DOI: 10.3886/icpsr37195.v1
title: State Court Organization, United States, 2011
title: Version 1

description: This data collection provides detailed comparative information about the structure, policies, and procedures of state-wide trial and appellate court systems for the 50 states and the District of Columbia in the United States for 2011. Information gathered includes: the number of courts and judges, judicial selection, governance of court systems (including judicial funding, administration, staffing, and procedures), jury qualifications and verdict rules, and processing and sentencing procedures of criminal cases. Data collection was carried out by the National Center for State Courts. These data are part of a related collection from the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and U.S. Virgin Islands in the United States for the years 1980, 1987, 1993, 1998, and 2004. In 2011, State Court Organization added new variables to the data collection process. The State Court Organization 2011 file contains the historical variables for 2011, as well as the new variables that were introduced in the 2004 collection. The new variables included data about the courts' information technology systems, including the functions of the court's IT staff, e-filing procedures, accessibility of court information through online systems, and the implementation of case management systems as a means of organizing and managing a court's caseload. The data are reported for trial and appellate courts. The SCO Trial Court Level Data 2011 file includes a subset of the State Court Organization 2011 file, but only for trial level courts. Some variables in the State Court Organization 2011 file were recoded in the Trial Court Level Data 2011 file.
description: Data for the 2011 State Court Organization (SCO) reports were collected by the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) with funding provided by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). Data collections prior to 2011 were mail surveys to state court administrators in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and U.S. territories. The 2011 SCO collected information only from this same set of state court administrators plus the District of Columbia, but the 2011 collection was primarily web-based with paper surveys made available for respondents that preferred or needed a traditional response mode. A survey aimed at state court administrators was designed to collect information on court organization, administration, and operation. Separate surveys designed to collect descriptive information (e.g., budget and staffing) were sent to appellate courts and trial courts. While respondents provided most of the information to complete the survey, staff at NCSC also compiled information on specific laws, legal procedures, and legal practices that applied statewide.
description: Datasets: DS0: Study-Level Files DS1: State Court Organization 2011 DS2: State Court Organization (SCO) Trial Court Level Data 2011
description: Statewide appellate and trial courts in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Smallest Geographic Unit: State
description: mail questionnaire; web-based survey