Case Status Categories

State Court Guide to Statistical Reporting

Court Statistics Project

The Caseload Summary Matrix captures

detailed information about case status

during the reporting period. The case

status categories defined below are used

to count the cases reported in the

Caseload Summary Matrix. These case

status categories are consistent for each

of the five case categories: Civil, Domestic

Relations, Criminal, Juvenile, and

Traffic/Parking/Ordinance Violations.

The court’s Begin Pending caseload is

divided between Begin Pending–Active

cases and Begin Pending–Inactive cases.

The definitions below articulate the

distinction between Active and Inactive

cases. Making this distinction is essential

for the court to be able to accurately

manage its caseload and to be able to

accurately compute performance

measures such as the CourTools Measure

2: Clearance Rates, Measure 3: Time to

Disposition, and Measure 4: Age of Active

Pending Caseload.

Incoming cases are those cases that have

been added to the court’s caseload during

the reporting period and include New

Filing, Reopened, and Reactivated cases.

Outgoing case status categories include

Entry of Judgment, Reopened

Dispositions, and Placed Inactive.

At the end of the reporting period, the

court’s pending caseload is summarized in

three categories: End Pending–Active, End

Pending–Inactive, and Set for Review.

The Set for Review category is designed to

capture a count of cases that, having been

filed and disposed, are scheduled for

regular, additional reviews in the future

before a judicial officer. Juvenile

dependency cases are an example of

these cases; the court reviews the status

of a juvenile in a series of regularly

scheduled hearings at known and pre-

determined intervals.

Similarly, in adult guardianship cases, the

court reviews the status of the adult under

court supervision through hearings that

take place at regular, scheduled, and

known intervals. After one of these cases

is originally filed (New Filing) and the

court makes its original order (Entry of

Judgment), the court counts this case in

the new Set for Review category, and not

in its End Pending-Active caseload

(defined in the Guide as “a count of cases

that at the end of the reporting period are

awaiting disposition”). It is not unusual

for these cases to extend for a period of

years. When they are finally resolved, the

case is simply removed from the Set for

Review inventory count.

State Court Guide to Statistical Reporting

Court Statistics Project

Case Status Definitions

Begin Pending–Active: A count of cases

that, at the start of the reporting period, are

awaiting disposition.

Begin Pending–Inactive: A count of cases

that, at the start of the reporting period, have

been administratively classified as inactive.

Note: Business rules for this classification may

be defined by a rule of court or administrative

order.

Incoming Cases: The sum of the count of

New Filing, Reopened, and Reactivated cases

(see below).

New Filing: A count of cases that have been

filed with the court for the first time during the

reporting period.

Reopened: A count of cases in which a

judgment has previously been entered but

which have been restored to the court’s

pending caseload during the reporting period.

These cases come back to the court due to the

filing of a request to modify or enforce that

existing judgment and a hearing before a

judicial officer is requested to review the status

of the case or initiate further proceedings in

the case. When the reopened case is disposed,

report the case in the Caseload Summary

Matrix in the Outgoing Cases column labeled

Reopened Dispositions.

Example:

A fraud case is filed (New Filing) and

disposed (Entry of Judgment). Subsequently,

the defendant files a motion to submit new

evidence that is granted. The case is now

Reopened and disposed on the basis of the

new evidence (a Reopened Disposition).

Reactivated: A count of cases that had

previously been Placed on Inactive Status, but

have been restored to the court’s control

during the reporting period. Further court

proceedings in these cases can now be

resumed during the reporting period and these

cases can once again proceed toward

disposition. Note: The rules for reactivating a

case (sometimes referred to as restoring the

case to the court’s control) are the reverse of

those listed below for placing a case on

inactive status, (e.g., the lifting of a stay). The

key is that courts should use the Placed on

Inactive Status/Reactivated categories for

specific reasons that are beyond the court’s

control and when events intervene (e.g.,

bankruptcy) that prevent the parties from

being able to proceed. Delays in a case for

other reasons, including inefficiencies in other

parts of the justice system (e.g., delays in

getting reports from crime labs or social

service providers) are not a legitimate basis for

placing a case on inactive status.

