Legal Commentary

Professor Berman already has posted on the new court data for criminal filings in federal district courts though 2007, and he has highlighted a few interesting statistical tidbits in this data. I noted another one as a read the data, and I just don't have the insider's view to gauge whether the numbers reveal a trend of any import: In 1995, only 35 criminal cases were filed for offenses involving failure to pay child support. In 2000, 291 child support cases were filed, suggesting a purposeful increase in focus on this type of offense. Starting in 2003, however, the number of filings decreased every year, falling from 176 filings in 2003 to 75 in 2007. Any insight out there on why both the surge in filings around 2000 and the subsequent drop in filings?