[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 19 (Friday, January 30, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5678-5679]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-2091]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Office of Justice Programs

[OMB Number 1121-NEW]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comments Requested

ACTION: 60-day notice of information collection under review.

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    Civil Justice Survey of State Courts Trials on Appeal.
    The Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of 
Justice Statistics, will be submitting the following information 
collection request for review and clearance in accordance with the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The proposed information collection is 
published to obtain comments from the public and affected agencies. 
Comments are encouraged and will be accepted for ``sixty days'' until 
March 31, 2009. This process is conducted in accordance with 5 CFR 
1320.10.
    If you have additional comments, especially on the estimated public 
burden or associated response time, suggestions, or need a copy of the 
proposed information collection instrument with instructions or 
additional information, please contact: Thomas H. Cohen, (202) 514-
8344, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, 
Department of Justice, 810 Seventh Street, NW., Washington, DC 20531 or 
[email protected].
    Written comments and suggestions from the public and affected 
agencies concerning the proposed collection of information are 
encouraged. Your comments should address one or more of the following 
four points:

--Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary 
for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including 
whether the information will have practical utility;
--Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
--Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be 
collected; and
--Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are 
to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submission of responses.

Overview of This Information

    (1) Type of information collection: New information collection, 
Civil Justice Survey of State Courts Trials on Appeal.
    (2) The title of the form/collection: Civil Justice Survey of State 
Courts Trials on Appeal.
    (3) The agency form number, if any, and the applicable component of 
the Department sponsoring the collection: The form labels are CJSSCTA-
IAC, CJSSCTA-COLR, and CJSSCTA-ADR, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 
Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.
    (4) Affected public who will be asked or required to respond, as 
well as a brief abstract: Primary: State Appellate Courts. The purpose 
of the CJSSCTA project is to provide detailed statistical information 
on civil cases adjudicated at the appellate level in state courts. The 
project will collect information from court records on individual civil 
cases disposed in a sample of state intermediate appellate courts and 
courts of last resort. The types of information collected will include 
the types of civil cases appealed after trial to an intermediate 
appellate court or court of last resort, the impact of the appellate 
process on trial court outcomes, the extent that appellate claims are 
dismissed or withdrawn before being decided on the merits, the types of 
legal issues raised on appeal, the number of appeals ending in a 
published opinion, and the rate of judicial dissent at the appellate 
level. The survey will also collect aggregate count information on the 
number of appeals referred to and

[[Page 5679]]

settled through court annexed alternative dispute resolution programs.
    (5) An estimate of the total number of respondents and the amount 
of time estimated for an average respondent to respond/reply: It is 
estimated that information will be collected on 1,500 civil cases 
concluded by trial in 2005 in which either the plaintiff or defendant 
filed a notice of appeal to an intermediate appellate court or court of 
last resort. Information will also be collected on the number of cases 
filed and disposed in court annexed alternative dispute resolution 
programs. Annual cost to the respondents is based on the number of 
hours involved in providing information from court records for the 
intermediate appellate court, court of last resort, and alternative 
dispute resolution forms. Public reporting burden for this collection 
of information is estimated to average 1.5 hours per data collection 
form for the intermediate appellate court and court of last resort 
forms and 2 hours for the alternative dispute resolution forms. The 
estimate of hour burden is based on prior civil justice data 
collections and pre-tests of the current forms.
    (6) An estimate of the total public burden (in hours) associated 
with the collection: The estimated public burden associated with this 
collection is 830 hours. It is estimated that on-site data collection 
will be necessary for about 500 of the 1,500 civil appeals. Hence, the 
estimated burden hour to complete each of the appellate data collection 
forms will result in a total of 750 burden hours to complete the 
CJSSCTA (500 data collection forms multiplied by 1.5 hours per form = 
750 burden hours). In addition to the case level appellate data 
collection forms, it is estimated that 40 appellate courts will have 
some form of court--annexed alternative dispute resolution (ADR) 
program. The estimated burden hour to complete the ADR spreadsheets for 
the participating appellate courts will result in a total of 80 burden 
hours to complete the ADR portion of this project: (40 appellate courts 
with ADR programs multiplied by 2 hours per coding spreadsheet = 80 
burden hours). Therefore, the total burden hours for the CJSSCTA 
amounts to 830 burden hours (750 burden hours to complete the case 
level appellate forms +80 hours to complete the ADR spreadsheets).
    If additional information is required contact: Ms. Lynn Byrant, 
Department Clearance Officer, United States Department of Justice, 
Justice Management Division, Policy and Planning Staff, Suite 1600, 601 
D Street, NW., Washington, DC 20530.

    Dated: January 27, 2009.
Lynn Bryant,
Department Clearance Officer, PRA, United States Department of Justice.
[FR Doc. E9-2091 Filed 1-29-09; 8:45 am]
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