Judicial Business 2024

Separate sections of the report address the appellate, district, and bankruptcy courts; the probation and pretrial services system; and other components of the federal Judiciary. Caseload totals for the major programs of the federal Judiciary appear in the table of judicial caseload indicators.

In the regional courts of appeals, filings fell less than 1 percent to 39,788. Total filings in the U.S. district courts declined 11 percent to 360,698 as civil case filings decreased 14 percent to 290,896, while criminal defendant filings increased 6 percent to 69,802. Bankruptcy court filings grew 16 percent to 504,112 as 87 of the 90 bankruptcy courts received more petitions. The number of persons under post-conviction supervision on September 30, 2024, was 121,777, a reduction of 1 percent below the total one year earlier. Cases activated in the pretrial services system, excluding pretrial diversion cases, rose 2 percent to 72,587.

Caseload Highlights

U.S. Courts of Appeals

• Filings in the regional courts of appeals dropped less than 1 percent to 39,788 in fiscal year 2024.
• Filings by pro se litigants, which accounted for 48 percent of new cases, increased 3 percent to 19,101.
• Civil appeals fell 2 percent to 21,270.
• Criminal appeals rose 4 percent to 10,067.

U.S. District Courts

• Combined filings in the district courts for civil cases and criminal defendants went down 11 percent to 360,698.

Civil Filings

• Civil case filings dropped 14 percent to 290,896.
• Cases involving diversity of citizenship declined 33 percent to 104,254.
• Federal question cases grew 2 percent to 141,000.
• Filings with the United States as defendant fell 3 percent to 42,567, and filings with the United States as plaintiff decreased 2 percent to 3,069.

Criminal Filings

• Filings for criminal defendants (including those transferred from other districts) rose 6 percent to 69,802.
• Defendants prosecuted for immigration violations climbed 30 percent to 25,446. The southwestern border districts, which received 90 percent of immigration crime defendants, had a combined increase in filings of 34 percent.
• Drug offense defendants dropped 8 percent to 16,735. Filings for defendants accused of crimes involving marijuana decreased 16 percent, and filings related to non-marijuana drug crimes declined 7 percent.
• Filings for defendants charged with crimes involving firearms and explosives went down 6 percent to 9,547.

U.S. Bankruptcy Courts

• Bankruptcy petition filings grew 16 percent to 504,112.
• Nonbusiness (i.e., largely consumer) petitions went up 16 percent to 481,350, and business petitions climbed 33 percent to 22,762.
• Increases occurred in filings under chapter 7 (up 20 percent), chapter 13 (up 10 percent), and chapter 11 (up 39 percent).
• Filings rose in 87 of the 90 bankruptcy courts.

Federal Probation and Pretrial Services System

• The total of 121,777 persons under post-conviction supervision on September 30, 2024, was 1 percent lower than the total one year earlier.
• Persons serving terms of supervised release on that date after leaving correctional institutions decreased 1 percent to 109,174 and accounted for 90 percent of all persons under supervision.