NCJ Number
148876
Date Published
1994
Length
91 pages
Annotation
Statistics for 1993 indicate that Iowa's appellate courts had 1,997 filings (1,387 civil, 610 criminal) and 2,026 dispositions (1,399 civil, 627 criminal) and that trial courts had 68,244 civil filings and 75,844 criminal filings.
Abstract
Between 1977 and 1993, the number of filings in appellate courts increased by 62.2 percent. Iowa's Supreme Court disposed of 468 cases (302 civil, 166 criminal) in 1993, while the Court of Appeals handled 649 cases (493 civil, 156 criminal). Excluding attorney disciplinary cases, domestic cases comprised 36.8 percent of formal appellate decisions in civil cases. The average appellate case terminated by formal opinion was decided approximately 6.5 months after it was ready for submission. The number of cases pending in appellate courts during 1993 increased by 0.5 percent, from 1,439 to 1,447. The Supreme Court granted further review in 42 cases and denied further review in 281 instances. During the last 33 years, the number of civil filings in trial courts increased by 155 percent, from 26,767 to 68,244; the number of criminal filings skyrocketed by 944.7 percent, from 7,260 to 75,844. Since 1960, the number of civil and criminal dispositions per district court judge rose by 116.6 percent, from 429 to 929. Further, the number of juvenile petitions increased by 328.3 percent, from 2,012 to 8,618. Since 1974, the first calendar year after unification of the Iowa District Court, civil filings, criminal filings, and juvenile petitions increased by 88.4 percent, 267.2 percent, and 58.2 percent, respectively, while probate matters declined by 7 percent. Between 1992 and 1993, civil and criminal filings increased by 7.7 percent and 5 percent, respectively. Organizational structures of Iowa courts and judge selection and removal are discussed. Detailed statistics are tabulated on court case types for both appellate and trial courts covering Iowa's judicial districts. Appendixes contain supplemental data. 16 tables