i L i s t o f f i g u r e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v i i L i s t o f t ab les . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v i i L i s t o f s t a t e c o u r t s t a t i s t i c a l p r o f i l e s . . X

I n t r o d u c t i o n

Court S t a t i s t i c s and In fo rma t ion Management P r o j e c t . . . . . . . . . .. 3

Uses o f c o u r t s t a t i s t i c a l data . . . . . 3 Scope o f t he data i n t h e annual r e p o r t

s e r i e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Data c o l l e c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Data sources . . . . . . . . . . . V e r i f i c a t i o n o f data . . . . . . . Types o f data i nc luded . . . . . . Var ia t i ons i n r e p o r t i n g per iods. .

Data d i sp lay . . . . . . . . . . . . Case category c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s . . . Format used. . . . . . . . . . . .

Data i n t e r p r e t a t i o n . . . . . . . . . Cont inuing development o f t he s e r i e s Dynamics o f improvement. . . . . . .

P a r t I : 1980 S ta te c o u r t caseload summary s t a t i s t i c s

Appel la te c o u r t summary s t a t i s t i c s . . . . 1 3 ' T r i a l c o u r t sumnary s t a t i s t i c s . . . . . . 51 ,

Pa r t 11: 1980 S ta te c o u r t s t a t i s t i c a l p r o f i l e s

Explanat ion o f contents o f each p r o f i l e . 155 Prototype o f s t a t e c o u r t system c h a r t . 156 Prototype o f c o u r t o f l a s t r e s o r t o r

in termediate appe l l a te c o u r t c h a r t . . 157 Prototype o f c o u r t o f general j u r i s d i c t i o n o r c o u r t o f l i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n c h a r t . . . . . . . . . . 159

S ta te c o u r t p r o f i l e s : Alabama through Wyoming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

. . 4 . . 4 Appendices . . 4 . . 5 Appendix A: Technical d iscuss ion o f . . 5 es t ima t ion procedure . . . 485 . . 5 . . 5 Appendix B: Sources o f 1980 s t a t e c o u r t . . 7 caseload s t a t i s t i c s . . . . 490 . . I . . 8 Other Pub l i ca t i ons . . . . . . . . . . . . 494

List of figures

F igu re A: Repor t ing per iods f o r s t a t e cour ts , n o t us ing t h e ca lendar y e a r 1980. . . . . . . . . . 5 F igu re B: Cross-reference t o sumnary t a b l e s i n prev ious e d i t i o n s o f t he Annual Report series. . . 6 F igu re C: Cr iminal case u n i t o f count, used by t r i a l courts, by s t a t e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

List of tables

Table 1:

Table 2:

Table 3:

Table 4:

Table 5:

Table 6:

Table 7:

Reported and est imated na t i ona l caseload f o r c o u r t s o f l a s t reso r t , in termediate appe l l a te courts, and a l l appe l l a te courts, 1980. Est imated cases per judge and pe r 100,000 popu la t i on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Reported a p p e l l a t e c o u r t caseload f o r a l l appe l l a te cour ts , 1980. Disposed as a percent o f f i l i n g . appe l l a te courts. percent o f popu la t i on represented. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 D e t a i l e d caseload ca tegor ies f o r cou r t s o f l a s t reso r t , 1980. Appeals, o r i g i n a l proceedings, requests t o appeal, sentence rev iew only, and t o t a l cases.Reported na t i ona l t o t a l s w i t h number o f s t a t e s r e p o r t i n g and percent o f popu la t i on represented . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 D e t a i l e d caseload categor ies f o r in termediate appe l l a te cour ts , 1980. Appeal 5 , o r i g i n a l proceedings, requests t o appeal, and t o t a l cases. t o t a l s w i t h number o f s ta tes r e p o r t i n g and percent o f popu la t i on represented. . . . . . 24 Caseload f o r appeals and requests t o appeal ( c i v i l and c r i m i n a l ) and t o t a l cases f o r c o u r t s o f l a s t r e s o r t , 1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Number o f cou r t s o f l a s t r e s o r t and in termediate Reported na t i ona l t o t a l s w i t h number o f s ta tes r e p o r t i n g and

Reported na t i ona l

Caseload f o r appeals and requests t o appeal ( c i v i l and c r i m i n a l ) and t o t a l cases f o r in termediate appe l l a te cou r t s , 1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Caseload f o r c o u r t s o f l a s t r e s o r t i n s t a t e s w i t h in termediate appe l l a te cour ts , 1980. State populat ion. Disposed and end pending as a percent o f f i l e d . Number and percent change i n pending. F i l e d and disposed per judge. F i l e d per 100,000 populat ion. . . . . 34

vii

Table 8: Caseload for courts of l a s t resor t i n s ta tes without intermediate appellate courts, 1980. State population. Disposed and end pending as a percent of filed. Number and percent change i n pending. Filed and disposed per judge. F i l ed per 100,000 population. . . . . 35

Table 9: Caseload fo r intermediate appellate courts, 1980. State population.

Table 10: Opinions reported by appellate courts, 1980. Courts reporting dispositions by opinion. Number and percent o f cases disposed by opinion, by case type. Total cases disposed by opinion, total cases disposed, and number of justicedjudges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Table 11: Time interval (days) data for courts of l a s t resort and intermediate appellate courts, 1980. Courts grouped by beginning event point. Beginning event t o briefs fi led, to argument or submission, and to decision announced. Argument or submission t o decision announced.

Table 12: Filed cases for appellate courts, 1975-1980.

Table 13: Reported national caseload ( c i v i l , criminal, t r a f f i c , juvenile, and to t a l ) i n general jurisdiction, limited jurisdiction, and a l l t r i a l courts, 1980. Estimated c iv i l , criminal, juvenile, t r a f f i c , and total cases f i led and disposed i n a l l t r i a l courts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Table 14: Reported total t r i a l court caseload, 1980. General and limited jurisdiction courts. percentage of f i l ed , and f i led per 100,000 population fo r the c iv i l , criminal, t r a f f i c ,

Disposed and end pending as a percent of f i led. Number and percent change i n pending. Filed and disposed per judge. Filed per 100,000 population. . . . . 36

Type o f cases included and s t a t i s t i c type (mean or median) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Number of cases, and percent changes ..........................

46

49

Population. F i l e d and disposed, disposed a s a

juvenile, and total s ta te caseload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Table 15: C i v i l f i l ed and disposed fo r general jurisdiction, limited jurisdiction,

and a l l t r i a l courts, 1980. Disposed as a percent of f i l ed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Table 16: Composition o f c iv i l case f i l ings i n general jurisdiction courts, 1980.

