Federal Judicial Caseload Statistics 2024
In accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 604(a)(2), each year the Administrative Office of the United States Courts is required to provide a report of statistical information on the caseload of the federal courts for the 12-month period ending March 31.
The following is a summary of key findings for the year ending March 31, 2024.
- In the U.S. courts of appeals, filings decreased 3 percent.
- The bankruptcy appellate panels reported that filings dropped 26 percent.
- Filings in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit declined 2 percent.
- In the U.S. district courts, filings of civil cases rose 22 percent. Filings for criminal defendants (including transfers) fell 4 percent.
- The U.S. bankruptcy courts received 16 percent more petitions this year. Filings of adversary proceedings grew 12 percent.
- The number of persons under supervision by the federal probation system on March 31, 2024, was 1 percent below the total reported one year earlier.
- Pretrial services cases activated in the past 12 months decreased 6 percent.
U.S. Courts of Appeals
Filings in the 12 regional courts of appeals fell 3 percent to 39,469 (down 1,212 appeals) in 2024. This decrease stemmed from lower filings of criminal appeals, other U.S. civil appeals, U.S. and private prisoner petitions, bankruptcy appeals, and filings of original proceedings and miscellaneous applications. Filings of appeals of administrative agency decisions increased 11 percent (up 491 appeals), and filings of other private civil appeals rose 7 percent (up 648 filings).
Civil appeals declined by 392 cases to 21,445.
- U.S. prisoner petitions dropped 9 percent.
- Other U.S. civil appeals fell 15 percent.
- Private prisoner petitions decreased 6 percent.
- Other private civil appeals rose 6.5 percent.
Criminal appeals dropped 5 percent to 9,396, mainly because of an 8 percent reduction in appeals related to drug crimes and an 18 percent decline in appeals addressing immigration offenses.
- Eighty-two percent of criminal appeals involved five offense categories: drugs, firearms and explosives, property offenses (including fraud), sex offenses, and violent offenses.
Appeals of administrative agency decisions rose 11 percent to 4,941, mostly due to an increase in appeals of decisions by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA).
- BIA appeals accounted for 80 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 fell 9 percent to 3,202, largely in response to a 7 percent decrease in original proceedings that consisted mainly of second or successive motions for writs of habeas corpus (down 235 proceedings).
- Fifty-nine percent of original proceedings involved second or successive motions for writs of habeas corpus, and 36 percent involved writs of mandamus.
- Of the 382 miscellaneous applications reported, those in the category of class action certification under Rule 23(f) accounted for 46 percent of the total, and petitions for permission to appeal constituted 23 percent of the total.
| Since 2015 | Since 2020 | Since 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Filings | -27.2 | -21.5 | -3.0 |
| Criminal Appeals | -11.8 | -9.9 | -5.0 |
| Civil Appeals | -29.0 | -22.0 | -1.8 |
| U.S. Prisoner Petitions | -50.8 | -40.7 | -9.3 |
| Other U.S. Civil | -21.9 | -17.0 | -15.3 |
| Private Prisoner Petitions | -35.7 | -24.6 | -6.0 |
| Other Private Civil | -17.3 | -15.3 | 6.5 |
| Bankruptcy Appeals | -43.1 | -23.1 | -50.5 |
| Administrative Agency Appeals | -30.8 | -22.3 | 11 |
| Original Proceedings and Miscellaneous Applications1 | -40.5 | -40.1 | -9.0 |
| 1Beginning in March 2014, the data includes miscellaneous cases not included previously. | |||
Case terminations declined 4 percent to 40,326. Pending cases fell 3 percent to 31,531.
For data on activity of the courts of appeals, see the B series of tables.
Bankruptcy Appellate Panels
The bankruptcy appellate panels (BAPs) reported that total filings declined 26 percent, dropping this year to 275 (down 98 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 all but one of these circuits.
BAP filings dropped by 18 appeals (down 39 percent) in the First Circuit, by 7 appeals in the Sixth Circuit (down 23 percent), by 6 appeals in the Eighth Circuit (down 43 percent), and by 69 appeals in the Ninth Circuit (down 27 percent). Filings grew by 2 appeals (up 7 percent) in the Tenth Circuit.
For data on activity of the BAPs, see Table BAP-1 and Table BAP-2.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Filings in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit fell 2 percent to 1,454.