Outgoing Cases: The sum of the count of

Entry of Judgment, Reopened Dispositions, and

Placed on Inactive Status (see below).

Entry of Judgment: A count of cases for

which an original entry of judgment has been

entered during the reporting period. For cases

involving multiple parties/issues, the

disposition should not be reported until all

parties/issues have been resolved.

Reopened Dispositions: A count of cases

that were disposed of by a modification to,

and/or enforcement of, the original judgment

of the court during the reporting period. For

cases involving multiple parties/issues, the

disposition should not be reported until all

parties/issues have been resolved.

Placed on Inactive Status: A count of cases

whose status has been administratively

changed to inactive during the reporting period

due to events beyond the court’s control.

These cases have been removed from court

control, and the court can take no further

action until an event restores the case to the

court's active pending caseload.

Courts should refer to their local or statewide

rules of court, statutes, or standards of

administration and/or statistical reporting

State Court Guide to Statistical Reporting

Court Statistics Project

guidelines for precise definitions of the

circumstances under which a case may be

properly considered inactive.

Note: Courts should use the Placed on Inactive

Status/Reactivated categories only for specific

reasons beyond the court’s control and when

events intervene (e.g., bankruptcy) that

prevent the parties from being able to proceed.

Delays in a case for other reasons, including

inefficiencies in other parts of the justice

system (e.g., delays in getting reports from

crime labs or social service providers) are not a

legitimate basis for placing a case on inactive

status.

End Pending–Active: A count of cases that,

at the end of the reporting period, are awaiting

disposition.

End Pending–Inactive: A count of cases

that, at the end of the reporting period, have

been administratively classified as inactive.

Business rules for this classification may be

defined by a rule of court or administrative

order.

Set for Review: A count of cases that,

following an initial Entry of Judgment, are

awaiting regularly scheduled reviews involving

a hearing before a judicial officer.

State Court Guide to Statistical Reporting

Court Statistics Project

Criminal Case Reporting

Introduction

Criminal cases are a broad category for

trial court cases in which a defendant is

charged with violation(s) of state law(s).

The three subcategories of Criminal cases

are Felony, Misdemeanor, and Appeals

from Limited Jurisdiction Courts. It is

important to note that some offenses may

be classified as either felonies or

misdemeanors, depending on the

circumstances. Thus, the general

definitions of case types for the Felony

and Misdemeanor subcategories overlap

to a great extent in this reporting

framework; what differs is the seriousness

of the offense and how it was charged in

the case. Note that traffic offenses that

are classified as criminal offenses (e.g.,

driving while intoxicated/driving under the

influence) are included in the Criminal

category, counted in the appropriate

Felony or Misdemeanor subcategory.

Lesser offenses such as non-criminal

traffic offenses and violations of local

ordinances are not included here, but are

reported in the Traffic/Parking/Ordinance

Violation case category.

Unit of Count

A criminal case is generally initiated by a

complaint. In two-tiered court systems,

proceedings at the second step of a Felony

case are usually initiated by an

information or indictment. Note: 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.”

• Count the filing of the original charging

document (complaint, information, or

indictment) as the beginning of the

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.

• Do not count preliminary hearings as

Incoming cases when they are held in

the same court that will handle all

subsequent proceedings in the case.

However, in two-tiered court systems,

if the lower court initiates the case

with a preliminary hearing and

disposes the case by binding it over to

the higher court, the case should be

counted in each court.

• Count a probation or parole violation

that arises from a previous Felony

case as a Reopened Felony case in the

same Felony case type as the original

case.

• Count a probation or parole violation

that arises from a previous

Misdemeanor case as a Reopened

Misdemeanor case in the same

Misdemeanor case type as the original

case.

• Report the number of criminal filings

and dispositions by case type, as

State Court Guide to Statistical Reporting

Court Statistics Project

defined in the Criminal Case Type

Definitions below.

• Classify cases by case type based on

the most serious offense within the

proper case subcategory (Felony or

Misdemeanor).

