What Do State Courts Work On?

Take the quiz and find out more about the types, numbers, and impacts of U.S. legal matters

Quiz October 15, 2024 Read time: Less than a minute

Projects: Courts & Communities

U.S. state courts decide cases that affect millions of Americans every year, with matters ranging from speeding tickets and consumer debt cases to criminal trials and child custody disputes. And although courts have an enormous influence on the safety, well-being, and financial stability of communities, little is known about the volume and diversity of cases that come through their doors.

How much do you know about the cases filed in state courts? Take the quiz and test your knowledge.

U.S. state courts handle ___ cases each year.
1. 500,000
2. 66 million
3. 260,000
4. 25 million
5. On average, 66 million cases are filed in state courts in the U.S. each year, more than twice the annual number of arrests (8 million) and traffic stops (20 million) combined.
As popular media suggests, violent crime and threats to public safety are the most common types of cases that state courts hear.
1. True
2. False
3. False: Public safety matters, including violent crime, make up less than a quarter of court business.
Which category makes up the biggest share of cases filed in state courts?
1. Public safety (felony and misdemeanor criminal cases)
2. Community and business (civil cases involving money or property, such as eviction and debt collection)
3. Family (divorce, child support, adoption, etc.)
4. Traffic
5. Traffic cases make up more than half (57%) of matters filed in state courts. Noncriminal traffic matters, which exclude more serious vehicle offenses such as driving under the influence (DUI), are the most common type. The volume of minor traffic matters that courts hear—even though many cases take only a minute or two of a judge’s time—consumes valuable court resources and may limit courts’ capacity to attend to more serious cases.
Of the 11 million public safety cases filed in state courts in 2022, what was the most common case type?
1. Misdemeanors, such as shoplifting and drug possession
2. Felonies, such as armed robbery and drug trafficking
3. Requests for protection orders
4. Offenses committed by youth/juveniles
5. Misdemeanors were the most common, accounting for 8.4% of all cases. Felonies made up 5% of cases filed; protection order requests accounted for 2.7%; and juvenile charges made up less than 1%.
About 13 million community and business matters are filed in state courts each year. What are the two most common such case types?
1. Probate and wills
2. Debt and landlord-tenant
3. Torts and mental health evaluations
4. Debt and landlord-tenant cases are the most common community and business matters heard by courts. Landlord-tenant matters, such as evictions, are 4.7% of all state court filings, and debt cases, which typically involve a business suing an individual to collect a credit card or medical debt, are at least 3.1%. For a small but meaningful share of community and business cases (3.9%), the specific matter was unidentified in the data, which partly obscured the key issues that bring individuals or businesses to court.
Family matters, including divorce, child custody, and child guardianship, make up __% of cases filed in state courts.
1. 1%
2. 6%
3. 10%
4. 20%
5. Family matters are the least common case type in state courts, but they can be difficult and time-consuming for courts and families. Divorce and child support are the most common types of family cases.

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There’s a lot more to know! Want to learn more about U.S. state courts? Click to read about the types and volume of cases that courts handle and how these institutions affect the communities they serve. 6| You know a lot about U.S. state courts! Click to learn even more about the types and volume of cases these institutions handle and how they affect communities.