- Filings involving the U.S. district courts had the largest numeric decrease, a decline of 52 appeals (down 14 percent to 317).
- Reductions also occurred in filings related to petitions for writs of certiorari, which fell 23 percent (down 13 appeals to 44), and in filings involving the International Trade Commission, which dropped 57 percent (down 13 appeals to 10).
| Since 2015 | Since 2020 | Since 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Filings | -10.9 | 1.3 | -1.9 |
| U.S. Court of Federal Claims | -3.1 | -10.2 | 15.3 |
| U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Appeals | 55.8 | -7.5 | -2.2 |
| U.S. District Court Appeals | -46.5 | -3.1 | -14.1 |
Terminations of appeals declined 2 percent to 1,337 (down 25 appeals). The pending caseload rose 8 percent to 1,633 (up 119 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 increased by 60,856 (up 17 percent) to 414,026. Terminations fell by 41,827 (down 10 percent) to 370,225. As filings exceeded terminations, the total for pending civil cases and criminal defendants rose by 44,144 (up 6 percent) to 746,577.
Civil Filings
Civil case filings in the U.S. district courts increased 22 percent (up 63,771 cases) to 347,991. This growth occurred because of several multidistrict litigation (MDL) dockets involving cases directly filed in single districts, including more than 57,600 MDL cases alleging 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) rose 46 percent to 159,732.
- Personal injury/product liability filings surged 78 percent (up 46,809 cases) as filings in the category of other personal injury/product liability grew by 30,067 (up 71 percent). The previous year, 29,504 MDL cases addressing 3M Combat Arms earplugs had been filed in the Northern District of Florida, compared with 57,600 filed in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2024.
- Health care/pharmaceutical cases increased 98 percent (up 16,694 cases), with most of the growth consisting of MDL cases involving Johnson & Johnson talcum powder that were filed in the District of New Jersey.
- Other personal injury cases climbed 30 percent (up 2,170 cases) to 9,406.
- Civil rights filings grew 30 percent (up 718 cases) as cases involving employment increased 30 percent (up 536 cases) to 2,320.
- Real property filings decreased 5 percent (down 117 cases) as cases involving foreclosure fell 12 percent (down 109 cases).
- Cases related to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) dropped 52 percent (down 95 cases) to 86.
Filings of cases involving federal question jurisdiction grew 8 percent to 142,424.
- Civil rights filings increased 13 percent (up 4,481 cases) as cases involving other civil rights rose 14 percent (up 1,876 cases), cases related to employment climbed 21 percent (up 1,772 case), and cases in the category of Americans with Disabilities Act (other) grew 25 percent (up 517 cases.)
- Prisoner petitions grew 4 percent (up 1,565 petitions) as petitions addressing prison conditions rose 15 percent (up 1,389) to 10,644, petitions involving civil rights increased 3 percent (up 563 petitions), and petitions for habeas corpus relief fell 5 percent (down 505 petitions) to 10,483.
- Intellectual property rights filings increased 7 percent (up 886 cases) as copyright cases jumped 23 percent (up 1,281 cases), cases related to the Defend Trade Secrets Act grew 13 percent (up 74 cases) to 637, and cases involving patents declined 13 percent (down 432 cases).
- Real property actions rose 47 percent (up 737 cases) as cases alleging torts to land, including product liability, jumped 141 percent (up 361 cases) to 617.
- Cases related to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) grew 38 percent (up 286 cases) to 1,032.
- Labor law cases decreased 4 percent (down 488 cases) as filings related to the Fair Labor Standards Act declined 8 percent (down 489 cases) to 5,354 and cases involving the Employee Retirement Income Security Act dropped 3 percent (down 123 cases).
Filings with the United States as defendant grew 6 percent to 42,790.
- Civil cases involving immigration rose 24 percent (up 2,320 cases) as cases in the category of “other immigration actions” jumped 24 percent (up 2,264 cases) to 11,523.
- Civil rights cases grew 22 percent (up 292 cases) to 1,602 as cases in the category of “other civil rights” climbed 40 percent (up 303 cases).
- Social Security cases decreased 3 percent (down 424 cases) as cases related to disability insurance dropped 3 percent (down 239 cases) to 7,336.
- Prisoner petitions fell 3 percent (down 232 petitions) as petitions in the category of “habeas corpus general” declined 14 percent (down 432) and motions to vacate sentence increased 4 percent (up 141 petitions) to 3,745.
