NCJ Number
138745
Date Published
1992
Length
25 pages
Annotation
This report provides summary information on Wisconsin circuit court activity during calendar year 1991 and caseload trend analysis for the 5-year period between 1986 and 1991 for Wisconsin's judicial districts.
Abstract
In 1991, over 1 million cases were filed and disposed of in Wisconsin circuit courts. Total filings increased by nearly 58,000 cases over 1990; total dispositions rose by more than 66,000. Continued increases in contested filings and dispositions (5.4 percent and 6.8 percent, respectively) raised the total contested caseload to 702,992 filed and 697,245 disposed cases. The conversion of Milwaukee's Criminal Division to a new database removed about 16,500 cases from Judicial District 1, resulting in an 8.9-percent decline in pending caseloads statewide. For Judicial Districts 2 through 10, significant increases in felony (11 percent) and forfeiture nontraffic (14 percent) dominated changes in contested filings for 1991. Numerical increases recorded in misdemeanor, criminal traffic, and traffic forfeiture in 1991 corresponded almost exactly to 1990 increases in each category. Almost the same total number of contested small claims were filed in both 1990 and 1991. The total number of juvenile cases increased by 8 percent to 34,247. Significant increases also appeared in all three uncontested case type categories (traffic forfeiture, forfeiture nontraffic, and small claims). For Judicial District 1 (Milwaukee), which maintains its own statistical reporting system, significant declines were reported in both contested (21.8 percent) and uncontested (19.8 percent) traffic cases. Reductions were also recorded in felony (3.4 percent), misdemeanor (7.7 percent), and juvenile (4.8 percent) caseloads. Appendixes provide supplemental data on major case types, the distribution of median age at case disposition, and contested filing trends between 1986 and 1991 for all judicial districts. Tables and figures