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[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 20 (Monday, January 31, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5401-5402]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-2086]

[[Page 5401]]

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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Office of Justice Programs

[OMB Number 1121-NEW]

Bureau of Justice Statistics; Agency Information Collection 
Activities: Proposed Collection; Comments Requested

ACTION: 60-Day notice of information collection under review: Survey of 
State Court Criminal Appeals, 2010.

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    The Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of 
Justice Statistics, will be submitting the following information 
collection request for review and clearance in accordance with the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The proposed information collection is 
published to obtain comments from the public and affected agencies. 
Comments are encouraged and will be accepted for ``sixty days'' until 
April 1, 2011. This process is conducted in accordance with 5 CFR 
1320.10.
    If you have additional comments, especially on the estimated public 
burden or associated response time, suggestions, or need a copy of the 
proposed information collection instrument with instructions or 
additional information, please contact: Thomas H. Cohen, (202) 514-
8344, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, 
Department of Justice, 810 Seventh Street, NW., Washington, DC 20531 or 
[email protected].
    To ensure that comments on the information collection are received, 
OMB recommends that written comments be faxed to the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attn: DOJ Desk Officer, Fax: 
202 395-7285, or e-mailed to [email protected]. All comments 
should be identified with the OMB control number [1121-0234]. Also 
include the DOJ docket number found in brackets in the heading of this 
document.
    Written comments and suggestions from the public and affected 
agencies concerning the proposed collection of information are 
encouraged. Your comments should address one or more of the following 
four points:

--Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary 
for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including 
whether the information will have practical utility;
--Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
--Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be 
collected; and
--Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are 
to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submission of responses.

Overview of This Information

    (1) Type of information collection: New data collection, Survey of 
State Court Criminal Appeals (SSCCA), 2010.
    (2) The title of the form/collection: Survey of State Court 
Criminal Appeals or SSCCA, 2010.
    (3) The agency form number, if any, and the applicable component of 
the Department sponsoring the collection: The form labels are SSCCA-IAC 
and SSCCA-COLR, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice 
Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.
    (4) Affected Public Who Will Be Asked or Required to Respond, as 
well as a Brief Abstract: State intermediate appellate courts and state 
courts of last resort. Abstract: The 2010 SSCCA will focus on criminal 
cases disposed in a national sample of state intermediate appellate 
courts and courts of last resort and will aim to obtain information on 
certain key case characteristics of these appeals. Some of the 
information collected will include the types of criminal cases appealed 
to state intermediate appellate courts and courts of last resort, the 
legal issues raised on appeal, the impact of the appellate process on 
trial court outcomes, the extent that appellate claims are decided on 
the merits, and case processing time for criminal appeals. The 2010 
SSCCA will also attempt to examine all death penalty cases decided on 
appeal in 2010 as well as cases that were adjudicated in both 
intermediate appellate courts and courts of last resort. All data 
collected will be accurate as of December 2010.
    (5) An Estimate of the Total Number of Respondents and the Amount 
of Time Estimated for an Average Respondent to Respond: The Survey of 
State Court Criminal Appeals (SSCCA) will collect data on a national 
sample of approximately 5,000 criminal appeals concluded in all of the 
nation's 143 intermediate appellate courts and courts of last resort in 
2010. The burden hour computation involves both sample list generation 
and case level data collection. Each of the nation's 143 intermediate 
appellate courts and courts of last resort will be asked to generate a 
sample of all their direct criminal appeals disposed in 2010 from which 
a national sample can be drawn for the SSCCA. It is estimated that it 
should take 3 hours for each of the nation's 143 appellate courts to 
generate an appropriate sample list. The burden hour component 
regarding case level data collection involves copying the necessary 
appellate court documentation from three major sources for submission 
to the data collection agent including (1) The submitted legal briefs, 
(2) the opinions produced by the courts, and (3) the docketing 
information. Assuming 35 appeals per court (5,000 appeals/143 courts = 
35 appeals) and 10 minutes to copy each legal brief or opinion, the 
burden hours to copy these paper documents for each court should be 
about 6 hours for the legal briefs and 6 hours for the opinions (35 
appeals * .17 hours per opinion/brief = 6 hours). In addition to 
providing copies of legal briefs and opinions, it is estimated that 
each appellate court will require 3 hours to provide the necessary 
docketing information.
    (6) An Estimate of the Total Public Burden (in hours) Associated 
with the collection: The estimated public burden associated with this 
collection is 1,224 hours. The burden hour computation is calculated by 
identifying those appellate courts that have limited online 
accessibility necessitating the submission of legal briefs, docketing 
materials, or court opinions for coding by the data collection agent. 
No burden hours are associated with collecting data from appellate 
courts with complete internet accessibility because all their data can 
be obtained online. It is estimated that a total of 795 hours will be 
needed for the appellate courts with limited internet accessibility to 
provide the documentation in the form of mailed legal briefs/opinions 
or docket extracts to complete the SSCCA data collection. The 795 
number is calculated by first computing the total burden hours 
appellate courts need to provide copies of submitted legal briefs (90 
courts * 6 hours per court to provide copies of submitted legal briefs 
= 540 hours); and secondly, by computing the total burden hours for 
providing data extracts of docketing information (57 courts * 3 hours 
per court to provide extracts of docketing information = 171 hours); 
and thirdly, by computing the total burden hours for providing copies 
of court opinions (14 courts * 6 hours per court to provide copies of 
court opinions = 84 hours). Hence, 540 hours for providing copies of 
submitted briefs + 171 hours for providing data extracts of docketing

[[Page 5402]]

information + 84 hours for providing copies of court opinions = 795 
hours. When the burden hours for sample list generation are added, the 
total burden hours for the SSCCA project sums to 1,224 hours (795 hours 
to provide necessary case documentation + 429 hours for sample list 
generation = 1,224 hours).
    If additional information is required contact: Mrs. Lynn Murray, 
Department Clearance Officer, United States Department of Justice, 
Justice Management Division, Policy and Planning Staff, Two 
Constitution Square, 145 N Street, NE., Suite 2E-502, Washington, DC 
20530.

    Dated: January 26, 2011.
Lynn Murray,
Department Clearance Officer, PRA, U.S. Department of Justice.
[FR Doc. 2011-2086 Filed 1-28-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-18-P
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