State and court. C i v i l case categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Table 17: Composition of c iv i l case dispositions I n general jurisdiction courts, 1980.

State and court. Civil case categories ........................ 73 Table 18: Tort caseload for t r i a l courts, 1980.

State popula t ion . Courts reporting t o r t (auto to r t , professional t o r t , product 1 i ab i l i t y t o r t , and other t o r t ) caseload. Disposed and end pending as a percent of filed. Number

Table 19: Contract caseload fo r t r i a l courts, 1980. State population. Courts reporting contract caseload. Disposed and end pending as a percent of filed. Number and percent change i n pending. Filed per 100,000 population . 79 State population. Courts reporting small claims caseload. Disposed and end pending as a percent of f i led. Number and percent change i n pending. Fi led per 100,000 population . 80

Table 21: Real property rights caseload fo r t r i a l courts, 1980. State population. Courts reporting real property rights caseload. Disposed and end pending as a percent of fi led. Number and percent change i n pending. F i l e d per 100.000 population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Table 22: Domestic relations caseload fo r t r i a l courts, 1980. State population. Courts reporting domestic relations caseload. Disposed and end pending as a percent of f i led. Number and percent change i n pending. Filed per 100,000 population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Table 23: Estate caseload for t r i a l courts, 1980. State population. percent of f i led. Number and percent change i n pending. Filed per 100,000 popula t ion . 86 State population. Courts reporting mental health caseload. Dfsposed and end pending as a percent of filed. Number and percent change i n pending. Filed per 100,000 population 88

and percent change i n pending. Filed per 100,000 population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Table 20: Small claims caseload for t r i a l courts, 1980.

Courts reporting es ta te caseload. Disposed and end pending a s a

Table 24: Mental health caseload fo r t r i a l courts, 1980.

Table 25: Civil appeals caseload for t r i a l courts, 1980. State population. Courts reporting civil appeals caseload. Disposed and end pending as a percent of f i led. Number and percent change i n pending. F i l e d per 100,000 population . 89

viii

Table 26: C i v i l j u r y and non- jury t r i a l d i s p o s i t i o n s by case type, 1980. S ta te and court. C i v i l case types. Jury t r i a l d e f i n i t i o n . D ispos i t i ons pe r case type, number o f t r i a l s , t r i a l s as a percent o f d i spos i t i ons , number o f j u r y t r i a l s , j u r y t r i a l s as a percent o f d i s p o s i t i o n s and o f t r i a l s . . ..................... 92

Table 27: Cr iminal f i l e d and disposed i n general j u r i s d i c t i o n , l i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n , and a l l t r i a l courts. 1980. Disposed as a percent o f f i l e d . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Table 28: Composition o f c r i m i n a l case f i l i n g s i n general j u r i s d i c t i o n cour ts , 1980. S ta te and court. Cr iminal case categor ies . . ..................... 99

Table 29: Composition o f c r i m i n a l case d i s p o s i t i o n s i n general j u r i s d f c t f o n courts, 1980. S ta te and cour t . Cr iminal case categor ies . . ..................... 101

Table 30: Felony caseload f o r general j u r i s d i c t i o n cour ts , 1980. S ta te a d u l t populat fon w i t h i n u n i t o f count groupings. Disposed and end pending as a percent o f f i l e d . Number and percent change i n pending. F i l e d per 100,000 a d u l t popu la t i on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Table 31: Misdemeanor caseload f o r t r i a l cour ts , 1980. S ta te a d u l t popu la t i on w i t h i n u n i t o f count groupings. caseload. Disposed and end pending as a percent o f f i l e d . Number and percent change i n pending. F i l e d per 100,000 a d u l t popu la t i on . . .................. 106

Courts r e p o r t i n g fe lony caseload.

Courts r e p o r t i n g misdemeanor

Table 32: Combined fe lony and misdemeanor caseload, 1980. S ta te a d u l t popu la t i on w i t h i n u n i t o f count groupings. misdemeanor, o r f e l onyhisdemeanor caseload. Disposed and end pending as a percent o f f i l e d . Number and percent change i n pending. F i l e d pe r 100,000 a d u l t popu la t i on . . 109

Courts r e p o r t i n g fe lony,

Table 33: Ordinance v i o l a t i o n caseload f o r t r i a l courts, 1980. S t a t e popu la t i on w i t h i n u n i t o f count groupings. Courts r e p o r t i n g ordinance v i o l a t f o n s caseload. Disposed and end pending as a percent o f f i l e d . Number and percent change i n pending. F i l e d pe r 100,000 a d u l t popu la t i on . . .................. 113

Table 34: P re l im ina ry hear ing caseload f o r t r i a l courts, 1980. S ta te a d u l t popu la t i on w i t h i n u n i t o f count groupings. p re l im ina ry caseload. Disposed and end pending as a percent o f f i l e d . change i n pending. F i l e d pe r 100,000 a d u l t popu la t i on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Courts r e p o r t i n g fe lony Number and percent

Table 35: Cr iminal appeals caseload f o r t r i a l courts, 1980. S ta te a d u l t popu la t i on w i t h i n u n i t o f count groupings. Courts r e p o r t i n g c r i m i n a l appeals caseload. Disposed and end pending as a percent o f f i l e d . Number and percent change i n pending. F i l e d per 100,000 a d u l t popu la t i on . . .................. 116

Table 36: Criminal d i s p o s i t i o n types f o r t r i a l cour ts , 1980. Courts r e p o r t i n g c r i m i n a l d i s p o s i t i o n types. Pleas, t o t a l conv ic t ions, t r i a l conv ic t ions. acqui t ted, n o l l e prosequi, and dismissed. d i s p o s i t i o n s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 Each d i s p o s i t i o n type as a percent o f c r i m i n a l

Table 37: Cr iminal j u r y and non- jury t r i a l d i s p o s i t i o n s by case type, 1980. S ta te and cour t . Cr iminal case types. Jury t r i a l d e f i n i t i o n . D ispos i t i ons pe r case type, number o f t r i a l s , t r i a l s as a percent o f d i spos i t i ons , number o f j u r y t r i a l s , j u r y t r i a l s as a percent o f d i s p o s i t i o n s and o f t r i a l s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Table 38: T r a f f f c f i l e d and disposed i n general j u r i s d i c t i o n . l i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n , and a l l t r i a l courts, 1980. Disposed as a percent o f f i l e d . . . ................... 125

