Federal Judicial Caseload Statistics 2023

This report presents data on the work of the appellate, district, and bankruptcy courts and on the probation and pretrial services systems. The COVID-19 pandemic, which began to affect the operations and workload of the federal Judiciary in March 2020, continued to do so at some times and in some places during the period covered by this report. When COVID cases rose in their regions, federal courts modified their operations, used teleconferencing and other electronic methods to conduct business, and implemented safety measures that posed challenges for holding in-person proceedings, including trials. During this time, workloads in many areas of the Judiciary continued to fall, but other areas experienced stability or growth.

The following is a summary of key findings for the year ending March 31, 2023.

• In the U.S. courts of appeals, filings decreased 5 percent.
• The bankruptcy appellate panels reported that filings dropped 7 percent.
• Filings in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit increased 7 percent.
• In the U.S. district courts, filings of civil cases declined 8 percent, and filings for criminal defendants fell 3 percent.
• The U.S. bankruptcy courts received 2 percent more petitions.
• The number of persons under supervision by the federal probation system on March 31, 2023, was less than 1 percent below the total reported one year earlier.
• Pretrial services cases activated in the past 12 months held steady, rising less than 1 percent.

U.S. Courts of Appeals

Filings in the 12 regional courts of appeals fell 5 percent to 40,681 (down 2,219 appeals) in 2023. This decrease stemmed from lower filings of appeals of administrative agency decisions, criminal appeals, prisoner petitions, and private civil appeals. Filings of bankruptcy appeals increased 48 percent (up 320 appeals), and filings of original proceedings and miscellaneous applications rose 4 percent (up 124 filings).

Civil appeals declined by 957 cases to 21,837.

• Prisoner petitions dropped 5 percent.
• Private civil appeals went down 6 percent.
• U.S. civil appeals increased 1 percent.

Criminal appeals decreased 4 percent to 9,894, mainly because of an 11 percent reduction in appeals related to drug crimes and an 18 percent decline in appeals addressing immigration offenses.

• Eighty-three percent of criminal appeals involved five offense categories: drugs, firearms and explosives, property offenses (including fraud), sex offenses, and fraud.

Appeals of administrative agency decisions fell 22 percent to 4,450, mostly due to a reduction in appeals of decisions by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA).

• BIA appeals accounted for 79 percent of administrative agency appeals and constituted the largest category of administrative agency appeals filed in each circuit except the DC Circuit.

Original proceedings and miscellaneous applications rose 4 percent to 3,520, largely in response to a 2 percent increase in original proceedings that consisted mainly of second or successive motions for writs of habeas corpus (up 132 proceedings).

• Sixty-three percent of original proceedings involved second or successive motions for writs of habeas corpus, and 34 percent involved writs of mandamus.
• Of the 501 miscellaneous applications reported, those in the category of “other applications” accounted for 39 percent of the total, and motions for class actions constituted 31 percent of the total.

Case terminations decreased 11 percent to 41,908. Pending cases fell 4 percent to 32,375.

For data on activity of the appellate courts, see the B series of tables.

Bankruptcy Appellate Panels

The bankruptcy appellate panels (BAPs) reported that total filings once again declined 7 percent, dropping this year to 373 (down 30 appeals). BAPs are three-judge panels authorized to hear appeals of bankruptcy court decisions. BAPs are units of the federal courts of appeals, and each BAP must be established by a circuit judicial council. Five federal judicial circuits—the First, Sixth, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Circuits—have BAPs.

BAP filings fell in two circuits and increased in the other three. Filings dropped by 45 appeals (down 15 percent) in the Ninth Circuit and by 2 appeals in the Tenth Circuit (down 6 percent). Filings grew by 15 appeals (up 48 percent) in the First Circuit, by 1 appeal in the Sixth Circuit (up 3 percent), and by 1 appeal in the Eighth Circuit (up 8 percent).

For data on activity of the BAPs, see Tables BAP-1 and Tables BAP-2. 

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

Filings in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit rose 7 percent to 1,482.