Filings with the United States as plaintiff went up 4 percent to 3,040.
- Cases involving civil rights grew 39 percent (up 66 cases) to 235.
- Cases related to labor laws increased 13 percent (up 27 cases) as filings addressing fair labor standards went up 22 percent (up 27 cases).
- Contract actions rose 15 percent (up 21 cases) as insurance cases increased 113 percent (up 9 cases).
- Cases involving securities, commodities, and exchanges declined 14 percent (down 39 cases) to 243.
- Real property actions decreased 17 percent (down 23 cases) as cases addressing foreclosures dropped 56 percent (down 57 cases) and cases involving rent, lease, and ejectment climbed by 14 cases to 15.
| Since 2015 | Since 2020 | Since 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Filings | 23.6 | 4.6 | 22.4 |
| Federal Question Cases | -5.1 | -4.4 | 8.2 |
| Diversity of Citizenship Cases | 82.0 | 13.4 | 46.4 |
| U.S. Defendant Cases | 14.6 | 9.9 | 5.5 |
| U.S. Plaintiff Cases | -51.9 | -24.4 | 4.2 |
Civil case terminations declined 12 percent to 298,371.
- The Northern District of Florida terminated 52,605 cases. Most were MDL cases involving 3M Combat Arms earplugs.
- The Southern District of Florida terminated 10,094 cases. Most were MDL cases addressing the drug Zantac (Ranitidine).
- The District of New Jersey terminated 8,375 cases.
- The Northern District of Texas terminated 5,394 cases.
Pending civil cases increased 8 percent to 633,066.
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 4 percent (down 2,915 defendants) to 66,035.
Filings involving drug offenses, which accounted for 26 percent of total defendant filings, went down 10 percent to 17,327.
- Defendants charged with crimes involving drugs other than marijuana dropped 8 percent to 16,675.
- Defendants charged with marijuana offenses declined 38 percent to 652.
Reductions also occurred in filings in the following categories.
- Defendants facing charges related to firearms and explosives dropped 8 percent to 9,774.
- Defendants prosecuted for property offenses fell 7 percent to 6,642.
- Defendants charged with violent offenses went down 4 percent to 2,514.
- Defendants charged with traffic offenses declined 25 percent to 1,878 (this total does not include defendants charged with traffic crimes in petty offense cases disposed of by magistrate judges).
- Defendants prosecuted for regulatory offenses decreased 9 percent to 1,147.
- Defendants accused of justice system offenses (i.e., crimes related to judicial proceedings, such as obstruction of justice or failure to appear) fell 6 percent to 683.
Filings for defendants charged with immigration offenses, which constituted 32 percent of all criminal defendant filings, grew 6 percent to 21,250 (this total does not include defendants charged with immigration crimes in petty offense cases disposed of by magistrate judges).
- Eighty-eight percent of immigration defendant filings occurred in the five southwestern border districts. Immigration defendant filings within the southwestern border districts increased 7 percent.
- Filings rose in two of the southwestern border districts, climbing 54 percent in the District of Arizona (after increasing 6 percent last year) and growing 6 percent in the Southern District of California (after rising 10 percent last year). Filings decreased 14 percent in the Southern District of Texas (after decreasing 10 percent last year), fell 10 percent in the District of New Mexico (after rising 11 percent last year), and declined 3 percent in the Western District of Texas (after climbing 29 percent last year).
Filings for defendants charged with sex offenses increased 3 percent to 3,143, and filings for defendants charged with general offenses went up 1 percent to 1,554.
| Since 2015 | Since 2020 | Since 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Defendant Filings | -17.5 | -29.2 | -4.2 |
| Immigration Offense Defendants | 0.4 | -36.9 | 5.5 |
| Drug Crime Defendants | -30.1 | -32.0 | -9.8 |
| Firearms and Explosives Crime Defendants | 30.0 | -19.4 | -8.1 |
| Sex Offense Defendants | -4.9 | -2.8 | 3.0 |
| Property Crime Defendants | -48.5 | -31.3 | -7.0 |
Terminations for criminal defendants decreased 2 percent to 71,854. The number for defendants pending declined 5 percent to 113,511.
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 16 percent (up 64,501 petitions) to 467,774 (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, 86 reported increases in bankruptcy petitions filed. 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 55 percent rise in the District of Delaware (up 853 filings).
