BJS has sponsored periodic data collections on criminal trial and appellate litigation in state courts since 1986. BJS’s current collection is Criminal Cases in State Courts (CCSC), an effort to examine data on the processing of felony cases in state courts of general jurisdiction. The CCSC is collecting information on charges at initial filing and case termination, type of defense counsel, the race and sex of the defendant, how the case was terminated (e.g., dismissal, plea, or trial), and details on sentencing of convicted defendants.
Previously, BJS administered several different data collections on felony sentencing and case processing. These collections, while no longer active, provided important insights into the work of state courts.
In addition to felony criminal matters, prosecutors’ offices handled a variety of other case types. A greater number of prosecutors’ offices reported computer-based offenses and taking on homeland security responsibilities. In 2005, 60% of all state court prosecutors reported prosecuting crimes under the state’s computer crime statute, compared to 42% in 2001. About 80% of all offices reported handling credit card fraud, bankcard fraud (71%), identity theft (70%), and transmitting child pornography in 2005.
Full-time prosecutors’ offices were more likely to report prosecuting cases related to terrorism or participating in terrorism related investigations, compared to small full-time offices or part-time offices. In 2005, 2% of all prosecutor offices reported prosecuting cases related to terrorism; 7% actively participated in terrorism related investigations; and a third had members of the staff attend training on homeland security issues. Nearly a quarter of all offices participated in state or local task forces for homeland security.