Table 39: DWI/DUI caseload f o r t r i a l cour ts , 1980. S ta te populat ion. percent o f f i l e d . Number and percent change i n pending. F i l e d pe r 100,000 popu la t i on . 127

Table 40: T r a f f i c d i s p o s i t i o n types f o r t r i a l courts, 1980. S ta te populat ion. Courts r e p o r t i n g t r a f f i c d i s p o s i t i o n type data. Pleas, v i o l a t i o n s bureau, b a i l o r bond f o r f e i t u r e s , t o t a l conv ic t ions, t r i a l conv ic t ions, acqui t ted, n o l l e prosequi, and dismissed. d i s p o s i t i o n s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 S ta te and court. Jury t r i a l d e f i n i t i o n . Number o f d i s p o s i t i o n s and t r i a l s . T r i a l s as a percent o f d i spos i t i ons . d i s p o s i t i o n s and t r i a l s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Table 42: Juven i l e f i l e d and disposed f o r general j u r i s d f c t i o n , l i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n , and a l l t r i a l courts, 1980. Disposed as a percent o f f i l e d . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Courts r e p o r t i n g DWI/DUI caseload. Disposed and end pending as a

Each d i s p o s i t i o n type as a percent o f t r a f f i c

Table 41: T r a f f i c j u r y and non- jury t r i a l d i spos i t i ons . 1980.

Numbers o f j u r y t r i a l s , j u r y t r i a l s as a percent o f

Table 43: Cr iminal - type of fense caseload f o r t r i a l cour ts , 1980. S ta te j u v e n i l e populat ion. Courts r e p o r t i n g c r i m i n a l -type caseload. Disposed and end pending as a percent o f f i l e d . Number and percent change i n pending. F i l e d pe r 100,000 j u v e n i l e popu la t i on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 State j u v e n i l e populat ion. pending as a percent o f f i l e d . j u v e n i l e populat ion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 State j u v e n i l e populat ion. Courts r e p o r t i n g non-offense caseload. Disposed and end pending as a percent o f f i l e d . Number and percent change i n pending. F i l e d per 100,000 j u v e n i l e populat ion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Table 46: F i l e d cases ( t o t a l , c f v i l , c r i m i n a l , and j u v e n i l e cases) f o r t r i a l cour ts , 1975-1980. Number o f cases, percent changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Table 44: Status of fense caseload f o r t r i a l cour ts , 1980. Courts r e p o r t i n g s ta tus of fenses caseload. Disposed and end

Number and percent change i n pending. F i l e d pe r 100,000

Table 45: Non-offense caseload f o r t r i a l cour ts , 1980.

List of state court statistical profiles

Prototype State Court System, 1980 . . . . . . . . . . 156 Court o f l a s t r e s o r t o r i n te rmed ia te appe l l a te c o u r t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Court o f general, l i m i t e d , o r spec ia l j u r i sd i c t i an . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Alabama Alabama Coljr t System, 1980 . . . . . . . . . 164 Alabama Supreme Court--court o f l a s t reso r t . 165 Alabama Court o f C i v i l Appeals--intermediate

appe l l a te c o u r t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 Alabama Court o f Criminal Appeals--

in termediate appe l l a te cour t . . . . . . . . 167 Alabama C i r c u i t Court--court o f general j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

Alabama D i s t r i c t Court--court o f l i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

A1 abama Probate Court--court o f 1 i r n i t ed j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Alabama Municipal Court--court o f l i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Arkansas Arkansas Court Sy.stem, 1980. . . . . . . . . 184 Arkansas Supreme Court--court o f

l a s t r e s o r t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185 Arkansas Court o f Appeals--intermediate

appel l a t e c o u r t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187 Arkansas C i r c u i t Court--court o f general

j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188 Arkansas Chancery and Probate Court

- -cour t o f general j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . 189 Arkansas Court o f Common Pleas--court o f

l i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . 189 Arkansas County Court--court o f l i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

Arkansas Municipal Court--court o f 1 i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

Arkansas City Court, Po l i ce Court, and Jus t i ce o f t he Peace Court--courts o f l i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

C a l i f o r n i a Court System, 1980. . . . . . . . 192 Cal i f o r n i a Supreme Court--court o f

l a s t r e s o r t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193 C a l i f o r n i a

Alaska Alaska Court System, 1980. . . . . . . . . . 170 Alaska Supreme Court--court o f l a s t r e s o r t . 171 Alaska Court o f Appeal s-- intermediate appe l l a te c o u r t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

Alaska Super ior Court--court o f general j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

A I aska D i s t r i c t Court--court o f 1 i m i t ed j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

A1 aska Magis t ra tes Court--court o f 1 i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

l

Arizona Ar izona Court System, 1980 . . . . . , . . . 178 Ar izona Supreme Court--court o f l a s t reso r t . 179 Arizona Court o f Appeal s-- intermediate

appe l l a te c o u r t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 Ar izona Super ior Court--court o f general ,

j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . .; .. 181 Ar izona Jus t i ces o f t he Peace--court o f

l i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . 182 Arizona City Magis t ra tes--cour t o f 1 i m i t ed j u r i sd i c t i on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

C a l i f o r n i a Courts o f Appeal - - in termediate appel l a t e c o u r t . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

C a l i f o r n i a Super ior Court--court o f general j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

C a l i f o r n i a J u s t i c e Court--court o f 1 i m i t e d j u r i sd i c t i on. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

C a l i f o r n i a Municipal Court--court o f l i m i t e d j u r i sd ic t i on. . , . . . . . . . . . . . . .

194

195

196

198

:ol o rad0 Colorado Court System, 1980. . . . . . . . . 200 Colorado Supreme Court--court o f l a s t r e s o r t 201 Colorado Court o f Appeal s-- intermediate appe l l a te c o u r t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

Colorado D i s t r i c t Court, Denver Super ior Court, Denver Juven i l e Court, and Denver Probate Court--court o f general j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204 j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , 205 j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

Colorado Water Court--court o f general

Colorado County Court--court o f 1 i m i t e d

Colorado Municipal Court--court o f 1 i m i t e d

X

Connectfcut Connecticut Court System, 1980 . . . . . . . 206 Connecticut Supreme Court--court of l a s t resort. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

Appellate Session of Superior Court, Connecti cut--i ntermedi a t e appell a t e court . 207

Connecticut Superior Court--court o f general jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . 208

Connecticut Probate Court--court of limited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

De 1 aware Delaware Court System, 1980. . . . . . . . . 211 Delaware Supreme Court--court o f

l a s t resort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212 Delaware Superior Court--court o f general jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Delaware Court o f Chancery--court of general jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . 214