- The Central District of California saw the largest numeric growth with a rise of 4,705 filings (up 27 percent).
- Bankruptcy petitions climbed by 112 filings in the District of Columbia (up 40 percent).
- The largest percentage decrease was a 4 percent drop in the District of Wyoming (down 20 filings).
More petitions were filed under chapters 7, 11, 12, 13, and 15 of the bankruptcy code during this period than had been filed the previous year. Fewer petitions were filed under chapter 9.
- Chapter 15 filings surged 115 percent to 217.
- Chapter 11 filings rose 50 percent to 8,036.
- Chapter 7 filings grew 18 percent to 271,825.
- Chapter 13 filings increased 13 percent to 187,539.
- Chapter 12 filings climbed 5 percent to 155.
- Chapter 9 filings dropped 50 percent to 2.
Nonbusiness petitions (i.e., those filed primarily by individuals with mainly consumer debt) grew 15 percent to 447,458. Nonbusiness cases accounted for 96 percent of all petitions. Petitions filed by debtors with predominantly business debts grew 40 percent to 20,316.
| Since 2015 | Since 2020 | Since 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Filings | -48.7 | -38.8 | 16 |
| Chapter 7 | -54.5 | -42.8 | 17.6 |
| Chapter 11 | 13.9 | 12.1 | 49.6 |
| Chapter 13 | -38.9 | -33.3 | 12.7 |
Terminations of bankruptcy cases increased 5 percent to 472,424, and the number of cases pending on March 31 remained stable, dropping less than 1 percent from the previous year’s total to 652,148 (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, 2024, filings of adversary proceedings grew 12 percent to 13,245 (this total includes filings in the territorial courts—i.e., the Districts of Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands). Fifty-eight of the 90 bankruptcy courts reported increases in filings, 29 of the bankruptcy courts experienced reductions in filings, and filings in 3 bankruptcy courts remained unchanged during this reporting period.
The number of adversary proceedings terminated fell 3 percent to 13,333. The number of pending adversary proceedings dropped 1 percent from the previous year to 18,116. 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, 2024, fell 1 percent from the total 12 months earlier to 122,461 (down 1,045 persons). Persons serving terms of supervised release on that date following release from correctional institutions decreased 1 percent to 109,713.
- Ninety percent of persons under post-conviction supervision on March 31, 2024, 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, 2024, that involved probation imposed by district and magistrate judges fell less than 1 percent from the previous year’s total to 12,030.
Persons on parole, special parole, military parole, and mandatory release on the last day of the reporting period declined 7 percent to 532.
The number of persons received for post-conviction supervision was 60,811, an increase of less than 1 percent from the previous year.
| Since 2015 | Since 2020 | Since 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Under Supervision | -8.2 | -3.5 | -0.8 |
| Serving Terms of Supervised Release | -2.6 | -1.8 | -0.9 |
| On Probation | -37.7 | -14.5 | -0.1 |
| On Parole | -60.1 | -36.4 | -6.7 |
Closings of post-conviction supervision cases (excluding transfers and deaths) remained stable, decreasing less than 1 percent to 51,407 (down 196 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 2024, probation officers wrote 60,497 presentence reports, 5 percent fewer 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 less than 1 percent in 2023, this year the number of cases activated in the pretrial services system decreased 6 percent to 70,219.
- A total of 313 pretrial diversion cases were activated, up 7 percent from the previous year.
The number of defendants received for supervision in the pretrial services system was 21,010, 5 percent below the number received in 2023.
- Defendants received for pretrial services supervision declined 5 percent to 20,572.
- Defendants received for pretrial diversion supervision rose to 438, up 5 percent from the previous year.
| Since 2015 | Since 2020 | Since 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Cases Activated | -27.5 | -35.9 | -5.8 |
| Pretrial Services Cases Activated | -27.2 | -35.9 | -5.9 |
| Pretrial Diversion Cases Activated | -60.2 | -28.2 | 6.5 |
| Received for Supervision | -15.1 | -21.0 | -5.1 |
| Pretrial Supervision | -13.1 | -20.7 | -5.3 |
| Diversion Supervision | -59.7 | -32.3 | 4.8 |
A total of 75,405 pretrial services cases were closed, a reduction of 3 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 40,683 defendants (down 8 percent) and prepared 66,695 pretrial services reports (down 6 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 5 percent to 23,769.
For data on pretrial services activity, see the H series of tables.