and a backup XLS file with some top-line totals for the appellate courts. • After TAMES, the 14 courts of appeals have a (mostly) standardized docket system. This is case-by-case and includes all case events, along with some raw metadata. • The district court information, in aggregate form, is in a separate database that the public can query online.
in the Courts of Appeals overall decreased by 1.3 percent from the previous year to 11,101 cases. There was a 3.7 percent decrease in new fi lings and 16.7 percent increase in other cases.18 The number of new cases fi led and the total number of cases added in general was the lowest number fi led or added since 2009. Civil cases accounted for 51.5 percent, and criminal cases 48.5 percent, of all new fi lings in 2014. Over the last decade, civil fi lings generally grew as a propor on of all new cases fi led. For the second year in a row, the number of new civil cases fi led exceeded the number of new criminal cases fi led. Over the last 30 years, the only other me that this occurred was in 2006, when there was a diff erence of only 32 cases. The Courts of Appeals More than 11,100 cases added All New Filings Civil - 51.5%, Criminal 48.5% For the past two years, the number of new civil cases fi led have Figure 16 - New Filings (Civil and Criminal) 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 Percent of Total Fiscal Year New Filings Civil Criminal 12,000 14,000 Total Cases Added, Disposed and Pending Added Disposed Pending
all cases decreased slightly from 8.7 to 8.6 months. For civil cases, the me to disposi on decreased from 8.3 months in 2013 to 7.9 months in 2014 and ed 1997 and 2012 for the lowest me to disposi on over the last 20 years. For criminal cases, the me to disposi on increased from 9.1 months in 2013 to 9.2 months in 2014. The average me between submission and disposi on for all cases increased from 1.7 months in 2013 to 1.9 months in 2014. The average me for civil cases remained the same at 2.0 months, and the average me for criminal cases increased from 1.5 to 1.7 months. The number of cases disposed of by the courts of appeals was 448 more than the number added, resul ng in a clearance rate of 104.0 percent. Cases Pending – At the end of 2014, a total of 7,294 cases were pending statewide, down 5.3 percent from the number pending at the end of the previous year. More than half (53.3 percent) of these cases had been pending for fewer than six months, and 81.9 percent had been pending for less than one year. The percentage of cases pending more than two years increased from 1.0 percent in 2013 to 1.2 percent in 2014. Figure 18 - Average Time Between Filing & Disposi on 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 Months Fiscal Year Average Time Between Filing & Disposition Civil Criminal Total 175 New Filings Per Justice Excluding Transfers Including Transfers Avg. of All Courts Fiscal Year 2014
all cases decreased slightly from 8.7 to 8.6 months. For civil cases, the me to disposi on decreased from 8.3 months in 2013 to 7.9 months in 2014 and ed 1997 and 2012 for the lowest me to disposi on over the last 20 years. For criminal cases, the me to disposi on increased from 9.1 months in 2013 to 9.2 months in 2014. The average me between submission and disposi on for all cases increased from 1.7 months in 2013 to 1.9 months in 2014. The average me for civil cases remained the same at 2.0 months, and the average me for criminal cases increased from 1.5 to 1.7 months. The number of cases disposed of by the courts of appeals was 448 more than the number added, resul ng in a clearance rate of 104.0 percent. Cases Pending – At the end of 2014, a total of 7,294 cases were pending statewide, down 5.3 percent from the number pending at the end of the previous year. More than half (53.3 percent) of these cases had been Figure 18 - Average Time Between Filing & Disposi on 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 Months Fiscal Year Average Time Between Filing & Dis Civil Criminal
Random sanity check of the data: What days of the week are cases submitted? Not that interesting on its own, but this helps confirm that the pattern on the previous slide is accurate. Given this, you’d expect fewer submissions at (n weeks) +3 and +4 days.
the opinions) • Parsed some of the different wording that the docket pages use to describe outcomes in the database fields • Rolled those up and combined them into broad categories of “Affirmed”, “Reversed”, “Mixed”, and two other outcomes (“Other” and “Dismissed”). • Distinguished memorandum from regular opinions. • Sorted these by the fiscal year in which the opinions were issued.
then keep rising fairly steadily 2011-2015: Excludes parental termination cases “Does a case pending longer give more information about the odds of a reversal?” The rate eventually crosses 50%
18% 24% 30% 36% 42% 48% 54% 60% 0 15 45 75 105 135 165 195 225 255 285 315 345 Read this chart: As “X” days have passed since the Respondent’s Brief was filed, these are the odds that the petition will be granted or have summary disposition. 84 days is average 0 days = overall odds Conferences held Aging past 4 months no longer improves the total odds By comparison: The grant rate for long-pending SCOTX petitions flattens out
all cases decreased slightly from 8.7 to 8.6 months. For civil cases, the me to disposi on decreased from 8.3 months in 2013 to 7.9 months in 2014 and ed 1997 and 2012 for the lowest me to disposi on over the last 20 years. For criminal cases, the me to disposi on increased from 9.1 months in 2013 to 9.2 months in 2014. The average me between submission and disposi on for all cases increased from 1.7 months in 2013 to 1.9 months in 2014. The average me for civil cases remained the same at 2.0 months, and the average me for criminal cases increased from 1.5 to 1.7 months. The number of cases disposed of by the courts of appeals was 448 more than the number added, resul ng in a clearance rate of 104.0 percent. Cases Pending – At the end of 2014, a total of 7,294 cases were pending statewide, down 5.3 percent from the number pending at the end of the previous year. More than half (53.3 percent) of these cases had been Figure 18 - Average Time Between Filing & Disposi on 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 Months Fiscal Year Average Time Between Filing & Dis Civil Criminal
(53.3 percent) of these cases had been pending for fewer than six months, and 81.9 percent had been pending for less than one year. The percentage of cases pending more than two years increased from 1.0 percent in 2013 to 1.2 percent in 2014. Opinions WriƩ en – During 2014, the jus ces of the courts of appeals issued 10,797 opinions, 55.9 percent of which were published. Since 2004, the rate of publica on has exceeded 50 percent due to a change in the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure in 2003.19 Docket EqualizaƟ on – To reduce dispari es in the number of new cases fi led per jus ce among the courts of appeals, the Supreme Court issues quarterly orders for the transfer of cases from those courts with higher new case fi ling rates per jus ce to those with 75 100 125 150 175 Number of Cases Excluding T
subject matter, and the remedy… it’s probably impossible. Taxonomy is hard. Ask your doctor if proceeding past this point in the slide deck is right for you.
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