U.S. District Courts — Judicial Business 2023

Combined filings of civil cases and criminal defendants in the U.S. district courts rose 18 percent to 405,878 in 2023. Civil case filings increased 24 percent to 339,731, while filings for criminal defendants — including defendants transferred from other districts — decreased 3 percent to 66,147. Overall terminations for civil cases and criminal defendants dropped 4 percent to 366,048 (this total does not include the 29,578 defendants in Class A misdemeanor cases and petty offense cases disposed of by magistrate judges). The total number of pending civil cases and criminal defendants grew 6 percent to 759,069.

Civil Filings

Civil case filings in the U.S. district courts climbed 24 percent, increasing by 64,960 cases to 339,731. Filings had declined 20 percent last year in response to a steep drop in multidistrict litigation (MDL) cases filed in a single district that asserted that the 3M Company sold its Combat Arms earplugs to the U.S. military without disclosing defects that reduced hearing protection, and this year’s increase occurred as filings of these and other types of MDL cases went up. Excluding MDL cases, combined filings of all other civil cases increased 10 percent. Civil filings per authorized judgeship rose from 406 in 2022 to 502 in 2023.

Filings of diversity of citizenship cases (i.e., disputes between citizens of different states) climbed 47 percent (up 49,417 cases) to 154,629 as personal injury case filings increased 66 percent to 117,705. The Northern District of Florida (FL-N) had a 38 percent rise in personal injury filings (up 13,130 cases to 47,650) as it received more MDL filings in the 3M Company earplugs case. Personal injury filings in the health care/pharmaceutical category soared 310 percent (up by 12,914 to 17,075) in the District of New Jersey (NJ), primarily as a result of directly filed MDL cases involving Johnson & Johnson talcum powder, and jumped 1,062 percent (up by 12,457 to 13,630) in the Southern District of Florida (FL-S). The Northern District of Illinois’s 1,421 percent increase in personal injury/product liability filings (up by 7,929 to 8,487) resulted primarily from MDL cases directly filed there that involved a hair relaxer made by L’Oreal USA Inc. and others. Personal injury filings in the health care/pharmaceutical category fell 82 percent in the District of Minnesota (down by 4,489 to 999).

Filings with the United States as defendant jumped 23 percent (up 8,082) to 43,671. Prisoner petitions increased 21 percent (up by 1,614 petitions to 9,425) as motions for writs of habeas corpus went up 56 percent (up by 1,262 petitions to 3,518). The largest growth occurred in NJ, where petitions grew by 210 to 319. Motions to vacate sentence went up 11 percent (up by 371 petitions to 3,763), with the greatest rise occurring in the Middle District of North Carolina, where petitions grew by 56 to 191. Immigration cases, including those addressing naturalization applications and other immigration actions, climbed 44 percent (up 3,373) to 11,108. The Central District of California (CA-C) had the largest numeric growth in immigration actions in the “other” category, a rise of 959 cases to 2,018, followed by the Eastern District of New York, which had a rise of 507 cases to 2,197. Social Security filings grew 12 percent to 15,005 (up by 1,635 cases) as cases related to supplemental security income increased 17 percent (up by 957 cases to 6,556). CA-C had the largest numeric growth in supplemental security income filings (up by 111 cases to 513). Environmental matters filings went down 16 percent (down by 22 cases to 119).

Filings with the United States as plaintiff grew 10 percent to 3,118, mainly due to a 53 percent increase in cases involving civil rights (up by 82 cases to 237). This growth stemmed mainly from a 37 percent increase in employment cases (up by 31 cases to 114). Securities, commodities, and exchanges filings grew 15 percent (up by 37 cases to 290), with the largest numeric rise reported by the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (PA-E), where filings went up by 11 cases to 17, followed by CA-C, where filings grew by 8 cases to 31. Forfeiture and penalty actions declined 13 percent (down by 124 cases to 801) as cases related to drug-related seizure of property fell 21 percent (down by 90 cases to 341). The largest reduction in such filings was a decrease of 41 percent (a drop of 11 cases) in the Northern District of Georgia. Real property actions dropped 26 percent (down by 41 cases to 114) as foreclosure filings declined 27 percent to 75.

Federal question cases (i.e., actions under the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States in which the United States is not a party in the case) increased 5 percent to 138,311. Prisoner petitions went up 5 percent (up 1,797 petitions to 40,927) as petitions related to prison conditions climbed 12 percent (up 1,082 petitions to 10,172). The largest growth occurred in the District of Arizona, where such petitions increased 121 percent to 890, followed by the Central District of Illinois, where such petitions went up by 132 to 557. Civil rights case filings increased 5 percent (up 1,774 cases to 37,053) as cases related to employment climbed 24 percent to 9,586. The largest growth was a rise of 28 percent to 748 in PA-E. Cases in the category of Americans with Disabilities Act-other declined 14 percent (down 1,474 cases to 8,705), with the largest reduction occurring in the Northern District of California (CA-N), which reported 85 percent fewer filings (down by 878 cases to 152). Intellectual property rights cases, including those addressing copyright, grew 9 percent (up 1,094 cases to 13,757). Cases related to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) jumped 52 percent (up 357 cases to 1,042). The largest growth in such filings occurred in CA-N, which reported an increase of 590 percent (up by 242 cases to 283).

