Prison and Jail Civil Rights/Conditions Cases: Longitudinal Statistics

Abstract

The Tables show longitudinal statistics about case filings, features, and outcomes, for jail/prison civil rights and conditions cases and for the entire federal civil docket, grouped by case category.

List of tables:
Table A: Incarcerated Population and Prison/Jail Civil Rights Filings, FY1970–FY2020
Table B: Pro Se Litigation in U.S. District Courts by Case Type, Cases Terminated Fiscal Years 1996–2020
Table C: Outcomes in Prisoner Civil Rights Cases in Federal District Court, Fiscal Years 1988–2020
Table D: Outcomes in Federal District Court Cases by Case Type, Fiscal Year 2020
Table E: Prisoner Civil Rights Litigated Victories, FY 2012
Table F: Incidence of Court Orders, Local Jails and State Prisons, 1983–2006
Table G: Change in Prisoner Civil Rights Filings in U.S. District Court and Filing Rates, by State, Fiscal Years 1995 vs. 2012, 2012 vs. 2018, and 1995 vs. 2018
Table H: Days to Disposition, District Court Cases by Fiscal Year of Filing, 1988–2020

Detailed data notes follow.
Tables and data notes accompany Slamming the Courthouse Door: 25 Years of Evidence for Repealing the Prison Litigation Reform Act, Prison Policy Initiative (April 26, 2021), at https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/PLRA_25.html; Tables A-E and G-H update Schlanger, "Trends in Prisoner Litigation, As the PLRA Enters Adulthood," 5 U.C. Irvine L. Rev. 153 (2015).

Replication code and resulting datasets are posted at http://incarcerationlaw.com/documents/Data-Update-Data-and-Replication-Code/DataUpdate.

Keywords: civil rights, Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), litigation, jail, prison

JEL Classification: k41