Book Review: What is Happening to State Trial Court Civil Filings?

This book review explores research findings and recommendations in What is Happening with State Trial Court Civil Filings? The Unresolved Riddles, a 2024 publication of the American Bar Association. The book presents data revealing a counterintuitive reality observed in recent decades: a broad decline in state court civil case filings despite large population growth and significant disparities in per capita case filings across states in the United States.

The authors of the book, Alan Carlson and John Grecean, examine a number of factors traditionally assumed to be associated with the volume of civil case filings. They also voice deep concerns about systemic barriers to the civil justice system. To close the “justice gap,” the authors propose the creation of customer-focused courts, simplified procedures for case filing and improvements in court data management.

The unexpected study findings give rise to a number of policy and planning that merit research and review. The research approach set forth in What is Happening to State Trial Court Civil Filings? provides a model framework for the expanded study of case filing trends, a critically important facet of modern judicial administration.