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The Legal System: Data Presentation

Justice System Employment and Arrest Trends

Arrests per 100,000 inhabitants. NA Not reported.
Arrests per 100,000 inhabitants. NA Not reported.
Year State and Local Justice System Empl. Total Crime Index1 Violent Crime2 Property Crime3 Drug Arrests
1971 897.1 175.8 721.4 236.9
1972 881.5 186.5 695.0 251.2
1973 883.4 187.3 696.1 296.7
1974 1,098.0 219.7 878.3 300.2
1975 1,059.6 206.7 852.9 278.4
1976 1,016.8 193.1 823.7 279.5
1977 1,039.4 202.7 836.7 291.8
1978 1,047.6 215.5 832.2 282.4
1979 1,057.2 212.5 844.7 248.2
1980 1,055.8 214.4 841.4 255.6
1981 1,070.0 216.8 853.2 244.0
1982 1,175,787 1,148.9 236.9 912.0 291.8
1983 1,209,989 1,071.9 221.1 850.8 282.9
1984 1,266,428 1,019.8 212.5 807.3 300.3
1985 1,312,065 1,046.5 212.4 834.0 341.0
1986 1,351,695 1,091.8 234.5 857.3 343.1
1987 1,403,655 1,120.1 233.8 886.4 386.8
1988 1,453,267 1,123.5 243.8 879.7 472.4
1989 1,502,349 1,173.1 268.6 904.4 551.6
1990 1,570,614 1,203.2 290.7 912.5 436.7
1991 1,610,465 1,198.8 293.0 905.8 400.5
1992 1,635,502 1,162.4 300.5 861.9 418.1
1993 1,664,167 1,131.6 302.9 828.8 436.9
1994 1,740,715 1,148.4 310.7 837.7 519.1
1995 1,816,632 1,140.3 315.2 825.0 561.6
1996 1,901,453 1,081.8 288.6 793.2 567.8
1997 NA 1,042.9 273.6 769.3 591.3
1998 1,948,100 954.0 258.8 695.2 576.9
[Continued]

Justice System Employment and Arrest Trends [Continued]

Arrests per 100,000 inhabitants. NA Not reported.
Year State and Local Justice System Empl. Total Crime Index1 Violent Crime2 Property Crime3 Drug Arrests
1999 1,998,308 880.0 244.5 635.5 561.8
2000 821.8 228.2 593.6 572.1
Source: Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics Online, Section 1, Table 1.19, and Section 4, Table 4.2, http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook/1995/tost_4.html#4_a. Notes: 1. Includes arson beginning in 1979. 2. Violent crimes are offenses of murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. 3. Property crimes are offenses of burglary, larceny/theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson.

Crimes Cleared by Arrest

Percent of Crime Index offenses cleared by an arrest in 2000. 11,369 agencies reported.
Crime Index Total Violent Crime Property Crime Murder/Non-Negligent Manslaughter Forcible Rape Robbery Aggravated Assault Burglary Larceny/Theft Motor Vehicle Theft Arson
Total 9,366,936 1,131,923 8,235,013 12,291 72,453 319,078 728,101 1,669,364 5,598,789 966,860 73,172
% Cleared by Arrest 20.5 47.5 16.7 63.1 46.9 25.7 56.9 13.4 18.2 14.1 16
Source: FBI, Uniform Crime Reports, 2000, Section IV, Table 25, http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/00cius.htm.

Between Arrest and Case Disposition

Felony defendants released before or detained until case disposition (large urban counties): 1992-1998.
Year Number of Defendants Percent Released Percent Detained
1992 51,002 63 37
1994 50,241 62 38
1996 51,234 63 37
1998 54,458 64 36
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pretrial.htm.

Waiting for Justice to Be Served

Median number of days between arrest and sentencing for felony cases disposed by state courts: 1992-1998. Grand total includes all cases, whether or not conviction type was known.
Most Serious Conviction Offense Total Number of Days Between Arrest and Sentencing for Cases Disposed by
Trial Guilty Plea
Total Jury Bench
All Offenses
1992 138 184 231 171 139
1994 143 201 251 184 136
1996 149 211 293 154 164
1998 149 278 300 256 153
Percent Change 8 51 30 50 10
Violent Offenses
1992 172 234 268 192 160
1994 174 228 260 207 163
1996 184 263 315 181 188
1998 189 320 33 290 184
Percent Change 10 37 24 51 15
Property Offenses
1992 125 152 167 164 123
1994 132 177 239 173 128
1996 142 182 281 154 156
1998 144 245 263 222 148
Percent Change 15 61 57 35 20
Drug Offenses
1992 146 171 214 173 141
1994 138 189 232 183 133
1996 136 202 264 155 159
1998 136 264 281 259 144
Percent Change -7 54 31 50 2
Drug Possession
1992 134 155 169 172 142
1994 123 167 278 169 118
1996 129 170 262 142 163
1998 122 245 287 261 145
Percent Change 2 42 30 43 3
Drug Trafficking
1992 142 192 232 164 151
1994 149 206 232 196 142
1996 139 227 264 168 157
1998 143 273 287 261 145
Percent Change 2 42 30 43 3
Weapons Offenses
1992 148 192 232 164 151
1994 143 202 207 173 136
1996 148 232 300 163 161
1998 145 249 265 249 152
[Continued]

