So what percentage of criminal cases arise from final judgments? This time, we’re reviewing the data from the years 1990 through 1999. Since a substantial fraction of the court’s criminal cases come from death penalty appeals, we include both final judgments and death penalty cases.
Between 1990 and 1992, the percentage of final judgments in criminal cases was surprisingly low – only 5% in 1990, 12.12% in 1991 and 18.97% in 1992. After that, the number rose sharply to 64% in 1993, 53.66% in 1994, 30.61% in 1995, 38.1% in 1996, 40.91% in 1997, 48.89% in 1998 and 50% in 1999.
Adding in the death judgments makes an enormous difference in the data. In 1990, the combined share – final judgments plus death cases – was 37.5% of the criminal docket. By 1992, the number had risen to 75.86%. In 1993, the share arose to 98%. In 1994, the share was 70.73%. The numbers fell a bit in 1995 and 1996 but rose to 72.73% in 1997 and 77.78% in 1998. Final judgments plus death cases was 62.5% of the docket in 1999.
Join us back here later this week as we review the data for the years 2000 through 2009.
Image courtesy of Flickr by GPA Photo Archive (no changes).