Release Date: March 12, 2003	Release Number:  21

New Statistics Released on Supreme Court Depublication

The statistics, which span a 20-year time period, will be included in the Judicial Council’s upcoming 2003 Court Statistics Report, an annual summary of state court workload data.  The statistics are available now on the California Courts Web site at http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/reference/documents/depubstats98-02.pdf and will be published in future reports.

The state Constitution provides for “the prompt publication of such opinions of the … courts of appeal as the Supreme Court deems appropriate.”  (Cal. Const., art. VI, § 14.)  An opinion ordered depublished and thus not included in the California Official Reports may be cited or relied upon only in limited circumstances (see Cal. Rules of Court, rule 977(b)).

The Courts of Appeal issue approximately 13,000 written opinions each year, and order that approximately 94 percent of that total not be published.

The statistics released today show a range in Supreme Court depublication orders from a high of 154 in fiscal year 1983–1984 to a low of 23 in fiscal year 2001–2002, the most recent year reported.  More information about the Supreme Court is available at www.courtinfo.ca.gov/courts/supreme.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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