• Filings involving the U.S. district courts increased by 102 appeals to 369 (up 38 percent).
• Filings related to petitions for writs of certiorari had the largest numeric reduction, a decline of 40 appeals to 57 filings overall (down 41 percent).

Terminations of appeals declined 2 percent to 1,362 (down 24 appeals). The pending caseload rose 9 percent to 1,514 (up 120 appeals).

For data on activity of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, see Table B-8.

U.S. District Courts

Combined filings in the U.S. district courts for civil cases and criminal defendants decreased by 27,043 (down 7 percent) to 353,170. Terminations rose by 80,502 (up 24 percent) to 412,052. As terminations exceeded filings, the total for pending civil cases and criminal defendants fell by 58,595 (down 8 percent) to 702,433.

Civil Filings

Civil case filings in the U.S. district courts dropped 8 percent (down 24,882 cases) to 284,220. This change occurred largely because of a reduction in multidistrict litigation (MDL) cases directly filed in a single district that alleged that the 3M Company sold its Combat Arms earplugs to the U.S. military without disclosing defects that reduced hearing protection.

Filings of cases involving diversity of citizenship (i.e., disputes between citizens of different states and/or between U.S. citizens and citizens of foreign nations) fell 23 percent to 109,095.

• Personal injury/product liability filings declined 39 percent (down 37,739 cases) as cases involving other personal injury/product liability fell by 30,525 filings (down 42 percent). The previous year, more than 64,000 MDL cases addressing 3M Combat Arms earplugs had been filed in the Northern District of Florida, compared with 29,504 filed in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2023.
• Health care/pharmaceutical cases decreased 30 percent (down 7,251 cases), primarily because fewer MDL cases involving Johnson & Johnson talcum powder were filed in the District of New Jersey.
• Contract actions grew 22 percent (up 4,854 cases) as insurance cases increased 33 percent (up 4,296 cases).

Federal question filings held steady, growing less than 1 percent to 131,658.

• Prisoner petitions increased 7 percent (up 2,490 petitions) as petitions involving civil rights grew 10 percent (up 1,744) to 18,488.
• Real property actions rose 23 percent (up 291 cases) as cases dealing with rent, lease, and ejectment grew 49 percent (up 159 cases).
• Intellectual property rights filings increased 10 percent (up 1,165 cases) as cases related to copyright jumped 25 percent (up 1,137 cases) and cases involving trademark grew 12 percent (up 361 cases).
• Civil rights filings decreased 6 percent (down 2,097 cases) as cases addressing claims under the American with Disabilities Act (Other) declined 22 percent (down 2,497 cases) and cases dealing with education dropped 11 percent (down 92 cases). However, civil rights filings involving housing and accommodations climbed 25 percent (up 173 cases) to 871.
• Civil bankruptcy cases decreased 20 percent (down 366 cases) as filings related to bankruptcy appeals declined 19 percent (down 316 cases) to 1,315.

Filings with the United States as defendant rose 19 percent to 40,549.

• Personal injury cases jumped 46 percent (up 783 cases) as cases in the category of “other personal injury” surged 150 percent (up 754 cases).
• Civil cases involving immigration rose 66 percent (up 3,822 cases) as cases categorized as “other immigration actions” soared 70 percent (up 3,816 cases).
• Personal property damage cases declined 16 percent.

Filings with the United States as plaintiff increased 3 percent to 2,917.

• Cases involving securities, commodities, and exchanges grew 23 percent (up 52 cases) to 282.
• Cases related to labor laws increased 12 percent (up 21 cases) as filings addressing fair labor standards climbed 24 percent (to 24 cases) and filings involving employee retirement income security rose 74 percent (up 20 cases).
• Civil cases involving forfeiture and penalty dropped 21 percent (down 215 cases) as filings related to drug-related seizures of property declined 30 percent (down 155 cases).

Civil case terminations increased 30 percent to 338,983.

• The Northern District of Florida terminated 79,326 cases. Most were MDL cases involving 3M Combat Arms earplugs.
• The Southern District of Florida terminated 19,821 cases. Most were MDL cases addressing the drug Zantac (Ranitidine).
• The Western District of Louisiana terminated 4,242 cases of various types.

