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Please note!
This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

Are cases filed by federal prosecutors more likely go to trial than cases filed by state prosecutors?

By Allegra Taylor
NO

State and federal cases both have low likelihoods of coming to trial. After receiving a police report of a crime, prosecuting attorneys can choose whether to file charges depending on the available evidence. They may choose to settle a plea bargain. They very rarely end up going into a courtroom.

Pew Research reported that of 80,000 federal criminal cases in 2018, only 2% went to trial.

In 2017, fewer than 3% of criminal cases in the 22 states that reported data went to a jury trial.

Civil cases have a lower chance of going to trial than criminal cases. A Duke University law journal article reported that for 2013, no state had more than 0.62% of civil cases go to trial.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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