Delaware Justice o f the Peace Court--court of 1 imi ted jurisdiction . . . . . . . . . . 21 5

Delaware Court o f Common Pleas--court o f 1 imited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . 21 5

Delaware Family Court--court o f 1 imited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216

Municipal Court o f Wilmington, Delaware-- court o f limited jurisdiction . . . . . . . 217

Delaware Alderman's Court--court o f limited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

District of Columbia District o f Columbia Court System, 1980. . . 218 Dis t r ic t o f Columbia Court o f Appeals-- court o f l a s t resort. . . . . . . . . . . . 219

District o f Columbia Superior Court--court of general jurisdiction . . . . . . . . . . 220

Florida Florida Court System, 1980 . . . . . . . . . 223 Florida Supreme Court--court o f l a s t resort. 224 F1 o r ida District Courts o f Appeal --

intermediate appellate court. . . . . . . . 225 Florida C i r c u i t Court--court o f general jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226

Florida County Court--court of 1 imited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

GeQrgi a Georgia Court System, 1980 . . . . . . . . . 229 Georgia Supreme Court--court o f l a s t resort. 230 Georgia Court of Appeals--intermediate appellate court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

Georgia Superior Court--court o f general jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232

Georgia State Court and County Court-- courts o f limited jurisdiction. . . . . . . 233

Georgia Probate Court--court o f 1 i m i ted jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

Georgia Juvenile Court--court o f limited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234

Georgia Municipal Court--court of 1 imited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234

Georgia C i v i l Court--court o f limited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234

Georgia Small Claims Court--court o f limited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . 234

Georgia Magistrate's Court--court o f limited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . 235

Georgia Justice of the Peace Court--court o f limited jurisdiction . . . . . . . . . . 235

Georgia Recorder's Court, Mayor's Court, Municipal Court, City Council Cour t , Police Court, and Criminal Court--courts of limited jurisdiction . . . . . . . . . . 235

xi

Guam Guam Court System, 1980 . . . . . . . . . . 236 Superior Court--Court o f general jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

Hawaii Hawaii Court System, 1980. . . . . . . . . . 238 Hawaii Supreme Court--court of l a s t resor t . 239 Hawaii Intermediate Court o f Appeals-- intennediate appellate court. . . . . . . . 240

Hawaii Circuit Court--court o f general jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

Hawaii Land Court--court of general jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

Hawaii Tax Appeal Court--court o f general jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

Hawaii District Court--court o f limited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244

Idaho Idaho Court System, 1980 . . . . . . . . . . 246 Idaho Supreme Court--court o f l a s t resort. . 247 Idaho District Court--court o f general jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

Idaho Magistrates Division o f Dis t r ic t Court--court of general jurisdiction. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 250

I1 1 inoi s I l l ino is Court System, 1980. . . . . . . . . 252 I l l ino is Supreme Court--court o f l a s t resort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253

I11 inois Appellate Court--intermediate appellate court . . . . . . . . . . . , . . 254

I1 1 i noi s Circuit Court--court o f general jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

Indiana Indiana Court System, 1980 , . . . . . . . . 257 Indiana Supreme Court--court o f l a s t resort. 258 Indiana Court o f Appeal s--intermediate appellate court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259

Indiana Superior Court and Circuit Court-- courts o f general jurisdiction. . . . . . . 260

Indiana County Court--court o f 1 imited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

Indiana City Court and Town Court--court o f limited jurisdiction . 262

Municipal Court of Marion County, Indiana-- court o f limited jurisdiction . . . . . . . 263

Indiana Probate Court--court o f limited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264

Small Claims Court of Marion County, Indiana--court o f limited jurisdiction. . . 264

Iowa Iowa Court System, 1980. . . . . . . . . . . 265 Iowa Supreme Court--court of l a s t resort . . 266 Iowa Court o f Appeal s--intennedi a te appellate court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

Iowa District Court--court of general jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

Kansas Kansas Court System, 1980. . . . . . . . . . 271 Kansas Supreme Court--court o f l a s t resort . 272 Kansas Court of Appeal s--intermediate

appellate court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273 Kansas District Court--court o f general jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274

Kansas Municipal Court--court of limited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275

Kentucky Kentucky Court System, 1980. . . . . . . . . 276 Kentucky Supreme Court--court of

l a s t resor t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277 Kentucky Court o f Appeal +-intermediate

appellate court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278 Kentucky Circuit Court--court of general jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279

Kentucky Distr ic t Court--court of 1 imited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280

Louiisiana Court System, 1980 . . . . . . . . 281 Louisiana Supreme Court--court of 1 a s t resort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282

Louisiana Cowrts of Appeal --intermediate appellate court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283

Louisiana Distr ic t Court--court of general jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284

Louisiana Family Court and Juvenile Court-- courts of limited jurisdiction. . . . . . . 284

Louisiana City Court and Parish Court, Municipal Court and Traffic Court o f New Orleans--courts o f 1 imited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285

Louisiana Justice o f the Peace Court-- court of limited jur isdict ion . . . . . . . 285

Louisiana Mayor's Court--court o f 1 imited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285

Maine Court System, 1980 . . . . . . . . . . 286 Haine Supreme Judicial Court--court o f

l a s t resort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287 Maine Superior Court--court o f general jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288

Maine Distr ic t Court--court o f 1 imited jurfsdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290

Maine Administrative Court--court o f limited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . 291

Maine Probate Court--court of 1 i m i ted jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

Loui siana

Maine

Maryl and Maryland Court System, 1980. . . . . . . . . 292 Maryl and Court o f Appeal s--court o f

l a s t resort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293 Maryland Court o f Special Appeals--

intermediate appell a t e court. . . . . . . . 294 Maryland Circuit Court--court o f general jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295

Maryland Distr ic t Court--court of 1 imited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296

Maryland Orphan's Court--court o f 1 imited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297

Massachusetts Court System, 1980 . . . , . . 298 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court-- court o f l a s t resort. . . . . . . . . . . . 299

Massachusetts Appeals Court--i ntermediate appellate court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299

Massachusetts Super4 or Court Department-- court o f general jur isdict ion . . . . . . . 300

Massachusetts Distr ic t Court Department-- court o f general jurisdiction . . . . . . . 300

Boston Municipal Court Department, Massachusetts--court o f general jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302

Massachusetts Land Court Department-- court of general jur isdict ion . . . . . . . 303

Massachusetts Juveni 1 e Court Department-- court o f general jur isdict ion . . . . . . . 303

Massachusetts Probate and Family Court Department--court o f general jurisdiction . 304

