U.S. District Courts — Judicial Business 2024

Combined filings of civil cases and criminal defendants in the U.S. district courts, which rose 18 percent in 2023, went down 11 percent to 360,698 in 2024.  Civil case filings fell 14 percent to 290,896, while criminal defendant filings—including defendants transferred from other districts—grew 6 percent to 69,802. Overall terminations for civil cases and criminal defendants climbed 29 percent to 471,431 (this total does not include the 42,116 defendants in Class A misdemeanor cases and petty offense cases disposed of by magistrate judges). As terminations outnumbered filings, the total number of pending civil cases and criminal defendants dropped 14 percent to 649,076.

Civil Filings

Civil case filings in the U.S. district courts declined 14 percent, decreasing by 48,835 cases to 290,896. Filings had increased 24 percent last year in response to 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 reduction occurred as courts had lower filings of these and other types of MDL cases. Excluding MDL cases, combined filings of all other civil cases remained steady, falling less than 1 percent. Civil filings per authorized judgeship dropped from 502 in 2023 to 430 in 2024.

Filings of diversity of citizenship cases (i.e., disputes between citizens of different states) decreased 33 percent (down 50,375 cases) to 104,254 as personal injury case filings declined 41 percent to 69,506. The Northern District of Florida (FL-N) had a 50 percent reduction in personal injury filings (down 23,940 cases to 23,710) as it received fewer cases addressing 3M Company earplugs. Personal injury filings in the health care/pharmaceutical category dropped 100 percent (down 10,625 cases to 34) in the Southern District of Florida and went down 65 percent (down 10,563 cases to 5,601) in the District of New Jersey. The Northern District of Illinois (IL-N) had a 69 percent decrease in personal injury/product liability filings (down 2,201 cases to 973), primarily because of a drop in MDL cases directly filed there related to a hair relaxer made by L’Oreal USA Inc. and others. The District of South Carolina (SC) had a 52 percent increase in personal injury/product liability filings, mostly because of MDL cases involving aqueous film-forming foams. Personal injury filings in the health care/pharmaceutical category grew 132 percent in the District of Minnesota (up 165 cases to 2,045), largely because of MDL cases directly filed there addressing Bair Hugger forced air warming devices.

Filings with the United States as defendant fell 3 percent (down 1,104) to 42,567. Prisoner petitions decreased 12 percent (down 1,084 petitions to 8,341) as motions for writs of habeas corpus went down 30 percent (down 1,068 petitions to 2,450). The largest reduction occurred in the Northern District of West Virginia, where petitions dropped by 223 to 149. Civil rights filings decreased 26 percent (down by 228 petitions to 633), with the largest drop occurring in the District of Arizona (AZ), where petitions fell 65 percent (down 70 cases to 37). Petitions for writs of mandamus and other rulings grew 21 percent (up 125 petitions to 720), and motions for writs of habeas corpus by alien detainees increased 21 percent (up 76 petitions to 432). Social Security filings went down 8 percent (down 1,160 cases) to 13,845 as cases involving supplemental security income dropped 9 percent (down 594 cases) to 5,962. The largest decreases occurred in AZ, where filings fell by 63 cases to 111, and the Middle District of Florida, where filings went down by 60 cases to 274. Immigration cases, including those addressing naturalization applications and other immigration actions, grew 10 percent (up 1,075) to 12,183. The District of Vermont had the largest numeric growth in immigration actions in the “other” category, a rise of 885 cases to 1,189, as Vermont was one of only two states with service centers processing applications for U nonimmigrant status visas, which are issued to crime victims helping law enforcement. The second-highest growth in this category was an increase of 461 cases to 738 in the Eastern District of Virginia.

Filings with the United States as plaintiff fell 2 percent to 3,069, mainly due to a 31 percent reduction in cases involving securities, commodities, and exchanges (down 91 cases to 199). A 10 percent drop in filings related to labor laws (down 23 cases to 202) occurred as cases involving the Employee Retirement Income Security Act went down 33 percent (down 15 cases to 31). Forfeiture and penalty actions declined 7 percent (down by 54 cases to 747), with the Southern District of Indiana reporting that filings there went down by 18 to 11. Civil rights cases decreased 6 percent (down by 15 cases to 222) as cases in the category of Americans with Disabilities Act-other fell 40 percent (down 20 cases to 30). Real property actions dropped 4 percent (down 4 cases to 110) as foreclosure filings declined 43 percent to 43 cases. Social Security law filings, including disability insurance cases, climbed 200 percent (up 24 cases) to 36, with the largest numeric increase being a rise of 10 cases in the Western District of Missouri. Contract actions grew 45 percent (up 70 cases to 224) as filings related to negotiable instruments jumped 164 percent (up 18 cases to 29).  

