Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Page 3
Report: S.C. Filings Hit Second Highest Level in Decade
By a MetNews Staff Writer
The number of filings received by the California Supreme Court in the past 12 months was the second highest of any court year in the past decade, according to a release from the Judicial Council yesterday.
Workload statistics made public by the court indicated that 9,917 original proceedings and petitions for review were filed in the period from Sept. 1, 2009, through Aug. 31, 2010, although the court issued fewer opinions and disposed of fewer cases during that same period than it had the previous court year.
The court resolved a total of 105 cases this past court year, five fewer than it had the year before. Civil cases accounted for 42 of the court’s decisions, while 37 involved noncapital criminal cases, 23 resolved automatic appeals arising from judgments of death, and an additional three involved habeas corpus petitions relating to death penalty judgments. The court also acted by order upon 30 petitions for writ of habeas corpus relating to death penalty judgments.
The once a month furloughs during the 2009-2010 court year and cancellation of the court’s final dispositional conference were cited by the release as factors that “may have had an overall effect on the court’s statistics.”
Beginning in 1996, the California Supreme Court has issued statistics utilizing a reporting period of Sept. 1 through Aug. 31. The court designated this period as the official court year for statistical purposes after determining that this period best corresponds with the flow of the court’s opinion production and facilitates consistency in monitoring the pace of the court’s work.
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