Pending civil cases declined 9 percent to 583,543.

For data on activity related to civil cases in the district courts, see the C series of tables.

Criminal Filings

Criminal defendant filings (including transfers) in the U.S. district courts decreased 3 percent (down 2,161 defendants) to 68,950.

Filings involving drug offenses, which accounted for 28 percent of total defendant filings, went down 10 percent to 19,207.

• Defendants charged with crimes involving drugs other than marijuana dropped 9 percent to 18,158.
• Defendants charged with marijuana offenses declined 19 percent to 1,049.

Reductions also occurred in filings in the following categories.

• Defendants facing charges related to firearms and explosives dropped 5 percent to 10,635.
• Defendants prosecuted for property offenses fell 11 percent to 7,140.
• Defendants accused of sex offenses decreased 6 percent to 3,050.
• Defendants charged with violent offenses went down 9 percent to 2,630.
• Defendants charged with general offenses (e.g., public-order crimes such as money laundering) declined 24 percent to 1,533.
• Defendants prosecuted for regulatory offenses decreased 2 percent to 1,262.
• Defendants accused of justice system offenses (i.e., crimes related to judicial proceedings, such as obstruction of justice or failure to appear) fell 14 percent to 724.

Filings for defendants charged with immigration offenses, which constituted 29 percent of all criminal defendant filings, grew 10 percent to 20,134 (this total does not include defendants charged with immigration crimes in petty offense cases disposed of by magistrate judges).

• Eighty-seven percent of immigration defendant filings occurred in the five southwestern border districts. Immigration defendant filings within the southwestern border districts increased 8 percent.
• Filings increased in four of the southwestern border districts, climbing 29 percent in the Western District of Texas (after increasing 18 percent last year), 11 percent in the District of New Mexico (after rising 45 percent last year), 10 percent in the Southern District of California (after growing 58 percent last year) and 6 percent in the District of Arizona (after increasing 33 percent last year). Filings in the Southern District of Texas decreased 10 percent (after dropping less than 1 percent last year).

Filings for defendants charged with traffic offenses jumped 49 percent to 2,491 (this total does not include defendants charged with traffic crimes in petty offense cases disposed of by magistrate judges).

Terminations for criminal defendants increased 4 percent to 73,069. The number for defendants pending decreased 3 percent to 118,890.

For data on activity related to criminal defendants in the district courts, see the D series of tables.

U.S. Bankruptcy Courts

Filings of bankruptcy petitions rose 2 percent (up 7,900 petitions) to 403,273 (this total includes filings in the territorial courts—i.e., the Districts of Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, where bankruptcy cases are heard by district court judges or visiting bankruptcy judges). Of the 90 bankruptcy courts, 46 reported higher filings.  Despite this year’s growth in filings, the number of new bankruptcy cases remains below totals reported before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

• The largest percentage increase was a 47 percent rise in the Eastern District of New York (up 2,556 filings).
• Bankruptcy petitions climbed by 1,224 filings in the District of Northern Mississippi (up 47 percent).
• The largest percentage decrease was a 24 percent drop in the District of Vermont (down 60 filings).

More petitions were filed under chapters 11, 13, and 15 of the bankruptcy code during this period than had been filed the previous year. Fewer petitions were filed under chapters 7 and 12. Filings under chapter 9 held steady.

• Chapter 13 filings increased 32 percent to 166,449.
• Chapter 11 filings rose 24 percent to 5,371.
• Chapter 15 filings grew 23 percent to 101.
• Chapter 12 filings declined 35 percent to 148.
• Chapter 7 filings dropped 13 percent to 231,200.
• Chapter 9 filings remained the same at 4.

Nonbusiness petitions (i.e., those filed primarily by individuals with mainly consumer debt) grew 2 percent to 388,806. Nonbusiness cases accounted for 96 percent of all petitions. Petitions filed by debtors with predominantly business debts grew 10 percent to 14,467.

Terminations of bankruptcy cases declined 13 percent to 451,241, and the number of cases pending on March 31 decreased 7 percent from the previous year’s total to 656,665 (both totals include terminated and pending cases in the territorial courts.)

