Unit of Count: Criminal

 

Count the filing of the original charging document (complaint, information, or indictment) as the beginning of the case in trial courts.  A criminal case is generally initiated by a complaint while trial proceedings at the second step of a felony case are usually initiated by an information/indictment.  In some jurisdictions the document filed to bind over a defendant until a grand jury decides whether to issue an indictment is also called a “complaint” (from Dictionary of Criminal Justice Data Terminology).

 

The Grand Total Dispositions figure should be an aggregate count of the total number of cases in that category disposed by the court during the reporting period.  Report the number of criminal filings and dispositions by case type, according to the subject matter at issue as defined in the Criminal Case Type Definitions.

 

In a criminal case, count the defendant and all charges involved in a single incident as a single case.  If the charging document contains multiple defendants involved in a single incident, count each defendant as a single case.

o       Report the number of felonies and misdemeanors separately, and define the limits of punishment as set by constitution or statute.

o       Report filings by the most serious offense (either felony or misdemeanor); counting the filing of the original charging document as the beginning of the case.  In the Caseload Summary matrix, report the disposition of a criminal case by the same case type category that was reported when the case was filed.  For example, when a criminal case is filed as a felony, but is subsequently reduced to a misdemeanor, either in general or limited jurisdiction court, report both the filing and disposition as a felony on the Caseload Summary matrix.

o       In the Manner of Disposition matrix, report dispositions according to the case type that was disposed.  For example, if the criminal case type category changes, either from a felony to a misdemeanor or from one felony or misdemeanor case type to another felony or misdemeanor case type, report the disposition according to the final case type category.

o       If the defendant pleads guilty to a reduced charge, the manner of disposition should be reported under Guilty Plea (classified by the case type that was pled to) in the Manner of Disposition matrix.

o       If the charge is reduced and a trial is held, report the trial outcome under the appropriate jury or bench trial disposition category (classified by the case type for which the trial was held).

o       Preliminary hearings, when held in the same court that will try the case, are only one step in case processing and should not be reported separately.

o       When preliminary hearings are held in a limited jurisdiction court, their manner of disposition should be reported.  If probable cause is found, and the defendant is bound over to a general jurisdiction court, report the manner of disposition in the limited jurisdiction court as a Bindover disposition in the Manner of Disposition matrix.

o       If a preliminary hearing is held and no probable cause is found, report the termination under Dismissal in the Manner of Disposition matrix.

o       When a misdemeanor is filed in a limited jurisdiction court, but is subsequently upgraded to a felony, report the filing as a misdemeanor and the disposition as a Bindover disposition in the Manner of Disposition matrix. The filing and disposition of the case in the general jurisdiction court should be reported as a felony (the assumption being that if a misdemeanor case is bound over to the general jurisdiction court, it must have been reclassified as a felony).

 

The Manner of Disposition matrix provides a means to report how trial court criminal cases were disposed.  For cases involving multiple parties/issues, and for which the court does not sever those parties/issues, the manner of disposition should not be reported until all parties/issues have been resolved.  When there is more than one type of dispositive action in a case, count as the disposition the action requiring the most judicial involvement.  In other words, prioritize the dispositive actions as follows:

 

·        Jury trial

·        Bench trial

·        Deferred adjudication

·        Guilty plea

·        Nolle prosequi

·        Dismissed

·        Bindover (in lower jurisdiction court)

·        Transfer to another court

·        Other

 

            Notes:

 

Consolidated case: This is a case in which two or more charges/defendants named in separate filing documents are tried/prosecuted together, or where a given defendant is prosecuted on matters contained in two or more filing documents.  In reporting trial court dispositions, all the cases except the one into which the cases were consolidated should be reported as disposed at the time of consolidation, and the disposition(s) should be reported in the Manner of Disposition matrix under Other Civil Dispositions.  When the consolidated case has been decided, the disposition should be reported under the appropriate manner of disposition category.

 

For reporting purposes, the consolidated case will account for only one disposition, but an accounting of what happened to the defendants will appear in the appropriate subcategories for type of decision, since these statistics indicate what happened to the defendant(s).

 

Severance:  In trial court criminal proceedings, severance is the separation, for purposes of pleading or trial, of multiple defendants named in a single filing document, or of multiple complaints or charges against a particular defendant listed in a single filing document.  If severance is ordered in a multiple defendant case, maintain the original case, and count each severed defendant as a new filing in a separate case.  If complaints or charges are severed, count each new or severed filing document as a new case filing.

 

Inactive case: Cases that are administratively classified as inactive should be reported in the Caseload Summary matrix as Placed on Inactive Status. When the case is reactivated, report it as a Reactivated case, classified by case type.  For example, a criminal case should be placed on inactive pending status if the defendant has absconded, an arrest order has been issued, and the court has suspended activity until the defendant is apprehended.

 

Reopened case: Cases in which a judgment has previously been entered but which have been restored to the court’s pending caseload due to the filing of a request to modify or enforce that existing judgment should be reported in the Caseload Summary matrix as Reopened. When the reopened case is disposed of, report the case in the Caseload Summary matrix in the Dispositions column in the column labeled Reopened.  For example, a criminal case that was previously disposed, but then returned to the court’s pending docket by an allegation that the offender has violated the terms of his or her probation should be considered a reopened case.