The tables present information on legal history characteristics of new commitments (crime, minimum sentence, and prior criminal record) and demographic characteristics (age, sex, ethnic status, and county of commitment). In addition, several tables show trends in new court commitments for the 1994-1997 time period. Data show there were 29,880 total admissions to the DCS in 1997. Of these, 20,803 (70 percent) were new court commitments, 6,847 (23 percent) were returned parole violators, and 2,230 (7 percent) were other admissions. Of the new commitments, 5,827 (28 percent) were violent felony offenders, 9,804 (47 percent) were drug offenders, 3,092 (15 percent) were property or other offenders, 1,519 (7 percent) were coercive crime offenders, and 560 (3 percent) were youthful and juvenile offenders. About 47 percent of new court commitments were sentenced as first felony offenders, 52 percent as second felony offenders, and 1 percent as persistent felony offenders. The minimum sentence for new court commitments averaged 44 months. About 13 percent of new court commitments had no prior adult arrest, 7 percent had a prior adult arrest but no conviction, 21 percent had a prior conviction but received a sentence other than jail or prison, 29 percent had served a prior jail sentence, and 30 percent had previously served a State or a Federal term. Approximately 74 percent of drug commitments were the result of a drug sale conviction. Males comprised 92 percent of new court commitments; whites comprised 16 percent of new court commitments, blacks 48 percent, and Hispanics 35 percent. The age of new court commitments averaged 30.7 years. Detailed statistics are tabulated on new court commitments by region, country of birth, education, marital status, jail time, and life without parole. Supplemental information on sentence ranges by felony class and a list of crime codes are appended. Tables and figures