• Report the disposition of a criminal

case in the same case type that was

used when the case was filed. For

example, when a criminal case is filed

as a Felony, but is subsequently

reduced to a Misdemeanor and a

judgment is obtained on the

Misdemeanor charge, report both the

filing and disposition as a Felony on

the Caseload Summary Matrix. Note:

If the Felony charge is reduced to a

Misdemeanor and subsequently re-

filed as a Misdemeanor, count the case

as Outgoing in the Entry of Judgment

case status category for the

appropriate Felony case type row and

then as a New Filing in the appropriate

Misdemeanor case type row.

• Count the filing of a notice of appeal or

a complaint in a trial court having

incidental appellate jurisdiction as the

beginning of an appeal case. If the

reviewing court uses some other

event, such as filing of record, to

determine the number of appeals, it

should explain that it does so. If the

notice of appeal in an appellate court

case is filed in the trial court, do not

count it as an appeal case in the trial

court.

Notes Specific to Criminal Cases

Felony

Felony cases are a subcategory of criminal

cases involving an offense punishable by

incarceration for a year or more or death;

thus, the most serious crimes are

classified as felonies. Some states have

developed classification schemes for

ranking the seriousness of Felony offenses

(e.g., Part A or Class I), but those

classification schemes are not relevant to

the statistical reporting of these cases

defined by the Guide.

Misdemeanor

Misdemeanor cases are a broad

subcategory of criminal cases involving an

offense punishable by incarceration for

less than one year and/or fines; thus, the

less serious crimes are classified as

misdemeanors. Some states have

developed classification schemes for

ranking the seriousness of misdemeanor

offenses (e.g., Type A or Class II), but

those classification schemes are not

relevant for the national statistical

reporting of these cases defined by the

Guide.

An important advantage of this national

criminal case reporting framework is the

ability to better match offense types with

other national justice system coding

schemes for purposes of case tracking and

data unification. The definitions developed

by the Court Statistics Project (CSP) are

not meant to be legal definitions of

crimes; rather, they are a means to map

various criminal case types across states

into comparable categories. Unlike state

statutes, CSP definitions must be generic

in order to include all state statutes

relating to the same type of offense.

State Court Guide to Statistical Reporting

Court Statistics Project 19

Consolidated case: This is a case in

which two or more defendants named in

separate filing documents are

tried/prosecuted together. 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 in

the Entry of Judgment column. When the

consolidated case has been disposed, the

disposition should be reported under the

appropriate Outgoing status event

category (e.g., Entry of Judgment). The

disposition of the consolidated case should

not be reported until all parties/charges

have been resolved.

Severance: In trial court criminal

proceedings, if multiple charges against a

particular defendant are severed for the

purpose of being adjudicated separately,

count each new or severed filing

document as a New Filing.

Placed on Inactive Status: 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.

Example:

A criminal case should be Placed on

Inactive Status if the Defendant has

absconded, an arrest order has been

issued, and the court has suspended

activity until the defendant is

apprehended and returned to court so

that the court can resume proceedings

in the case.

Reopened case: Cases in which a

judgment has previously been entered but

which have been restored to the court’s

active 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, report the case in the Caseload

Summary Matrix in the column labeled

Reopened Dispositions.

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.

State Court Guide to Statistical Reporting

Court Statistics Project

Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR and NIBRS coding)

The CSP case types represent groups of

offenses based on the Uniform Crime

Reporting (UCR) and National Incident-

Based Reporting System (NIBRS)

definitions maintained by the FBI.

The FBI uses common legal definitions

found in Black’s Law Dictionary, the

Uniform Crime Reporting Handbook, and

the National Crime Information Center

(NCIC) Uniform Offense Classifications.

Since many state statutes are also based

on common legal definitions, trial courts

should be able to translate their unique

case types into the Guide case types.

The table below shows UCR and NIBRS

offenses cross-walked to CSP case types.