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 2 percent to 141,000. Civil rights case filings grew 10 percent (up 3,666 cases to 40,719) as filings in the category of other civil rights climbed 13 percent to 16,476. The largest growth in such filings was a rise of 78 percent to 745 in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (PA-E). Intellectual property rights cases, including those addressing copyright, increased 8 percent (up 1,115 cases to 14,872). Antitrust cases jumped 105 percent (up 400 cases to 782), with the largest rise being a surge of 681 percent (up 109 cases to 125) in PA-E. Real property actions grew 17 percent (up 321 cases to 2,253) as cases in the category of rent, lease, and ejectment increased 38 percent (up 247 cases to 896). Cases related to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) dropped 22 percent (down 234 cases to 808), with the largest reduction being a decrease of 88 percent (down 250 cases to 33) in the Northern District of California (CA-N), where such filings had soared 590 percent last year.

Civil case terminations grew 35 percent (up 102,958 terminations) to 396,635. In FL-N, 141,214 cases were terminated (up 104,167 terminations), many of them MDL cases dealing with 3M Company earplugs. CA-N terminated 10,342 cases (up 3,843 terminations). In SC, 6,750 cases were terminated (up 3,475 terminations), most of them MDL cases concerning aqueous film-forming foams. IL-N terminated 10,710 cases (up 2,607 terminations).

The median time from filing to disposition for civil cases was 13.7 months, up from 8.7 months in 2023. The median time in the District of New Hampshire increased from 23.5 months in 2023 to 49.7 months in 2024, a year after that district terminated MDL cases involving Atrium Medical Corporation’s C-Qur hernia mesh products. In FL-N, the median time grew from 27.8 months in 2023 to 43.4 months 2024, a year after that district terminated MDL cases addressing 3M Company earplugs.

As case terminations outnumbered case filings, pending civil cases dropped 16 percent to 536,766. Most of the reduction occurred in cases in the category of personal injury/product liability-other in FL-N, where the pending caseload declined 44 percent to 148,277 because of fewer pending MDL cases addressing 3M Company earplugs. 

Since 2020, civil case filings in the district courts have declined 38 percent (down 179,685 cases). Decreases have occurred in cases involving personal injury/product liability, tort actions, Social Security laws, prisoner petitions, labor laws, consumer credit, and security, commodities, and exchange. During that period, district courts have received more cases related to immigration, intellectual property rights, civil rights, contract actions, personal property damage, and the Freedom of Information Act.

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) grew 6 percent to 69,802. Filings rose in 37 of 94 districts and decreased in 57 districts. 

The highest percentage increase occurred in filings for defendants charged with immigration offenses, which rose 30 percent to 25,446 and accounted for 37 percent of total criminal filings. Defendants accused of improper reentry by an alien climbed 42 percent to 20,200, although those prosecuted for improper entry by an alien fell 61 percent to 77. Immigration filings in the five southwestern border districts went up 34 percent to 22,840 and equaled 90 percent of national immigration defendant filings (up from 87 percent in 2023). Filings grew 139 percent in the District of Arizona, 9 percent in the Western District of Texas, and 2 percent in the Southern District of California. Filings decreased 11 percent in the District of New Mexico and 4 percent in the Southern District of Texas. 

Filings for defendants charged with general offenses increased 8 percent to 1,632 filings. Defendants prosecuted for sex offenses rose 6 percent to 3,235. Defendant filings related to justice system offenses grew 4 percent to 678. Defendants accused of violent crimes and regulatory offenses increased 1 percent. 

