For academic researchers
Virginia Criminal Court Data — Academic Dataset Access
Free with citation · grant collaborations available
Status: Active. Dataset access available for accredited research. Response within one business day.
For peer-reviewed research on Virginia criminal-justice outcomes: cited access to the underlying dataset behind four published research reports. 1.8M+ case records, methodology disclosed, sized for quantitative research.
vs. the free site at virginiacourtfile.com
What you can't do with the published reports alone.
Free at virginiacourtfile.com
- 4 published research reports (cite freely in your paper)
- Aggregate stats by charge × jurisdiction
- Methodology + audit SQL (for replication)
- Suitable for: citing existing findings, replicating aggregates.
In an Academic Dataset license
- Case-level dataset — 1.8M+ rows, de-identified where appropriate, for your own regression / classification / time-series analysis.
- Attorney + prosecutor + officer entity tables — normalized, suitable for network analysis or panel studies.
- VCSC felony sentencing detail — sentence vs guideline at the individual case level.
- DMV + court speed + continuance attribution — aggregates not in any published report.
- Methodology + audit SQL for full replication audit trail.
- Co-authoring options for aligned papers — methodology-author byline available.
- Free for accredited research; grant-budget collaborations at standard institutional rates.
The free site has the findings. The dataset has the underlying records— for original quantitative research, not citation of existing work.
What's available
- Case-level dataset— de-identified where appropriate; charge, jurisdiction, attorney slug, disposition, sentencing detail, timing.
- Attorney + prosecutor + officer entity tables— normalized, with full methodology on the matching algorithm.
- VCSC felony sentencing data— FY2023-FY2024 sentences vs guidelines.
- DMV restricted-license outcomes, court speed, continuance attribution per court.
- Complete methodology + audit SQL for every aggregate published.
Suitable for
- Empirical research on plea-bargaining patterns in state criminal courts
- Sentencing-disparity analysis (PD vs private counsel; jurisdiction variance)
- Prosecutor-discretion studies (charge amendment, trial rates)
- Court-administration research (case-flow, continuance attribution)
- Replication studies on the four published reports
- JLARC / GMU / UVA Law / W&L thesis or dissertation work
Terms
- Free for accredited research at universities or recognized institutions with public citation.
- Standard citation: “Virginia criminal-court data via VirginiaCourtFile (virginiacourtfile.com); methodology disclosed at virginiacourtfile.com/methodology.”
- For grant-funded projects with budget for data acquisition, we can bill a data-services fee at standard institutional rates.
- Co-authoring on aligned papers is welcome — tell us if your project would benefit from methodology-author byline.