BJS FY 09 State Court Organization

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is seeking proposals to develop, design, and field test the Survey of State Court Criminal Appeals and to prepare an implementation plan for fielding the survey in 2009. The goal of the survey is to obtain information about the types of criminal cases appealed from state trial courts to state intermediate appellate courts and/or courts of last resort, the disposition of criminal appeals, appellate case processing time, and the impact of appellate litigation on trial court outcomes for criminal cases. In addition, this survey will examine the factors associated with litigating criminal appeals, the decision to continue or abandon criminal appeals, and the flow of criminal cases from the trial court to intermediate appellate courts and courts of last resort. Applicants are encouraged to review previous BJS reports focusing on state court criminal case processing, sentencing, and appellate litigation available on the BJS website at . BJS anticipates making one award for a ten month period under this solicitation, with an award date on or after August 1, 2008. BJS is authorized to issue this solicitation under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, Section 302, as amended.