Texas' 2009 judiciary by the numbers

The FY 2009 annual report on the Texas Judiciary (pdf) from the Office of Court Administration came out last month and included a number of notable tidbits related to criminal cases that deserve Grits readers attention.

Trials extremely rare

In district courts, "Less than 2 percent of all cases (excluding transfers and motions to revoke probation) went to trial in 2009. Trial rates were significantly higher, however, in capital murder and murder cases, which went to trial in 24.3 percent and 20.2 percent of cases, respectively." In county courts, which handle misdemeanors, only one percent of cases went to trial.

Prosecutor background predominates among judges

Among Texas' 434 district judges, 37% had prior experience as a prosecutor, while just 15% had experience as a lower court judge.

Ousting judges at the ballot box

Among state appellate and district judges, 6.6% in 2009 left office as a result of losing a primary or general election in 2008 - a bit of a surprising number which was bolstered substantially by Democratic gains in the judiciary in Harris County. An equal number resigned or chose not to seek reelection.

Some types of cases growing faster than population, crime rate

According to the annual report, "Four categories of criminal cases increased more than 100 percent over the past 20 years. Misdemeanor assault cases (filed in county-level courts) increased 169 percent; felony assault or attempted murder cases increased 131 percent; felony and misdemeanor drug offense cases increased 144 percent; and “other” felonies increased 116 percent."

These growth rates far outstrip Texas' population expansion over the same period and come during a time when crime overall has been declining. As such, these types of cases contribute to a bloated justice system, and particularly highlight the role of prosecutorial discretion: Incidents that 20 years ago would not bring criminal charges now are more likely to face accusations of misdemeanor assault. More serious assaults are more likely to be charged as felonies or attempted murder. Drug crimes - mostly possession cases - are being prosecuted at much higher rates than before. And as for "other, this is a function of the proliferation of boutique crimes through the dozens of new crimes and "enhancements" passed by the Texas Legislature every two years (including 59 new felonies created in 2009). These data explain why incarceration pressures continue to increase even during periods of reduced crime rates.

Juvie cases decline rapidly

One of the most startling pieces of data came on the juvenile front: "The number of cases addedto the juvenile dockets of district and county-level courts in 2009—44,257 cases—was 10.1 percent lower than the number added during the previous year and was the lowest number added since 1999 (44,003 cases)." Some of that's the result of demographic shifts and declining juvenile crime, but I wonder what other factors contributed? That seems like a big one-year dropoff.

Local practices clearly vary widely. In Harris County, youth are charged with crimes at double the rate of kids in Dallas or Fort Worth. In Harris, 3.0 new cases per 1,000 kids were filed in 2009; in Dallas and Tarrant Counties the figure was 1.3 and 1.2 respectively. A few rural counties have rates as high as 4-10 cases added per every 1,000 kids.

Juries giving fewer death sentences

At the trial court level, the percentage of capital murder convictions statewide resulting in the death penalty has declined remarkably steadily since 1990 from 24.4% to just 5% last year. Some of that's a function of the creation of life without parole as a sentencing option in 2005, but a chart on p. 41 of the report shows that the decline actually began in the mid-90s.

Fewer opinions from the CCA

Judges on the Court of Criminal Appeals issued 447 opinions in 2009, which is the lowest number of opinions issued since 1994 when Sharon Keller was elected Presiding Judge. Less than one-third (29.3 percent) of 2009 opinions were signed, 47.4 percent were per curiam, 12.5 percent were concurring, and 10.1 percent were dissenting.

Discretionary review by CCA varies widely by appeals court

There was wide variation in how frequently the CCA granted petitions for discretionary review in criminal cases from the various Courts of Appeals, from 2.5% from the 14th court in Houston, to 35.5% from the 3rd Court of Appeals out of Austin. A lower rate means the CCA agrees with the court more often, and vice versa. I compiled the rates for each appellate court in this table:

Interestingly, though the 14th court in Houston has the lowest number of PDRs granted, Harris County according to the report has the largest number of criminal cases overall appealed to higher courts.

Cashing in on court collections

Justice of the Peace courts have turned into cash cows, but the amount of revenue they generate may have peaked.

The amount of fines, fees and court costs collected by justice courts generally increased over the past 20 years; however, in 2009, courts collected approximately $372.5 million—a decrease of 1.5 percent from the amount collected the previous year. The amount collected in 2009 was 230 percent higher than that collected in 1990, or 90.3 percent higher when adjusted for inflation.

By contrast, municipal courts have seen even greater revnue growth, which continued last year and seems to know no limits:

In 2009, [municipal] courts collected approximately $734 million—an increase of 1.2 percent from the previous year. The amount collected in 2009 was 287.3 percent higher than that collected 20 years previously in 1990, or 123.1 percent higher when adjusted for inflation.

These growth rates far outstrip population growth.

These are just a few highlights from the jam-packed 89-page report, so those interested in more detail should check out the whole thing.

Via CourTex.