Complete definitions of UCR and NIBRS

offenses are available on the FBI UCR Web

site at www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm

CSP Case Types Mapped to FBI UCR and NIBRS Offenses

CSP Case Type UCR Part I Offenses NIBRS Offenses

Person Murder/Manslaughter Aggravated Assault (13A)

Rape Simple Assault (13B)

Robbery Intimidation (13C)

Aggravated Assault Murder & Non-negligent Manslaughter (09A)

Other Assaults Negligent Manslaughter (09B)

Sex Offenses (not rape/prostitute) Justifiable Homicide (09C)

Kidnapping/Abduction (100)

Robbery (120)

Forcible Rape (11A)

Forcible Sodomy (11B)

Sexual Assault with an Object (11C)

Forcible Fondling (11D)

Incest (36A)

Statutory Rape (36B)

Domestic Violence No analogous offense No analogous offense

Elder Abuse No analogous offense No analogous offense

Property Burglary Arson (200)

Larceny Bribery (510)

Auto Theft Burglary/Breaking and Entering (220)

Arson Counterfeiting/Forgery (250)

Forgery and Counterfeiting Destruction/Damage/Vandalism of Property (290)

Fraud Embezzlement (270)

Embezzlement Extortion/Blackmail (210)

Stolen Property; Buying, Receiving False Pretenses/Swindle/Confidence Game (26A)

Credit Card/Automated Teller Machine Fraud (26B)

Impersonation (26C)

State Court Guide to Statistical Reporting

Court Statistics Project

CSP Case Type UCR Part I Offenses NIBRS Offenses

Welfare Fraud (26D)

Property Wire Fraud (26E)

Stolen Property Offenses (Receiving, etc.) (280)

Bad Checks (90A)

Trespass of Real Property (90J)

Drugs Drug Abuse Violations Drug/Narcotic Violations (35A)

Drug Equipment Violations (35B)

Weapons Weapons; Carrying, Possessing Weapon Law Violations (520)

Public Order Prostitution & Commercial Vice Betting/Wagering (39A)

Gambling Operating/Promoting/Assisting Gambling (39B)

Liquor Laws Gambling Equipment Violations (39C)

Drunkenness Sports Tampering (39D)

Disorderly Conduct Pornography/Obscene Material (370)

Vagrancy Prostitution (40A)

Assisting or Promoting Prostitution (40B)

Curfew/Loitering/Vagrancy Violations (90B)

Disorderly Conduct (90C)

Drunkenness (90E)

Liquor Law Violations (90G)

Peeping Tom (90H)

Motor Vehicle

DWI/DUI

Driving Under the Influence Driving Under the Influence (90D)

Motor Vehicle–

Reckless Driving

No analogous offense No analogous offense

Motor Vehicle–Other No analogous offense No analogous offense

Felony–Other No analogous offense No analogous offense

Protection Order

Violation

No analogous offense No analogous offense

Misdemeanor–Other No analogous offense No analogous offense

Appeals from Limited

Jurisdiction Courts

No analogous offense No analogous offense

Criminal–Other No analogous offense No analogous offense

State Court Guide to Statistical Reporting

Court Statistics Project

Criminal Case Type Definitions

Felony

Person: Criminal cases involving

murder/manslaughter, sexual assault

(including rape and sexual battery), robbery,

and assault (including simple assault).

Domestic Violence: Criminal cases involving

violence, coercion, or intimidation by a family

or household member against another family

or household member. Family or household

members may include: (a) persons who are

current or former spouses; (b) persons who

are intimate partners and who live together or

have lived together; (c) persons who are

dating or who have dated; (d) persons who are

engaged in, or have engaged in, a sexual

relationship; (e) persons who are related by

blood or adoption; (f) persons who are related

or formerly related by marriage; (g) persons

who have a child in common; and (h) minor

children of a person in a relationship that is

described in elements (a) through (g) above.

Note: Classifying cases as domestic violence

cases means the victim-offender relationship

was known at the time of filing or disposition.

Elder Abuse: Criminal cases involving

offenses committed against an elderly person.

Seven types of offenses are usually included:

physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological

abuse, neglect, abandonment and isolation,

financial or fiduciary abuse, and self-neglect.

