ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 4:30 P.M., EST        BJS
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1997         202/307-0784

STATE AND FEDERAL PRISONERS FILED 68,235 PETITIONS
IN UNITED STATES COURTS DURING 1996

     WASHINGTON -- The rate at which state and
federal prisoners filed petitions in United States
district courts seeking release from prison or
alleging civil rights violations fell 17 percent
between 1980 and 1996, the Department's Bureau of
Justice Statistics...

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 4:30 P.M. EST                     BJS
SUNDAY, JANUARY 16, 2000                        202/307-0784 
                
        
MORE THAN 42,000 CIVIL RIGHTS COMPLAINTS 
FILED IN FEDERAL DISTRICT COURTS DURING 1998

     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- More than 42,000 complaints
alleging civil rights violations, such as discrimination in
employment, housing, welfare benefits and voting rights were
filed during 1998 in  U.S. district courts, the Justice
Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced...

FEDERAL DRUG LAW CHANGES LED TO LONGER PRISON SENTENCES

WASHINGTON, D.C. - More than 38,200 people were referred to federal prosecutors for alleged drug offenses during 1999, the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced today. About 84 percent of these suspects were subsequently charged in a U.S. district court.

Of...

NUMBER OF FEDERAL TORT TRIALS FELL BY ALMOST 80 PERCENT FROM 1985 THROUGH 2003

WASHINGTON - The number of tort trials concluded in U.S. district courts declined by nearly 80 percent, from 3,600 trials in 1985 to fewer than 800...

THE NATION'S FEDERAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE CASELOAD GREW SUBSTANTIALLY DURING TEN-YEAR PERIOD

WASHINGTON - The number of suspects and defendants processed in the federal criminal justice system grew substantially during the 10-year period of 1994 to 2003, the Justice Department's Bureau...

CIVIL RIGHTS CASES FILED IN U.S. DISTRICT COURTS DECLINED BY NEARLY 20 PERCENT FROM 2003 TO 2006

WASHINGTON - The number of civil rights cases filed in U.S. district courts declined from 40,516 to 32,865 (nearly 20 percent) between 2003 and 2006...