[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 20 (Monday, January 31, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5401-5402]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-2086]
[[Page 5401]]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Office of Justice Programs
[OMB Number 1121-NEW]
Bureau of Justice Statistics; Agency Information Collection
Activities: Proposed Collection; Comments Requested
ACTION: 60-Day notice of information collection under review: Survey of
State Court Criminal Appeals, 2010.
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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
April 1, 2011. 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].
To ensure that comments on the information collection are received,
OMB recommends that written comments be faxed to the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attn: DOJ Desk Officer, Fax:
202 395-7285, or e-mailed to [email protected]. All comments
should be identified with the OMB control number [1121-0234]. Also
include the DOJ docket number found in brackets in the heading of this
document.
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 data collection, Survey of
State Court Criminal Appeals (SSCCA), 2010.
(2) The title of the form/collection: Survey of State Court
Criminal Appeals or SSCCA, 2010.
(3) The agency form number, if any, and the applicable component of
the Department sponsoring the collection: The form labels are SSCCA-IAC
and SSCCA-COLR, 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: State intermediate appellate courts and state
courts of last resort. Abstract: The 2010 SSCCA will focus on criminal
cases disposed in a national sample of state intermediate appellate
courts and courts of last resort and will aim to obtain information on
certain key case characteristics of these appeals. Some of the
information collected will include the types of criminal cases appealed
to state intermediate appellate courts and courts of last resort, the
legal issues raised on appeal, the impact of the appellate process on
trial court outcomes, the extent that appellate claims are decided on
the merits, and case processing time for criminal appeals. The 2010
SSCCA will also attempt to examine all death penalty cases decided on
appeal in 2010 as well as cases that were adjudicated in both
intermediate appellate courts and courts of last resort. All data
collected will be accurate as of December 2010.
(5) An Estimate of the Total Number of Respondents and the Amount
of Time Estimated for an Average Respondent to Respond: The Survey of
State Court Criminal Appeals (SSCCA) will collect data on a national
sample of approximately 5,000 criminal appeals concluded in all of the
nation's 143 intermediate appellate courts and courts of last resort in
2010. The burden hour computation involves both sample list generation
and case level data collection. Each of the nation's 143 intermediate
appellate courts and courts of last resort will be asked to generate a
sample of all their direct criminal appeals disposed in 2010 from which
a national sample can be drawn for the SSCCA. It is estimated that it
should take 3 hours for each of the nation's 143 appellate courts to
generate an appropriate sample list. The burden hour component
regarding case level data collection involves copying the necessary
appellate court documentation from three major sources for submission
to the data collection agent including (1) The submitted legal briefs,
(2) the opinions produced by the courts, and (3) the docketing
information. Assuming 35 appeals per court (5,000 appeals/143 courts =
35 appeals) and 10 minutes to copy each legal brief or opinion, the
burden hours to copy these paper documents for each court should be
about 6 hours for the legal briefs and 6 hours for the opinions (35
appeals * .17 hours per opinion/brief = 6 hours). In addition to
providing copies of legal briefs and opinions, it is estimated that
each appellate court will require 3 hours to provide the necessary
docketing information.
(6) An Estimate of the Total Public Burden (in hours) Associated
with the collection: The estimated public burden associated with this
collection is 1,224 hours. The burden hour computation is calculated by
identifying those appellate courts that have limited online
accessibility necessitating the submission of legal briefs, docketing
materials, or court opinions for coding by the data collection agent.
No burden hours are associated with collecting data from appellate
courts with complete internet accessibility because all their data can
be obtained online. It is estimated that a total of 795 hours will be
needed for the appellate courts with limited internet accessibility to
provide the documentation in the form of mailed legal briefs/opinions
or docket extracts to complete the SSCCA data collection. The 795
number is calculated by first computing the total burden hours
appellate courts need to provide copies of submitted legal briefs (90
courts * 6 hours per court to provide copies of submitted legal briefs
= 540 hours); and secondly, by computing the total burden hours for
providing data extracts of docketing information (57 courts * 3 hours
per court to provide extracts of docketing information = 171 hours);
and thirdly, by computing the total burden hours for providing copies
of court opinions (14 courts * 6 hours per court to provide copies of
court opinions = 84 hours). Hence, 540 hours for providing copies of
submitted briefs + 171 hours for providing data extracts of docketing
[[Page 5402]]
information + 84 hours for providing copies of court opinions = 795
hours. When the burden hours for sample list generation are added, the
total burden hours for the SSCCA project sums to 1,224 hours (795 hours
to provide necessary case documentation + 429 hours for sample list
generation = 1,224 hours).
If additional information is required contact: Mrs. Lynn Murray,
Department Clearance Officer, United States Department of Justice,
Justice Management Division, Policy and Planning Staff, Two
Constitution Square, 145 N Street, NE., Suite 2E-502, Washington, DC
20530.
Dated: January 26, 2011.
Lynn Murray,
Department Clearance Officer, PRA, U.S. Department of Justice.
[FR Doc. 2011-2086 Filed 1-28-11; 8:45 am]
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