Research Note: Examining Civil Trial Litigation in State Courts

• NCJ Number: 216007
• Journal: Justice Research and Policy Volume: 6 Issue: 2 Dated: Fall 2004 Pages: 79-98
• Author(s): Thomas H. Cohen; Steven K. Smith
• Date Published: 2004
• Length: 20 pages
• Corporate Author: Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article summarizes the main findings from the 2001 Civil Justice Survey of State Courts study of general civil trials disposed of in the 75 largest counties of the United States.

Abstract

Approximately 12,000 general civil trials were disposed of in 2001, two-thirds of which involved a tort claim. Tort claims involve a plaintiff who alleges that a defendant’s negligent or intentional acts caused an injury. Civil trial litigation in State courts tended to primarily consist of pedestrian cases involving automobile accidents and premises liability issues. Other frequent civil trial cases disposed of in 2001 involved automobile accident cases, negligent maintenance of property cases, and medical malpractice cases. Approximately three-fourths of the estimated 11,908 civil trials disposed of during 2001 were adjudicated by a jury. Over 90 percent of personal injury tort cases were adjudicated before juries in comparison to business-related contractual cases which were most likely to be disposed of by judges in bench trials. Damage awards in jury trials were greater than in bench trials, although the amount of damages awarded in tort trials varied considerably by case type. Plaintiffs prevailed in approximately half of all general civil trials, but they won in contract cases to a greater extent than in either tort or real property cases. Plaintiffs won in less than half of employment discrimination cases and partnership disputes, yet employment discrimination suits had the highest median damage award of all contract trials. Trend analysis suggested that general civil trials decreased 47 percent between 1992 and 2001, while the percentage of plaintiff tort winners remained relatively unchanged at about 50 percent. The overall median awards in jury trials decreased from $65,000 in 1992 to $37,000 in 2001. Data were drawn from the Civil Justice Survey of State Courts, sponsored by the Bureau of Justice Statistics since 1992. Future research on civil justice should focus on the nature of case settlements and the increasing use of alternative dispute resolution for civil complaints. Tables, figure, footnotes, references, appendix