BJS collects data about the Nation's court system including
information
about both civil and criminal courts, the cases brought,
and their outcomes.
For example -
BJS Courts and Sentencing Publications
Choose one of the following headings:
For related information, see BJS statistics about Corrections and Prosecution.
The title is linked to a full abstract of a publication that includes a menu of electronic versions of the publication you can download .
Pretrial Release of Federal Felony Defendants: Federal Justice Statistics Program, 1990, 2/94. Provides a comprehensive overview of the pretrial phase of the Federal criminal justice system. NCJ 145322
Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties, 1990: National Pretrial Reporting Program, 5/93. Describing those charged with felonies in the Nation's 75 largest counties, this report tracks a sample of cases for a year from felony case filing through sentencing. NCJ 141872
Spouse Murder Defendants in Large Urban Counties , 10/11/95. Discusses how State prosecutors, judges, and juries handled two types of murder cases (husbands killing wives and wives killing husbands) and gives specific case histories, describing each case and its outcome.
Fact sheet NCJ-FS000127
Executive summary NCJ-156831
Full report NCJ -153256
Federal Habeas Corpus Review: Challenging State Court Criminal Convictions, 9/95. Examines a sample of disposed habeas corpus cases (through which State prisoners make petitions to challenge the validity of their convictions or sentences) in 18 Federal district courts in 9 selected States (Alabama, California, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas). NCJ 155504
Murder in Families, 7/10/94. Findings about murder in families from a survey of murder cases disposed in 1988 in the courts of large urban counties. NCJ 143498
Tracking Offenders, 1990 , 7/94. This BJS Bulletin, based on data from 11 States participating in the BJS Offender-Based Transaction Statistics (OBTS) program, summarizes the processing of felony arrests disposed during 1990. NCJ 148200
National Judicial Reporting Program, 1990 , 12/93. Presents detailed findings from the 1990 nationally representative sample survey of felons convicted in State courts in 300 counties. NCJ 145323
Murder in Large Urban Counties, 1988, 5/93. Represents almost 10,000 prosecuted murder defendants and more than 8,000 murder victims in the Nation's 75 most populous counties in 1988-- about half of the Nation's murder arrestees for that year and just under half of the murder victims. NCJ 140614
State Court Sentencing
of Convicted Felons, 1992, 5/96.
Presents detailed findings from the 1992 nationally representative sample
survey of felons convicted in State courts in 300 counties. NCJ-152696
Violent Offenders in State Prison: Sentences
and Time Served--State Inmates, 1992-94, 7/95. Reports jurisdiction-
level data on sentence length and time served for violent prison inmates who
were admitted or released in 1992, 1993, and 1994. NCJ 154632
Prison Sentences and Time Served for Violence
, 4/1/95. Presents the time served by violent offenders released from
State prisons in 1992; estimates the hypothetical impact on time served
of changing the percentage of sentence served; and discusses how the States
differ in percentage of sentence served. NCJ 153858
Challenging the Conditions of Prisons
and Jails: A Report on Section 1983 Litigation, 2/95. Discusses
the extent and outcomes of Federal civil suits by prisoners against correctional
authorities. NCJ 151652
Felony Sentences in State Courts, 1992,
1/25/95. Presents findings from a nationally representative survey of felony
convictions in 300 counties including convictions for 11 offense categories as
well as the sex, race, and age of convicted felons. NCJ 151167
Felony Sentences in State Courts, 1990,
3/93. This nationally representative survey of 300 counties found that about
168,000 men and women were convicted in State felony courts in 1990 of trafficking
in illegal drugs, more than twice the number convicted in 1986. NCJ 140186
Felony Sentences in the U.S., 1990,
10/94. Presents State and Federal sentences of adults in the Nation's courts
for 1990 for the following offenses: violent (murder, rape, robbery, assault,
other), property (burglary, motor vehicle theft, other larceny, fraud, forgery),
drug (trafficking, possession), weapons, and other. NCJ 149077
Sentencing in the Federal Courts: Does
Race Matter? The Transition to Sentencing Guidelines, 1986-90 ,
12/93. This discussion paper analyzes the factors that affect sentencing
determinations under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
Felony Sentencing and Jail Characteristics
, 6/93. This discussion paper explores the possible impact of jail
conditions on the likelihood that a convicted felon will be sentenced to a
county jail rather than a State prison. NCJ 142523
Federal Firearms-Related Offenses: Federal
Offenses and Offenders, 7/95. Notes the association between firearms
involvement and an increased severity of sentence as well as a more extensive
criminal history for Federal prisoners. NCJ 148950
Federal Drug Case Processing, 1985-91,
with Preliminary Data for 1992, 3/94. Describes the
processing of Federal drug cases: prosecution, adjudication, and sentencing.
