Yesterday, we began our study of where in the Appellate Court the Court has drawn its civil docket each year. Today, we’re reviewing the years 1997 through 2003.
For the years 1990 through 1996, cases from Cook County’s First District were consistently about ten percentage points less of the civil docket than one would expect if the docket were distributed proportionally to population. That continued for the years 1997 through 2003.
Division One produced one case in 1997, two in 1999, three in 2000 and none at all in 2001, but five per year in 2002 and 2003, and seven in 1998. Division Two produced three cases in 1997 and 1998, four each year in 1999 and 2000, one each in 2001 and 2002 and two in 2003. Division Three produced five civil cases in 1997, three per year in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2002, and four each year in 2001 and 2003. Division Four produced four cases in 1997 and 2001, three in 2000, two in 2002, and one per year in 1998, 1999 and 2003. Division Five produced four cases each year in 1998 and 2001, two each year in 2002 and 2003, one in 1999 and none for 1997 and 2000. Division Six produced five cases in 1997, four in 2002, three each in 1998 and 1999 and one case a year in 2000, 2001 and 2003. The Industrial Commission Division of the First District produced one case per year in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2002. Finally, I was unable to definitively attribute eleven First District cases to a division in 1997, five in 1998, four in 1999, three in 2000, six in 2001 and two in 2002.
Data for the rest of the state is reported in Table 579. The Court decided eleven civil cases from the Second District in 1998, eight in 2001, seven in 2000, six in 1997 and 2002, and five in 1999 and 203. The Court decided one case each from the Industrial Commission Division of the Second District in 1998 and 2000. The Court decided nine cases from the Third District in 1998, five in 2003, four in 2001, three in 1997 and 2002, two in 1999, and one in 2000. The Court decided eleven civil cases from the Fourth District in 2003, six in 1997 and 2002, five in 1998, 1999 and 2001, and three in 2000. The Court decided eight civil cases from the Fifth District in 1998, seven in 1997 and 2002, six in 2000 and 2003 and five in 1999 and 2001. The Court decided one case each from the Industrial Commission Divisions of the Fourth District in 1998 and the Fifth District in 1999 and 2002.
The Court decided eleven direct appeals from the Circuit Court in 1997, eight in 1998, seven in 2001, six in 2002, four in 1999, three in 2003 and two in 2000. The Court heard one case each under its original jurisdiction in 1998 and 2001. The Court heard one certified question per year in 1997, 2001, 2002 and 2003.
Join us back here next Tuesday as we continue our study of the Court’s civil docket.
Image courtesy of Flickr by Tom Shockey (no changes).