Massachusetts Housing Court Department-- court of general jur isdict ion . . . . . . . 305

Massachusetts

M i chi gan Michigan Court System, 1980. . . . . . . . . 306 Michigan Supreme Court--court o f

l a s t resort . . . . . . . . , . , . . . . . 307 Michigan Court o f Appeal s--intermediate

appellate court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307 Michigan Circuit Court--court o f general jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308

Michigan Court of Claims--court o f general jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

Recorder's Court o f Detroit, Michigan-- court o f general jur isdict ion . . . , . . . 31 0

Michigan Dis t r ic t Court--court o f limited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311

Michigan Municipal Court--court o f limited jurisdiction. . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . 312

Common Pleas Court of Detroit, Michigan-- court o f limited jur isdict ion . . . . . . . 313

Michigan Probate Court--court o f limited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314

Minnesota Minnesota Court System, 1980 . . . . . . . . 315 Minnesota Supreme Court--court of

l a s t resor t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316 Minnesota Dis t r ic t Court--court of general jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 7

Minnesota County Court--court o f Iimi ted jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 7

Minnesota County Municipal Court--court of limited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . 318

Minnesota Conciliation Court--court o f 1 imi ted jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . 31 9

Minnesota Probate Court--court o f limited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319

Mississippi Mississippi Court System, 1980 . . . . . . . 320 Mississippi Supreme Court--court o f

l a s t resort. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321 Mississippi Circuit Court--court o f general jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322

Mississippi Chancery Court--court o f general jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . 322

Mississippi County Court--court o f 1 imited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . 322

Mississippi Justice Court--court o f limited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322

Mississippi Family Court--court of limited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322

Mississippi Municipal Court--court o f limited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . 322

Missouri Missouri Court System, 1980. . . . . . . . . 323 Missouri Supreme Court--court o f

l a s t resort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324 Missouri Court of Appeals--intermediate

appellate court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325 Missouri Ci r c u i t Court-- court of general jurisdiction . . . . . . . 326

Montana Montana Court System, 1980 . . . . . . . . . 328 Montana Supreme Court--court o f l a s t resort. 329 Montana Distr ic t Court--court of general jurisdiction. . . .. . . , . . . . . . . . . 330

Montana Just ice Court--court o f 1 imi ted jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331

Montana City Court--court o f 1 imi ted jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331

Montana Municipal Court--court o f 1 imited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331

xi i

Nebraska Nebraska Court System, 1980. . . . . . . . . 332 Nebraska Supreme Court--court o f l a s t resort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333

Nebraska District Court--court o f general jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334

Nebraska Workmen's Compensation Court-- court o f limited jurisdiction . . . . . . . 334

Nebraska County Court--court o f 1 imited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335

Nebraska Municipal Court--court o f 1 imited

Nebraska Separate Juvenile Court--court o f jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336 limited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . 336

Nevada Court System, 1980. . . . . . . . . . 337 Nevada Supreme Court--court o f l a s t resort . 338 Nevada District Court--court o f general

Nevada Justice Court--court o f limited

Nevada Municipal Court--courf o f limited .

Nevada

jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339 jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340 jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341

342

resort. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343 New Hampshire

New Hampshire Court System, 1980 . . . . . . New Hampshire Supreme Court--court o f l a s t

New Hampshire Superior Court--court o f

New Hampshire District Court--court o f

New Hampshire Municipal Court--court o f

New Hampshire Probate Court--court o f

general jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . 344 limited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . 345 limited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . 346 limited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . 347

348'

349

350

351

353

354

355 355

356

357

358

360

360

3 61

361

3 61

New York Appellate Terms o f the Supreme

New York Supreme Court and County Court--

Criminal Court o f the City o f New York--

Civil Court o f the City o f New York--

New York Family Court--court o f 1 imi ted

New York District Court and City Court--

New York Surrogates' Court--court o f

New York Court o f Claims--court o f limited

New York Town and Village Court--court o f

Court--intermediate appellate court . . . . 364 courts o f general jurisdiction. . . . . . . 365 court o f limited jurisdiction . . . . . . . 366 court o f limited jurisdiction . . . . . . . 367 jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368 courts o f limited jurisdiction. . . . . . . 369 limited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . 370 jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370 limited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . 370

North Carolina North Carolina Court System, 1980. . . . . . 371 North Carolina Supreme Court--court o f l a s t

resort. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372 North Carolina Court o f Appeals--

intermediate appellate court. . . . . . . . 374 North Carolina Superior Court--court o f

general jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . 375 North Carolina District Court--court of

limited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . 376 North Dakota

North Dakota Court System, 1980. . . . . . . 378 North Dakota Supreme Court--court of l a s t

North Dakota District Court--court o f

North Dakota County Court with Increased

North Dakota Municipal Court--court of

North Dakota County Probate Court--court o f

North Dakota County Justice Court--court o f

resort. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379 general jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . 380 Juri sdiction--court o f limited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . 381 1 imi ted jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . 382 limited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . 382 limited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . 383

New Jersey New Jersey Court System, 1980. . . . . . . . New Jersey Supreme Court--court o f l a s t

New Jersey Appellate Division o f Superior

New Jersey Superior Court (Law Division and Chancery Division) and County Court--court

New Jersey County Distr ic t Court--court o f

New Jersey Juvenile and Domestic Relations

New Jersey Municipal Court--court o f

resort. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Court--intermediate appellate court . . . . o f general jurisdiction . . . . . . . . . . limited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . Court--court o f limited jurisdiction. . . . limited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . .

New Jersey Surrogates. . . . . . . . . . . . New Mexico

New Mexico Court System, 1980. . . . . . . . New Mexico Supreme Court--court o f

l a s t r e s o r t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New Mexico Court o f Appeals--intermediate

appellate court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New Mexico District Court--court o f general jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

New Mexico Magistrate Court--court o f limited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . .

New nexjco Probate Court--court o f -1 imited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

New Mexico Municipal Court--court o f limited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . .

Small Claims Court o f Albuquerque, New Mexico--court o f 1 imited jurisdiction .