For data on the activity of the bankruptcy courts, see the F series of tables.

Adversary Proceedings

Adversary proceedings are separate civil lawsuits that arise in bankruptcy cases, including actions to object to or revoke discharges, to obtain injunctions or other equitable relief, and to determine the dischargeability of debt. Adversary proceedings may be associated with consumer bankruptcy cases, but most arise in cases filed under chapter 11. Because of time limits imposed by Section 546 of the bankruptcy code, the number of adversary proceedings filed usually is related to the number of chapter 11 cases filed two years earlier.

During the 12-month period ending March 31, 2023, filings of adversary proceedings declined 20 percent to 11,877 (this total includes filings in the territorial courts—i.e., the Districts of Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, where bankruptcy cases are heard by district court judges or visiting bankruptcy judges). Sixty-three of the 90 bankruptcy courts reported reductions in filings, 26 of the bankruptcy courts experienced increases in filings, and filings in 1 bankruptcy court remained unchanged during this reporting period.

The number of adversary proceedings terminated fell 24 percent to 13,759. The number of pending adversary proceedings dropped 9 percent from the previous year to 18,303. These totals include terminated and pending adversary proceedings in the territorial courts.

For data on adversary proceedings filed in the bankruptcy courts, see Table F-8. 

Post-Conviction Supervision

The number of persons under post-conviction supervision as of March 31, 2023, changed slightly from the total 12 months earlier, falling 1 percent from the prior year to 123,506 (down 699 persons). Persons serving terms of supervised release on that date following release from a correctional institution held relatively steady, decreasing less than 1 percent to 110,717.

• Ninety percent of persons under post-conviction supervision on March 31, 2023, were serving terms of supervised release.
• Ten percent of persons under post-conviction supervision were under supervision following the imposition of sentences of probation, and less than 1 percent were on parole.

Cases remaining open on March 31, 2023, that involved probation imposed by district and magistrate judges fell 3 percent from the previous year’s total to 12,043.

Persons on parole, special parole, military parole, and mandatory release on the last day of the reporting period declined 15 percent to 570.

The number of persons received for post-conviction supervision was 60,697, a decrease of 2 percent from the previous year.

Closings of post-conviction supervision cases (excluding transfers and deaths) remained stable, increasing less than 1 percent to 51,603 (down 108 cases).

In addition to their supervision duties, probation officers conduct investigations and prepare comprehensive reports to aid judges in sentencing convicted defendants. The officers’ presentence reports contain detailed background information on defendants and discuss issues related to the advisory sentencing guidelines.

• In 2023, probation officers wrote 63,800 presentence reports, 4 percent more than the previous year.
• Ninety-eight percent of the presentence reports addressed offenses for which the U.S. Sentencing Commission has promulgated sentencing guidelines.

For data on post-conviction supervision activity, see the E series of tables.

Pretrial Services

After rising 14 percent in 2022, this year the number of cases activated in the pretrial services system increased less than 1 percent to 74,581.

• A total of 294 pretrial diversion cases were activated, down 21 percent from the previous year.

The number of defendants received for supervision in the pretrial services system was 22,136, 12 percent below the number received in 2022.

• Defendants received for pretrial services supervision declined 12 percent to 21,718.
• Defendants received for pretrial diversion supervision dropped to 418, falling 22 percent from the previous year.

A total of 77,601 pretrial services cases were closed, an increase of 6 percent.

Pretrial services officers prepare reports for judges to use in determining whether to order the release or detention of defendants. They also provide information judges use in establishing appropriate conditions for released defendants.

• Pretrial services officers interviewed 44,376 defendants (down 8 percent) and prepared 70,656 pretrial services reports (down less than 1 percent).

For persons under pretrial supervision, officers monitored their compliance with release conditions set by the courts, made referrals for support services that offer alternatives to detention (such as substance abuse treatment), and informed the courts and U.S. attorneys of apparent violations of release conditions.

• Defendants with release conditions decreased 13 percent to 24,942.

For data on pretrial services activity, see the H series of tables.