Civil case terminations fell 5 percent (down 14,649 terminations) to 293,677. In FL-N, 37,047 cases were terminated (down 21,530 terminations), many of them MDL cases dealing with 3M Company earplugs. In the Northern District of Texas, terminations went down by 4,787 to 5,753, primarily because that district closed fewer MDL cases addressing Pinnacle hip implant products. FL-S terminated 12,340 more cases this year, with most of that increase consisting of MDL cases concerning Zantac (ranitidine), to reach a total of 21,450.

The median time from filing to disposition for civil cases was 8.7 months, down from 11.5 months in 2022. The median time in TX-N decreased from 56.0 months in 2022 to 6.5 months in 2023, a year after that district terminated MDL cases addressing Pinnacle hip implant products. In the Eastern District of Louisiana, the median time fell from 69.4 months in 2022 to 24.2 months in 2023, a year after that district terminated MDL cases related to the drug Xarelto.

As case filings outnumbered case terminations, pending civil cases went up 8 percent to 642,013. Most of the growth consisted of cases in the health care/pharmaceutical category in NJ, where the pending caseload rose 26 percent to 70,106 because of MDL cases involving Johnson & Johnson talcum powder.

Since 2019, civil case filings in the district courts have climbed 14 percent (up 41,854 cases). Increases have occurred in cases involving personal injury/product liability, tort actions, immigration, contract actions, intellectual property rights, and personal property damage. During that period, district courts have reported fewer filings related to prisoner petitions, labor laws, social security laws, consumer credit, real property, civil rights, and bankruptcy.

For data on civil filings in the U.S. district courts, see Table 3, Table 4, and the C series of tables.

Criminal Filings

Filings for criminal defendants (including defendants transferred from other districts) decreased 3 percent to 66,147. Filings fell in 53 of 94 districts, rose in 40 districts, and remained the same in 1 district.

The highest percentage reductions occurred in filings for defendants charged with crimes related to justice system offenses, which went down 15 percent to 653 filings, and filings for defendants charged with general offenses, which went down 10 percent to 1,517 filings.

Filings for defendants charged with drug crimes fell 8 percent to 18,103 and constituted 27 percent of all defendant filings, down from 29 percent last year. Filings for defendants charged with crimes related to marijuana decreased 37 percent to 760. Filings for non-marijuana drug defendants dropped 6 percent to 17,343. Filings related to the sale, distribution, or dispensing of illegal drugs declined 21 percent to 641 for marijuana and went down 4 percent to 15,396 for all other drugs.

Defendants accused of immigration offenses increased 3 percent to 19,645 and accounted for 30 percent of total criminal filings. Defendants charged with improper entry by an alien climbed 163 percent to 197, and those charged with improper reentry by an alien rose 3 percent to 14,233. Immigration filings in the five southwestern border districts increased 1 percent to 17,066 and equaled 87 percent of national immigration defendant filings (down from 88 percent in 2022). Filings grew 14 percent in the Southern District of California, 10 percent in the Western District of Texas, and 4 percent in the District of Arizona. Filings decreased 11 percent in the Southern District of Texas and 5 percent in the District of New Mexico.

Defendants charged with firearms and explosive offenses dropped 7 percent to 10,118, and filings for defendants charged with fraud, which equaled 8 percent of total filings and 78 percent of property offense filings, decreased 7 percent to 5,351. Defendants accused of violent offenses declined 3 percent and amounted to 4 percent of total criminal filings. Defendants prosecuted for sex offenses went down 1 percent, and those prosecuted for regulatory offenses held steady, decreasing less than 1 percent.

Defendant filings related to traffic offenses went up 17 percent to 2,324.

Terminations for defendants (including defendants transferred to other districts) remained relatively stable, increasing less than 1 percent to 72,371. Excluding defendants transferred to other districts, terminations were reported for 72,255 defendants, of whom 65,743 (91 percent) were convicted, with 64,166 of them pleading guilty. The median time from filing of proceedings to termination for criminal defendants was 10.4 months. The number for defendants pending (excluding fugitives pending more than 12 months before the end of the period) decreased 5 percent to 117,056.

Since 2019, filings for criminal defendants (including transfers) have dropped 29 percent. This decrease can be attributed in part to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to a 38 percent reduction in filings associated with immigration offenses. Such filings have fluctuated in the past five years, increasing from 2018 to 2019, falling from 2020 to 2022, and rising in 2023.

For data on criminal defendants in the district courts, see Table 5 and the D series of tables.