New York Okiahoma District Court--court o f gene,ral

Oklahoma Workers' Compensation Court--

Oklahoma Court o f Tax Review--court o f

New York Court System, 1980. . . . . . . . . 362 jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396 New York Court o f Appeals--court o f

l a s t resort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363 court o f limited jurisdiction . . . . . . . 398 New York Appellate Divisions o f the Supreme Court--intermediate appellate court . . . . 363 limited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . 398

Ohio Ohio Court System, 1980. . . . . . . . . . . 384 Ohio Supreme Court--court o f l a s t resort . , 385 Ohio Court o f Appeal s--intermediate appellate court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385

Ohio Court o f Comnon Pleas--court o f general jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . 387

Ohio County Court--court o f 1 imi ted jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388

Ohio Court o f Claims--court o f limited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389

Ohio Municipal Court--court o f limited jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390

Ohio Mayors' Court--court o f limited . jurisdiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391 Oklahoma

Oklahoma Court System, 1980. . . . . . . . . 392 Oklahoma Supreme Court--court o f

l a s t resort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393 Oklahoma Court o f Criminal Appeals--

court o f l a s t resort. . . . . . . . . . . . 394 Oklahoma Court o f Appeal s--intermediate

appellate court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395

I

xiii

Oklahoma Municipal Cr iminal Court o f Record--court o f l i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . .

Oklahoma Municipal Court Not of Record-- c o u r t o f l i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . .

Oregon Court System, 1980. . . . . . . . . Oregon Supreme Court--court o f l a s t r e s o r t Oregon Court o f Appeal s-- intermediate

appe l l a te c o u r t . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oregon C i r c u i t Court--court o f general j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Oregon Tax Court--court o f general j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . .

Oregon D i s t r i c t Court--court o f 1 i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Oregon County Court--court o f 1 i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Oregon J u s t i c e Court--court o f 1 i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Oregon Municipal cou r t - - cou r t o f 1 i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Oregon

. 398

. 398

. 400 . 401

. 402

. 403

. 404

. 404

. 405

. 406

. 406 Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Court System, 1980. . . . . . . 407 Pennsylvania Supreme Court--court o f 1 a s t resor t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408

Pennsy 1 vani a Super ior Cour t-- i n termedi a t e appe l l a te c o u r t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409

Pennsylvania Comnonweal t h Court-- in termediate appe l l a te court. . . . . . . . 409

Pennsylvania Court o f Common P1 eas--court o f general j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . 410

Pennsylvania D i s t r i c t J u s t i c e Court--court o f l i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . 411

Phi ladelph ia Municipal Court, Pennsylvania-- c o u r t o f l i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . 412

Phi ladelph ia T r a f f i c Court, Pennsylvania-- c o u r t o f l i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . 412

P i t t sbu rgh City Magis t ra te Court, Pennsylvania--court o f 1 i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 3

Puerto Rico Court System, 1980 . . . . . . . 414 l a s t r e s o r t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 5 general j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . 416 1 i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 8 l i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . 419 l i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . 419

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico Supreme Court--court o f

Puerto Rico Super ior Court--court o f

Puerto Rico D i s t r i c t Court--court o f

Puerto Rico Jus t i ces o f t h e Peace--court o f

Puerto Rico Munic ipa l Court--court o f

South Carol i na Magi s t r a t e Court--court o f

South Carol i na Probate Court--court o f

South Caro l ina Municipal Court--court o f

South Carol i na Family Court--court o f

1 i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . l i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . l i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . l i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . .

South Dakota South Dakota Court System, 1980. . . . . . . South Dakota Supreme Court--court o f l a s t

South Dakota C i r c u i t Court--court o f resor t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . general j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tennessee Tennessee Court System, 1980 . . . . . . . . Tennessee Supreme Court--court o f

l a s t r e s o r t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tennessee Court o f Appeal s-- intermediate

appe l l a te c o u r t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tennessee Court o f Criminal Appeal 4--i n t e r -

mediate appe l l a te c o u r t . . . . . . . . . . Tennessee C i r c u i t Court and Cr iminal Court--

cou r t s o f general j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . Tennessee Law and Equi ty Court--court o f

general j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . Tennessee Chancery Court--court o f general

Tennessee General Sessions Court--court o f

Tennessee Probate Court--court o f l i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tennessee County Court--court o f 1 i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tennessee Juveni le Court--court o f 1 i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tennessee J u s t i c e o f t he Peace Court--court o f l i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . .

Tennessee Municipal Court--court o f 1 i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

j u r i sd i c t i on. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . .

Texas Texas Court System, 1980 . . . . . . . . . . Texas Supreme Court--court of l a s t reso r t . . Texas Court o f Cr iminal Appeals--court o f 1 a s t r e s o r t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Texas Courts o f C i v i 1 Appeal s-- intermediate appe l l a te c o u r t . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Texas D i s t r i c t Court and Cr iminal D i s t r i c t Court--courts o f general j u r i s d i c t i o n . . .

Texas Municipal Court--court o f 1 i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Texas J u s t i c e o f t he Peace Court--court o f

426

427

427

428

429

430

431

433

434

434

435

436

437

438

439

439

439

440

440

440

441 442

443

444

444

446

Rhode I s l a n d Rhode I s l a n d Court System, 1980. . . . . . . Rhode I s l a n d Supreme Court--court o f l a s t

Rhode I s l a n d Super ior Court--court o f

Rhode I s l a n d D i s t r i c t Court--court o f

Rhode Is1 and Family Court--court o f 1 i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Rhode I s l a n d Municipal Court--court o f 1 i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . .

Rhode I s l a n d Probate Court--court o f 1 i m i t ed j u r i sd i c t i on. . . . . . . . . . . .

resor t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . general j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . l i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . .

j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455 Vermont Court System, 1980 . . . . . . . . . 456

reso r t , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425 Vermont Supreme Court--court o f l a s t reso r t . 457 Vermont Super ior Court--court o f general

South Caro l ina South Caro l ina Court System, 1980. . . . . . 424 Vermont South Caro l ina Supreme Court--court o f l a s t

South Carol i na C i r c u i t Court--court o f general j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . 426 j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459

420

421

422

422

423

42 3

423

l i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . 446 County Court, and Probate Court--courts o f l i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . 448

Texas County Court a t Law, Cons t i t u t i ona l

Utah Utah Court System, 1980. . . . . . . . . . . 450 Utah supreme Court--court of l a s t r e s o r t . . 451 Utah D i s t r i c t Court--court o f general j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452

Utah C i r c u i t Court--court o f 1 i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . .453

Utah J u s t i c e Cour t - -cour t o f l i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . 454

Utah Juveni le Court--court o f 1 i m i t e d

xiv

Vermont D i s t r i c t Court--court o f general

Vermont Probate Court--court o f 1 i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460 j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461

V i r g i n i a Court System, 1980. . . . . . . . . 462 V i r g i n i a Supreme Court--court o f

l a s t r e s o r t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463 V i r g i n i a C i r c u i t Court--court o f general j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464

V i r g i n i a D i s t r i c t Court--court o f l i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465