Waiting for Justice to Be Served [Continued]

Most Serious Conviction Offense Total Number of Days Between Arrest and Sentencing for Cases Disposed by
Trial Guilty Plea
Total Jury Bench
Percent Change -2 30 14 52 0.7
Other Offenses1
1992 138 147 230 128 140
1994 132 208 240 212 127
1996 157 162 255 128 167
1998 145 250 276 227 152
Percent Change 5 70 20 77 9
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Felony Sentences in State Courts, various years; http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/. Notes: 1. Com posed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen property and vandalism.

Public Perceptions of Insanity Defense

Wyoming citizens estimates of the percentage of defendants who entered a Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI) defense, by occupation.
Wyoming citizens estimates of the percentage of defendants who entered a Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI) defense, by occupation.
Occupation Estimate
State Hospital Aides 57%
Community Residents 43%
College Students 37%
Police Officers 22%
Legislators 20%
Mental Health Center Professionals 17%
State Hospital Professionals 13%
Source: Data appear in a footnote in Daniel J. Nusbaum, The craziest reform of them all: a critical analysis of the constitutional implications of abolishing the insanity defense, Cornell Law Review, Sept 2002 v87 i6 p1509(64 ). Data are attributed in the footnote (page 1512) to George L. Blau and Richard A. Pasewark, Statutory Changes and the Insanity Defense: Seeking the Perfect Insane Person, 18 Law Psychol. Rev. 679, 69 (1994).

Indigent Defense

Representation of felons in 75 largest counties in 1996. Public defender programs are public or private nonprofit organizations with salaried staffs. In assigned counsel systems, courts appoint willing private attorneys from a list of those available. Contract attorneys agree with governmental units to provide services for a specified period and fee.
Type of Counsel % of Felons
Public Defender 68.3%
Assigned Counsel 13.7%
Private Attorney 17.6%
Self/Other 0.4%
Source: Harlow, Caroline Wolf, Ph.D., Defense Counsel in Criminal Cases, Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, NCJ 179023, November 2000.

The Cost of Defending the Indigent

Expenditures for indigent defense: 1979-1990. In thousands of dollars, for public defense. Public defense includes legal counsel and representation in either criminal or civil proceedings as provided by public defenders and other government programs. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. Expenditures presented are not adjusted for inflation.
1979 1985 1988 1990
Total 357,030 711,243 1,012,831 1,336,266
State 127,892 297,555 427,788 603,674
Local 239,159 433,068 617,910 788,437
Counties 196,296 350,603 480,515 605,708
Municipalities 44,638 85,782 142,946 189,362
Source: DeFrances, Carol J., Ph.D., et al., Indigent Defense Services in Large Counties, 1999, BJS, NCJ 184932, November 2000.

Hate Crimes

Number of hate crimes and the motivations for them, as reported to the FBI: 1991-2000. NA Not available. % of pop represented is the percentage of the population that reporting law-enforcement agencies represent.
1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Participating Agencies 2,771 6,181 6,551 7,356 9,584 11,355 11,211 10,730 12,122 11,690
Total Incidents Reported 4,558 6,623 7,587 5,932 7,947 8,759 8,049 7,755 7,876 8,063
Motivation Racial Bias 2,963 4,025 4,732 3,545 4,831 5,396 4,710 4,321 4,295 4,337
Religious Bias 917 1,162 1,298 1,062 1,277 1,401 1,385 1,390 1,411 1,472
Ethnicity 450 669 697 638 814 940 836 754 829 911
Sexual Orientation 425 767 860 685 1,019 1,016 1,102 1,260 1,317 1,299
Number of States (including D.C.) 32 42 47 44 46 50 49 47 49 49
% of Pop. Represented NA 51 58 58 75 84 85 79 85 84.2
Source: FBI, Hate Crime Statistics, Uniform Crime Reports, 1992-2000.

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