Trials Completed

The number of civil and criminal trials completed in the district courts by active and senior Article III judges declined 2 percent to 10,536 (down 237 trials). For statistical purposes, district court trials include proceedings resulting in jury verdicts and other final judgments by the courts, as well as other contested hearings at which evidence is presented.

Total civil trials fell 6 percent (down 199 trials) to 3,303. Fifty-four districts reported fewer civil trials. Civil non-jury trials dropped by 109 trials to 2,030, with 49 districts reporting reductions. Civil jury trials fell 7 percent (down 90 trials) to 1,273, with 46 districts reporting decreases.

Total criminal trials declined 1 percent to 7,233 (down 38 trials) as 50 district courts reported fewer criminal trials. Criminal non-jury trials remained stable, rising less than 1 percent to 5,469 (up 10 trials), with 45 district courts reporting fewer of these trials. Criminal jury trials fell 3 percent to 1,764 (down 48 trials) as 49 district courts reported fewer trials of this type and totals in 6 district courts stayed the same. Article III judges accepted guilty pleas from 61,108 felony defendants, down less than 1 percent from 61,287 in 2022.

In addition to trials conducted by active and senior Article III judges, 3,221 trials were conducted by magistrate judges, a reduction of 9 percent (down 326 trials). These proceedings comprised 198 petty offense trials, 235 civil consent trials, 34 Class A misdemeanor trials, and 2,754 evidentiary hearings.

Judges conduct many other proceedings in courtrooms in addition to trials, including hearings on motions for summary judgment and other motions, calendar calls, preliminary proceedings in criminal cases, hearings on sentencing issues, Daubert hearings on expert witnesses, and evidentiary hearings in supervised release and probation revocation proceedings. Judges also are heavily involved in case management efforts, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) activities, and settlement negotiations and consultations. This year, 61 districts operated ADR programs, with 60 of these districts conducting mediation or judge-hosted settlement conferences. The ADR programs affected more than 36,600 civil cases.

Since 2019, the total number of trials has fallen 8 percent. Civil trials have decreased 14 percent. Criminal trials have declined 4 percent. Civil and criminal trials lasting four days or longer, which fell 3 percent this year to 1,907, have held steady since 2019, falling less than 1 percent.

For data on civil and criminal trials conducted by Article III judges, see the T series of tables. For data on matters handled by magistrate judges, see the M series of tables.

Weighted Filings per Authorized Judgeship

Weighted filings statistics take into account the different amounts of time a judge takes to resolve various types of civil and criminal actions. Weighted filings, which are adjustments to a court’s standard counts of civil and criminal filings, vary based on the mix of cases and the average judge time required to resolve the cases. Case types that on average are more time-consuming for district judges to resolve receive weight values greater than 1.00, whereas case types that are less time-consuming receive lower weights. For example, in the district court weighted filings system, each antitrust case is weighted as 3.72, and each criminal fraud defendant is weighted as 1.76, but a defaulted student loan case receives a weight of 0.16.

In 2023, weighted filings per authorized judgeship increased by 70 to 549. Weighted civil case filings, which had decreased 18 percent last year in response to a drop in personal injury/product liability-other cases, this year climbed 22 percent from 355 to 431. Weighted criminal defendant filings dropped from 120 to 114 (down 5 percent). Weighted supervised release hearings fell from 3.8 to 3.7 (down 3 percent).

Fifty-six of the 91 districts whose filings received weights reported increases in total weighted filings, 34 more than in 2022. Thirty districts had growth of 10 percent or more, 23 more than in 2022. Sixteen districts had 600 or more weighted filings per authorized judgeship. For the district courts, a district judgeship vacancy of any duration in a district with weighted filings per authorized judgeship in excess of 600 is defined as a judicial emergency.

Weighted civil filings rose in 64 districts and fell in 27 districts. Because of unique circumstances (e.g., receipt of multidistrict litigation cases, insurance contract cases, and personal injury cases), six districts each had increases of more than 350 weighted civil filings per judgeship: the Northern District of Florida (FL-N), District of New Jersey, Southern District of Florida, Eastern District of Louisiana, Middle District of Louisiana, and Southern District of Mississippi. FL-N reported a 38 percent rise in personal injury cases as it received more cases addressing 3M Company earplugs.

Weighted criminal filings dropped in 50 districts and rose in 41 districts. The decline in weighted criminal filings stemmed partly from reductions in defendants accused of justice system offenses, general offenses, and drug offenses. Fifty-three districts reported decreases in weighted supervised release hearings, 36 reported increases, and 2 reported no change.

Since 2019, unweighted filings (i.e., civil case filings, criminal defendant filings, and supervised release hearings of the types that would qualify to receive case weights) have grown 5 percent. Unweighted civil filings have risen 17 percent due to an increase in personal injury/product liability actions involving health care/pharma cases. Unweighted criminal filings have decreased 29 percent.

For data on weighted filings and unweighted filings per authorized judgeship, see Table X-1A.