NCJ 144392
Compendium of Federal Justice Statistics,
1990, 9/93. Describes all aspects of processing in the Federal
justice system, including numbers of persons prosecuted, convicted, incarcerated,
sentenced to probation, released pretrial, and under parole or other supervision.
NCJ 143499
Federal Criminal Case Processing,
1982-91, with Preliminary Data for 1992, 11/93. The fifth annual report in the BJS series, presents data describing Federal criminal case prosecution, adjudication, and sentencing, as well as time served by Federal offenders. NCJ 144526
Civil Jury Cases and Verdicts in Large
Counties: Civil Justice Survey of State Courts, 1992, 7/16/95.
Discusses the 12,000 tort, contract, and real property rights cases in the
75 largest counties disposed of by juries during a 12-month period ending
June 30, 1992. NCJ 154346
Tort Cases in Large Counties: Civil Justice
Survey of State Courts, 1992, 4/13/95. Reports findings of a study of
a representative sample of tort cases in the 75 largest counties. NCJ 153177
National Judicial Reporting Program, conducted every 2 years, surveys a nationwide
sample of county felony trial courts in 300 counties, collecting detailed information on
demographic characteristics of felons, conviction offenses, type of sentences, sentence lengths,
and time from arrest to conviction and sentencing.
State Court Processing Statistics (SCPS) (formerly, through 1994, National Pretrial
Reporting Program (NPRP)) provides data on the criminal Justice processing of persons charged
with felonies in 40 jurisdictions representative of the 75 largest counties. These counties account
for about half the serious crime nationwide. The program prospectively tracks felony defendants
from charging by the prosecutor until disposition of their cases or for a maximum of 12 months.
Data are obtained on demographic characteristics, arrest offense, criminal justice status at time
of arrest, prior arrests and convictions, bail and pretrial release, court appearance record,
rearrests while on pretrial release, type and outcome of adjudication, disposition, and type and
length of sentence.
Federal Justice Statistics Series provides annual data on workload, activities, and
outcomes associated with Federal criminal cases. Information is acquired on all aspects of
processing in the Federal justice system, including the number of persons investigated,
prosecuted, convicted, incarcerated, sentenced to probation, released pretrial, and under parole
or other supervision; initial prosecution decisions, referrals to magistrates, court dispositions,
sentencing outcomes, sentence length, and time served. The program collects data from the
Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys, the Pretrial Services Agency, the Administrative Office of the
U.S. Courts, the U.S. Sentencing Commission, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Survey of State Court Organization provides basic descriptive information relating to the
Nation's state court systems. Information is collected on trial courts -- the role of grand juries,
peremptory jury challenges, jury verdict rules; appellate courts -- case selection, expedited
procedures; governance of court systems -- budgets, administration; judges and judicial selection
-- number of judges, mandatory judicial education; and processing of criminal cases -- felony
definition, mandatory minimum, habitual offender sentencing provisions.
Civil Justice Survey of State Courts collects civil caseload data for a one-year period from a
sample of counties representative of the nation's 75 largest counties, including case type,
outcome, jury awards, type of parties, legal representation, and dates of filing and
disposition.
Summary NCJ 145332
Full report NCJ145328Federal Justice Statistics
Federal Criminal Case Processing,
1982-93, with Preliminary Data for 1994, 5/96. The sixth annual report in the BJS series presents data describing Federal criminal case prosecution, adjudication, and sentencing, as well as time served by Federal offenders. NCJ 160088 Civil Justice Statistics
Contract Cases in Large Counties: Civil Justice Survey of State Courts, 1992, 2/96. This Special Report presents 1992 data on disposition of 366,000 contract cases involving 1.3 million litigants in State general jurisdiction courts in the Nation's 75 largest counties. NCJ 156664
Court Organization
State Court Organization 1993, 2/95.
The fourth guide to the Nation's courts sponsored by BJS and the third prepared
by the National Center for State Courts, includes an examination of Federal courts, as well as charts that summarize each State court structure. NCJ 148346 Indigent Defense
Indigent Defense, 2/96.
This report of presented selected findings drawn from various BJS surveys
containing information related to the indigent defense for criminal defendants. NCJ-158909BJS Courts and Sentencing Statistical Programs
1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996.
1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996.
Ongoing starting 1979.
1980, 1987, 1993
1992