United States yearbook - 1982 (1)

172 Law Enforcement, Federal Courts, and Prisons
A second perspective on crime is provided by BJS through the National Crime Survey (NCS) conducted
by the VJ.S. Bureau ot the Census. The NCS measures crimes of rape, robbery, assault,
burglary, personal and household larceny, and motor vehicle theft. Murder and kidnapping are not
covered, and commercial burglary and robbery were dropped from the program during 1977. The
so-called victimless crimes, such as drunkenness, drug abuse, and prostitution, also are excluded,
as are crimes for which it is difficult to identify knowledgeable respondents or to locate data records.
A variety of attributes of victimized persons and households appear on victimization rate tables.
For crimes against persons, the rates are based on the total number of individuals age 12 and over
or on a portion of that population sharing a particular characteristic or set of traits. Household
crimes are regarded as being directed against the household as a unit rather than against the individual
members. As general indicators of the danger of having been victimized during the reference
period, the rates are not sufficiently refined to represent true measures of risk for specific individuals
or households. For further detail regarding the NCS, see C rim inal Victim ization in the U n ite d
States, by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Courts.—Court statistics on criminal offenses and the outcome of prosecutions are incomplete
for the country as a whole, although data are available for many States individually. The only national
compilations of such statistics were made by the Bureau of the Census for 1932 to 1945
covering a maximum of 32 States.
The bulk of civil and criminal litigation in the country is commenced and determined In the various
State courts. Only when the U.S. Constitution and acts of Congress specifically confer jurisdiction
upon the Federal courts may civil litigation be heard and decided by them. Ganeratly, the Federal
courts have jurisdiction ovet the toltowing types of cases: Suits or proceedings by or against the
United States; civil actions between private parties arising under the Constitution, laws, or treaties
of the United States; civil actions between private litigants who are citizens of different States; civil
cases involving admiralty, maritime, or prize jurisdiction; and all matters in bankruptcy.
There are several types of courts with varying degrees of legal jurisdiction. These jurisdictions
include original, appellate, general, and limited or special. A co u rt o f o rigina l ju risd ictio n is one
having (he authority initially to try a case and pass judgment on the law and the facts; a c o u rt o f
appellate jurisdiction is one with the legal authority to review cases and hear appeals; a c o u rt o f
general jurisdiction is a trial court of unlimited original jurisdiction in civil and/or criminal cases, also
called a "major trial court"; a court o f lim ited o r special jurisdiction is a trial court with legal authority
over only a particular class of cases, such as probate, juvenile, or traffic cases.
The 94 Federal courts of original jurisdiction are known as the U.S. district courts. One or more
of these courts ts established In every State and one each in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico,
the Virgin islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam. Appeals from the district courts are
taken to intermediate appellate courts of which there are 13, known as U.S. courts of appeals and
the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The Supreme Court of the United States
is the final and highest appellate court In the Federal system of courts.
Juvenile offenders.—For statistical purposes, the FBI and most States classify as juvenile offenders
persons under the age of 18 years who have committed a crime or crimes.
Delinquency cases are all cases of youths referred to a juvenile court for violation of a law or
ordinance or for seriously “ antisocial" conduct. Several types of facilities are available for those
adjudicated delinquent, ranging irom the short-term physically unrestricted environment to the longterm
very restrictive atmosphere.
Prisoners.—Data on prisoners in Federal and State prisons and reformatories were collected annually
by the Bureau of the Census until 1950, by the Federal Bureau of Prisons until 1971, transferred
then to LEAA, and, In 1979, to Bureau of Justice Statistics. Adults convicted of criminal activity
may be given a prison or jail sentence. A prison is a confinement facility having custodial authority
over adults sentenced to confinement of more than one year. A Jail is a facility, usually operated
by a focal law enforcement agency, holding persons detained pending adjudication and/or persons
committed after adjudication to one year or less. Nearly every State publishes annual data either
for its whole prison system or for each separate State institution.
Statistical reliability.—For discussion of statistical collection, estimation, and sampling procedures
and measures of statistical reliability pertaining to the National Crime Survey and Uniform
Crime Reporting Program, see Appendix lit.
Historical statistics.—Tabular headnotes provide cross-references, where applicable, to H isto ric
a l S tatistics o t the United States, Colonial Times to 1970. See Appendix I.