Washington Court System, 1980. . . . . . . . 466 Washington Supreme Court--court of

l a s t r e s o r t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 467 Washington Court o f Appeal s-- intermediate appe l l a te c o u r t , . . . . . . . . . . . . . 468

Washington Super ior Court--court o f general j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469

Washington D i s t r i c t Court--court of l i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . , . . . . . . . . 470

Washington Municipal and Po l i ce Court-- c o u r t o f l i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . 471

West V i r g i n i a Court System, 1980 . . . . . . 472 West V i r g i n i a Supreme Court o f Appeals-- c o u r t o f l a s t reso r t . . . . . . . . . . . . 473

V i r g i n i a

Washington

West V i r g i n i a

West V i r g i n i a C i r c u i t Court--court o f

West V i r g i n i a Magis t ra te Court--court o f

West V i r g i n i a Municipal Court--court o f

general j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . 474 l i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . 474 l i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . 474

Wisconsin Court System, 1980 . . . . . . . . 475 Wisconsin Supreme Court--court o f

l a s t r e s o r t . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . 476 Wisconsin Court o f Appeals--intermediate

appe l l a te c o u r t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477 Wisconsin C i r c u i t Court--court o f

general j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . 478 Wisconsin Municipal J u s t i c e Court--court o f

1 i rn i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . 479

Wisconsin

Wyoming Wyoming Court System, 1980 . . . . . . . . . 480 Wvomina SuDreme Court--court o f l a s t resor t . 481 $omin; D i i t r i c t Court--court o f general

Wyoming County Court and J u s t i c e of t he

Wyoming Municipal Court--court o f 1 i m i t e d

j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . 482 Peace Court--court of 1 i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n . 482

j u r i s d i c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482

xv

Introduction

Courts S t a t i s t i c s and In format ion Management P r o j e c t

The Annual Report se r ies o f s t a t e c o u r t caseload s t a t i s t i c s i s t he product o f the con t inu ing cooperat ive r e l a t i o n s h i p between the Conference o f S ta te Court Admin is t ra tors (COSCA) and the Nat ional Center f o r S ta te Courts (NCSC). F inanc ia l management, p r o j e c t management, and p r o j e c t s t a f f i n g r e s p o n s i b i l i t y a re assumed by the Court S t a t i s t i c s and In format ion Management (CSIM) Pro ject , former ly c a l l e d t h e Nat ional Court S t a t i s t i c s P r o j e c t (NCSP) o f t he NCSC. COSCA, through i t s Court S t a t i s t i c s and In fo rma t ion Systems Comni t t ee , prov ides general p o l i c y review, guidance, and c o n t r o l over a l l p r o j e c t a c t i v i t i e s . The se r ies i s funded by t h e Bureau o f J u s t i c e S t a t i s t i c s .

The t w i n goals o f t he Court S t a t i s t i c s and In fo rma t ion Management P r o j e c t a re t o c o l l e c t , compile, analyze, and disseminate s t a t e c o u r t caseload s t a t i s t i c s and t o he lp s ta tes improve t h e q u a l i t y o f t he data they r e p o r t by a s s i s t i n g them i n r e s o l v i n g t h e i r s t a t i s t i c a l problems. The Annual Re o r t se r ies responds d i r e c t l y t o the firs-piling a l l a v a i l a b l e s t a t e c o u r t caseload data from the 50 s ta tes t h e D i s t r i c t o f Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.1

Uses o f c o u r t s t a t i s t i c a l data

data, as i d e n t i f i e d i n the C S I M pub l i ca t i ons , The f o u r major uses o f c o u r t s t a t i s t i c a l

=of r o u t i n e day-to-day a c t i v i t i e s a t t he l o c a l l e v e l ) ; ( 2 ) management (dec i s ion making a t t h e s t a t e o r l o c a l l e v e l concerned w i t h improvement o f t he c o u r t process and system-wide e f f i c i e n c y i n t h e use o f c o u r t resources); (31 i n t e r n a l p lanning and research (goal s e t t i n g and p o l i c y p lanning t o e s t a b l i s h long-term programs and i d e n t i f y evo lv ing problems); and ( 4 ) i n d i r e c t c o u r t uses (dec i s ion making by those ou ts ide the cou r t s concerned w i t h p o l i c y making o r research about c o u r t operat ions). c o u r t s t a t i s t i c s requ i re d i f f e r e n t l e v e l s o f d e t a i l and analys is , b u t t he a v a i l a b i l i t y o f d e t a i l e d s t a t i s t i c s i s dependent upon the s t a t i s t i c a l r e p o r t i n g system used a t t h e s t a t e o r l o c a l l e v e l . Th is annual r e p o r t has r e s t r i c t e d i t s scope t o the l e v e l o f d e t a i l c u r r e n t l y a v a i l a b l e f rom s ta te - l eve l r e p o r t i n g systems.

Operat ional dec is ions are made a t t he l o c a l l e v e l and r e q u i r e d e t a i l e d i n fo rma t ion on a

The var ious uses o f

l R e p e t i t i o n o f "50 states, t he D i s t r i c t of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico" becomes very tumbersome.

r e p o r t i n g u n i t s t h a t i nc lude the D i s t r i c t o f Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.

2Nat ional Court S t a t i s t i c s Pro iect . Nat ional

Throughout the r e s t o f t h i s repo r t , s ta tes " and " c o u r t systems" w i l l be used f o r t he

Center f o r S ta te Courts, State-Cour t Caseload S t a t i s t i c s : The S ta te o f t he A r t (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government P r i n t i n g O f f i ce , 1978). C l i f f o r d and Jensen. Court Case Management In fo rma t i on Systems Manual ( W i l T G s b u r g , Na t iona l Center f o r S ta te Courts, 1983).

case-by-case basis. These dec is ions must be made d a i l y and cannot be based upon year-end summary s t a t i s t i c s such as those conta ined i n t h i s 1980 repo r t .

t h e s t a t e o r l o c a l l e v e l and r e q u i r e aggregat ion o f d e t a i l e d i n fo rma t ion used f o r operat ional decis ions. Caseflow management data such as t h a t needed t o determine the s ta tus o f t he p repara t i on of t h e reco rd f o r appeal o r t o generate except ion r e p o r t s a r e gathered by some s t a t e r e p o r t i n g systems, b u t t h i s k i n d o f i n fo rma t ion i s a l s o case s p e c i f i c and too d e t a i l e d t o be compiled and used f o r nat ionwide comparisons. I n contrast , s ta te - l eve l surmnary s t a t i s t i c s a re use fu l f o r management purposes i n areas such as comparisons o f t ime lapses i n case processing t o e s t a b l i s h norms o r guides; analyses t o determine assignments o f judges needed t o r e l i e v e backlog; analyses t o determine the need f o r a d d i t i o n a l judges, support personnel, o r f a c i l i t i e s ; and analyses t o determine the impact o f an in termediate appe l l a te c o u r t on t h e s t a t e system.