Physical abuse is generally defined as improper

use of physical force that may or does result in

bodily harm, injury, physical pain, or restraint

of an individual. Sexual abuse is any non-

consensual sexual touching or contact with an

elderly person or a person who is incapable of

giving consent (e.g., a mentally disabled

individual). Psychological abuse is the

intentional or reckless infliction of

psychological pain, injury, suffering, or distress

through verbal or nonverbal acts. Neglect is

the failure to provide for the care and

treatment or safety of an elder. Abandonment

is the desertion of an elderly person by an

individual responsible for providing care or by

a person with physical custody of an elder.

Financial or fiduciary abuse is the illegal or

improper use of an elder's funds, property, or

assets, or the conversion or misappropriation

of such property, for uses other than for the

elder. Self-neglect is behavior of an elderly

person that threatens his/her own health or

safety.

Property: Criminal cases involving burglary,

larceny, auto theft, arson, forgery and

counterfeiting, fraud, embezzlement, stolen

property (buying or receiving), and vandalism.

Drug: Criminal cases involving the illegal

possession, sale, use, or manufacture of drugs.

The following drug categories are included:

opium or cocaine and their derivatives

(morphine, heroin, codeine); marijuana;

synthetic narcotics—manufactured narcotics

(Demerol, Methadone); and dangerous non-

narcotic drugs (barbiturates, Benzedrine).

Weapon: Criminal cases involving violations of

regulations or statutes controlling the carrying,

using, possessing, furnishing, and

manufacturing of deadly weapons or silencers.

Public Order: Criminal cases involving

violations of liquor laws, drunkenness,

disorderly conduct, vagrancy, gambling,

prostitution, and commercial vice. [Similar

terminology: public nuisance or quality of life

offenses and crimes against society]

Motor Vehicle–DWI/DUI: Criminal cases

involving a charge of driving a motor vehicle

while intoxicated (DWI), driving under the

influence of either alcohol or drugs (DUI), or

driving while impaired. Note: Report all

DWI/DUI cases in this case type; if reported at

state level as Traffic cases, they should be

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Court Statistics Project

extracted and mapped into this case type for

national reporting purposes.

Motor VehicleReckless Driving: Criminal

cases involving a charge of driving a motor

vehicle in such a way as to knowingly or

intentionally endanger the safety of others or

with disregard for the consequences.

Motor VehicleOther: Criminal cases

involving the operation of a motor vehicle. Use

this case type for cases of unknown specificity,

when Motor Vehicle cases are not attributable

to one of the other previously defined Motor

Vehicle case types, or when all Motor Vehicle

cases are reported as a single case type.

Felony–Other: Criminal cases involving an

offense punishable by incarceration for a year

or more or death. Use this case type for Felony

cases of unknown specificity, when Felony

cases are not attributable to one of the other

previously defined Felony case types, or when

all Felony cases are reported as a single case

type.

Misdemeanor

For the definitions of the case types listed

below, see the Felony Case Type definitions

above:

Person

Domestic Violence

Property

Drug

Weapon

Public Order

Motor Vehicle–DWI/DUI

Motor Vehicle–Reckless Driving

Motor Vehicle–Other

Protection Order Violation: Criminal cases

alleging violation of a court order that was

issued to help protect an individual from

harassment or abuse. Note: Though these

cases often stem from an earlier civil or

criminal case, they should be counted as New

Filing in this case type.

MisdemeanorOther: Criminal cases

involving an offense punishable by

incarceration for less than a year and/or fines.

Use this case type for Misdemeanor cases of

unknown specificity, when Misdemeanor cases

are not attributable to one of the other

previously defined Misdemeanor case types, or

when all Misdemeanor cases are reported as a

single case type.

Appeals from Limited Jurisdiction Courts:

Criminal Appeals cases brought in the court of

general jurisdiction disputing the ruling or

judgment of a limited jurisdiction trial court.

Criminal–Other: A subcategory of Criminal

cases. Use this subcategory for Criminal cases

of unknown specificity, when Criminal cases

are not attributable to one of the other

previously defined Criminal case types, or

when all Criminal cases are reported as a

single case type.