Does anyone know how many Jury trials we have in a year?

June 04, 2017, 07:36 PM

Or where to find that sort of information? this would be nationally and ideally include all levels of government.

June 04, 2017, 08:10 PM

RogueJSK

I don't even know where to begin to find that data, but I can tell you that it'd be a fraction of a fraction of the total number of cases.

I'd venture to guess that (at least in criminal cases), 99+% never go to trial. In nearly all of these cases, either the defendant pleads guilty or the case is Dismissed/Nolle Prosse'd.

Our current court system couldn't handle it if even a small portion of these cases went to trial. There simply aren't enough resources, time, or space on the dockets.

June 04, 2017, 08:17 PM

JALLEN

Wikipedia provides this:

quote:
In the United States, because jury trials tend to be high profile, the general public tends to overestimate the frequency of jury trials. Approximately 150,000 jury trials are conducted in state courts annually,[16] and an additional 5,000 jury trials are conducted in federal courts. Two-thirds of jury trials are criminal trials, while one-third are civil and "other" (e.g., family, municipal ordinance, traffic). Nevertheless, the vast majority of criminal cases are settled by plea bargain,[17][18] which removes the need for a jury trial.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jury_trial

It can't be more than a guess.

I have never seen any actual numbers. Many times, a jury is empaneled, and after trial commences, the case reaches a settlement and no verdict is rendered. Does that count, or not?

Luckily, I have enough willpower to control the driving ambition that rages within me.

When you had the votes, we did things your way. Now, we have the votes and you will be doing things our way. This lesson in political reality from Lyndon B. Johnson

"Some things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased, debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible." - Justice Janice Rogers Brown

June 04, 2017, 08:29 PM

BamaJeepster

I poked around a while back in another thread looking for such information. It's hard to find and you can only get a feel for the general trend, I don't think you can get a hard number on all levels, I was just looking at the federal level.

The NY Times did a study in 2012 and they estimated that 97% of federal cases and 94% of state cases (in criminal trials) end via plea bargain.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03...s-on-plea-deals.html

You can dig around on the Fed Court site for more stats:
http://www.uscourts.gov/statis...load-statistics-2016

“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”
- John Adams