What percentage of protection order cases account for a courts` domestic relations caseload?
The NCSC Court Statistics Project studied incoming domestic relations caseload composition in 38 states, by jurisdiction, in 2004. They found that protection orders are filed at about the same rate in general-jurisdiction (15 percent) or limited-jurisdiction (16 percent) courts, making protection orders the third most common domestic relations case. In unified courts though, protection orders are the second most likely case type to be filed and account for 27 percent of the domestic relations caseload. (Source: Domestic Relations Section of Examining the Work of State Courts, 2005.) Domestic relations cases involve actions between family members or persons considered to be in a domestic relationship. NCSC’s State Court Guide to Statistical Reporting recognizes 10 distinct domestic relations case types: marriage dissolution/divorce, paternity, non-divorce custody, non-divorce support, non-divorce visitation, adoption, civil protection/restraining orders, custody (reopened divorce), supp