Filings for defendants charged with drug crimes fell 8 percent to 16,735 and constituted 24 percent of all defendant filings, down from 27 percent last year. Filings for defendants prosecuted for crimes related to marijuana decreased 16 percent to 639. Filings for non-marijuana drug crime defendants dropped 7 percent to 16,096. Filings related to the sale, distribution, or dispensing of illegal drugs fell 7 percent to 597 for marijuana and declined 6 percent to 14,473 for all other drugs. 

Defendants charged with firearm and explosives offenses dropped 6 percent to 9,547, and filings for defendants accused of fraud, which equaled 8 percent of total filings and 79 percent of property offense filings, decreased 1 percent to 5,296. Defendant filings related to traffic offenses went down 18 percent to 1,895.

Terminations for defendants (including defendants transferred to other districts) increased 3 percent to 74,796. Excluding defendants transferred to other districts, terminations were reported for 74,684 defendants, of whom 69,405 (93 percent) were convicted, with 67,902 of them pleading guilty. The median time from filing of proceedings to termination for criminal defendants was 9.5 months. The number for defendants pending (excluding fugitives pending more than 12 months before the end of the period) decreased 4 percent to 112,310.

Since 2020, filings for criminal defendants (including transfers) have fallen 6 percent. This decrease can be attributed in part to a 23 percent reduction in defendant filings associated with drug offenses. 

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 10,292 (down 244 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 less than 1 percent (down 8 trials) to 3,295. Forty-eight districts reported fewer civil trials. Civil non-jury trials increased by 103 trials to 2,133, with 46 districts reporting increases. Civil jury trials fell 9 percent (down 111 trials) to 1,162, with 54 districts reporting reductions.

Total criminal trials decreased 3 percent to 6,997 (down 236 trials) as 54 district courts reported fewer criminal trials. Criminal non-jury trials fell 1 percent to 5,416 (down 53 trials), with 44 district courts reporting fewer of these trials. Criminal jury trials dropped 10 percent to 1,581 (down 183 trials) as 54 district courts reported fewer trials of this type and totals in 5 district courts stayed the same. Article III judges accepted guilty pleas from 59,033 felony defendants, down 3 percent from 61,108 in 2023.

In addition to trials conducted by active and senior Article III judges, 3,125 trials were conducted by magistrate judges, a reduction of 3 percent (down 96 trials). These proceedings comprised 290 petty offense trials, 189 civil consent trials, 30 Class A misdemeanor trials, and 2,616 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, all of which conducted mediation or judge-hosted settlement conferences. The ADR programs affected more than 42,300 civil cases.

Since 2020, the total number of trials has risen 29 percent. Civil trials have increased 29 percent. Criminal trials have grown 29 percent. Civil and criminal trials lasting four days or longer, which fell 5 percent this year to 1,808, have climbed 84 percent since 2020.

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 2024, weighted filings per authorized judgeship decreased by 47 to 502. Weighted civil case filings, which had increased 21 percent last year in response to a rise in personal injury cases, this year fell 11 percent from 431 to 384. Weighted criminal defendant filings remained unchanged at 114. Weighted supervised release hearings also remained unchanged, totaling 3.7.

Fifty of the 91 districts whose filings received weights reported increases in total weighted filings, 6 fewer than in 2023. Twenty-four districts had increases of 10 percent or more, 6 fewer than in 2023. Eighteen districts had 600 or more weighted filings per authorized judgeship.

Weighted civil filings rose in 57 districts and fell in 34 districts. Four districts each had increases of more than 100 weighted civil filings per judgeship: the District of Vermont, Eastern District of Texas, District of Minnesota, and District of South Carolina. The District of Vermont had a rise of 885 immigration cases in the “other” category, as Vermont was one of only two states with service centers processing applications for U nonimmigrant status visas, which are issued to crime victims helping law enforcement.

Weighted criminal filings dropped in 53 districts and rose in 38 districts. The decline in weighted criminal filings stemmed partly from reductions in defendants accused of traffic offenses, drug offenses, and offenses related to firearms and explosives. Forty-four districts reported decreases in weighted supervised release hearings, 46 reported increases, and 1 district reported no change.

Since 2020, 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 decreased 32 percent. Unweighted civil filings have fallen 39 percent due to reductions in cases involving personal injury/product liability, tort actions, social security laws, prisoner petitions, labor laws, and security, commodities, and exchanges. Unweighted criminal filings have declined 5 percent.

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