I n response t o t h e recognized need f o r c e r t a i n management data n a t i o n a l l y , t he 1980 Annual Re o r t has concentrated on un i fo rm ly

a v a i l a b l e case processing t ime data. and case processing a r e major components o f c a u r t workload, which the C S I M P r o j e c t has def ined t o mean a l l c o u r t - r e l a t e d mat ters t h a t consume t ime and e f f o r t (hence, pu re l y a d m i n i s t r a t i v e and m i n i s t e r i a l f unc t i ons a re a l s o i nc luded as ' workload). Measurement o f c o u r t workload per se i s n o t d i r e c t l y addressed i n t h i s repo r t , b u t caseload inven to ry data and data regard ing t h e number o f t r i a l s do prov ide p a r t i a l i n d i c a t i o n s o f t he e x t e n t o f j u d i c i a l a c t i v i t y . The data presented i n t h i s r e p o r t r e f l e c t t h e q u a n t i t y o f management data now a v a i l a b l e f rom each s t a t e ' s r e p o r t i n g system i n publ ished and unpubl ished repor ts .

I n t e r n a l p lanning and research, as we l l as p lanning and research by those ou ts ide the c o u r t system, r e q u i r e a much wider range o f data and ana lys i s than operat ional and management decis ions. The in fo rma t ion necessary f o r these purposes o f t e n inc ludes n o t on l y an aggregat ion o f data on caseload and casef low b u t a l s o s p e c i f i c data regard ing s t a t u s o f cases, as w e l l as i n fo rma t ion on c o u r t operat ions, j u d i c i a l budgets, ac t i ons p r i o r t o f i l i n g a case, and ac t i ons a f t e r d i s p o s i t i o n o f a case. t o some i n d i v i d u a l s w i t h i n and ou ts ide t h e c o u r t system a re s tud ies on a wide range o f o the r subjects, such as the e f f e c t and c o s t o f l i t i g a t i o n , b a i l a v a i l a b i l i t y and u n i f o r m i t y i n c l u d i n g recognizance/lO% b a i l programs, t h e v a l i d i t y o f case weight ing techniques, sentence d i s p a r i t y pat terns, t h e e f f e c t s o f p lea n e g o t i a t i o n on caseloads, and the impact o f 1 e g i s l a t i on. To answer these quest ions i s, however, beyond the c a p a b i l i t i e s o f most s t a t e o r even l o c a l c o u r t i n fo rma t fon systems. Basic in format ion on caseload and casef low i s adequate f o r many o t h e r p lanning and research issues where t h e l e v e l o f needed d e t a i l i s n o t as high. These l a t t e r k inds o f issues inc lude, f o r example, case f i l i n g and d i s p o s i t i o n t r e n d analys is , caseload composi t f o n analys is , ana lys i s o f reversa l ra tes, t ime lapse ana lys i s t o e s t a b l i s h noms and

Management dec is ions can be made a t e i t h e r

+ c a s s i f y i n g caseload data and on compi l ing Caseload

O f i n t e r e s t

3

guides, and fo recas t i ng o f caseload volumes t o determine resourze and f a c i l i t i e s needs.

Scope o f t h e data i n the annual r e p o r t se r ies

The f i r s t annual r e p o r t (1975) presented a v a i l a b l e caseload data f o r s t a t e appe l l a te cou r t s and t r i a l cou r t s o f general j u r i s d i c t i o n , and f o r se lected categor ies ( j u v e n i l e , domestic r e l a t i o n s , probate, and mental h e a l t h ) i n l i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n cour ts . The second annual r e p o r t (1976) again presented a v a i l a b l e data f o r appel l a te cou r t s and cou r t s o f general j u r i s d i c t i o n , and a l s o inc luded a l l a v a i l a b l e caseload data f o r a l l l i m i t e d j u r i s d i c t i o n courts. As data from each c o u r t l e v e l become more complete, f u t u r e aggregat ion o f t r i a l c o u r t caseloads should become more meaningful.

The 1976 r e p o r t was expanded t o i nc lude Puerto Rico. Data from Guam were added f o r t he 1977 c o u r t year. The scope o f f u t u r e repo r t s w i l l be broadened t o i nc lude American Samoa and the V i r g i n I s lands when these data become avai 1 able.

This r e p o r t r e f l e c t s c o u r t o rgan iza t i on and j u r i s d i c t i o n as i t e x i s t e d i n 1980 b u t t he reader should keep i n mind t h a t c o u r t systems a re n o t s t a t i c e n t i t i e s . Fo r example, i n 1979, Connect icut consol idated i t s t r i a l courts, e l i m i n a t i n g i t s Juven i l e Court and Court o f Common Pleas and s h i f t i n g t h i s j u r i s d i c t i o n t o i t s Super ior Court. The d o l l a r amount l i m i t s o f c i v i l j u r i s d i c t i o n have changed i n many courts. Because c o u r t o rgan iza t i ona l o r j u r i s d i c t i o n a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s change over time, c a u t i o n should be exerc ised i n at tempt ing t o compare the data i n t h i s 1980 r e p o r t w i t h e a r l i e r data o r w i t h more c u r r e n t data.

Data c o l l e c t i o n

Data sources. The sources o f data f o r t he tab les presented i n t h i s s e r i e s are publ ished annual r e p o r t s prov ided by the s ta tes and unpubl ished s t a t i s t i c a l ma te r ia l requested of, and suppl ied by s t a t e c o u r t admin i s t ra to rs and appel l a t e c o u r t c le rks . (Appendix B o f t h i s r e p o r t i d e n t i f i e s the sources o f data f rom each s tate. ) Add i t i ona l r e l e v a n t i n fo rma t ion was secured from appropr ia te personnel i n each s tate. Telephone con tac t and f o l l ow-up correspondence were used t o c o l l e c t miss ing data, con f i rm the accuracy o f a v a i l a b l e data, and determine the l e g a l j u r i s d i c t i o n o f each cour t . In format ion was co l1 ected concerning t h e number o f judges per c o u r t o r c o u r t system ( f rom annual reports, o f f i c e s o f s t a t e c o u r t admin is t ra tors , and appe l l a