Last week, we began looking at which Districts and Divisions of the Appellate Court produced the Supreme Court's criminal, quasi-criminal and attorney disciplinary docket for the years 1990 through 2003. This week, we're looking at the rest of our study period. First up, 2004 through 2010.

For the years 2004 through 2010, 131 of the Court's 356 criminal cases originated in the First District – 36.8% of the criminal docket. Four cases came from the First District in 2010, three in 2007 and 2009 and two in 2004 and 2008. Four cases came from Division Two in 2009, three in 2005, and one per year in 2007, 2008 and 2010. Five cases came from Division Three of the First District in 2006, four in 2005 and three per year in 2004, 2008, 2009 and 2010. Six cases came from Division Four in 2009, four in 2004 and 2006, two in 2010 and one per year in 2005 and 2008. Four cases came from Division Five in 2008, three in 2004 and two in 2005 and 2006. Five cases came from Division Six in 2007, two in 2004 and one per year in 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2010. Finally, as we've discussed in earlier posts, because so many criminal cases are unpublished at the Appellate Court, we always have cases which can't be attributed to a particular Division of the First District. The Court decided three such cases in 2004, eight in 2005, four in 2006 and 2007, seven in 2008 and ten per year in 2009 and 2010.

The Court decided fifty-nine cases from the Second District. The Court decided thirteen cases from the Second District in 2010, eleven in 2005, ten in 2008, eight in 2004 and 2006, five in 2007 and four in 2009. The Court decided sixty cases from the Third District – twelve in 2008 and 2010, eleven in 2004, ten in 2005, seven in 2006, five in 2009 and three in 2007. The Court decided forty-nine cases from the Fourth District – eleven in 2004, nine in 2005, eight in 2006 and 2009, seven in 2008 and three in 2007 and 2010. The Court decided only eleven cases from the Fifth District during these years – four each in 2004 and 2005, two in 2006 and one in 2010.

As the state's experience with the death penalty wound down during these years, direct appeals became less common. The Court heard ten direct appeals in 2004, seven in 2006, six in 2005, four in 2007, 2009 and 2010 and three in 2008. The Court decided only five cases pursuant to its original jurisdiction on the criminal docket – three in 2009 and one in 2004 and 2010. The Court decided two attorney disciplinary cases in 2006 and one in 2009. The Court decided no certified question appeals during these years on the criminal docket.

Join us back tomorrow as we review the Court's criminal docket for the years 2011 through 2017.

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