Federal Judicial Caseload Statistics 2025

The following is a summary of key findings for the year ending March 31, 2025, compared with the same period ending in 2024.

• In the U.S. courts of appeals, filings grew 3 percent.
• Filings with the bankruptcy appellate panels increased 20 percent.
• Filings in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit remained stable, rising less than 1 percent.
• In the U.S. district courts, filings of civil cases dropped 22 percent. Filings for criminal defendants grew 12 percent.
• The U.S. bankruptcy courts received 13 percent more petitions. Filings of adversary proceedings climbed 31 percent.
• The number of persons under supervision by the federal probation system on March 31, 2025, was 2 percent below the total reported one year earlier.
• Pretrial services cases activated in the past 12 months increased 9 percent.

U.S. Courts of Appeals

Filings in the 12 regional courts of appeals rose 3 percent to 40,612 (up 1,143 appeals) in 2025. This increase stemmed largely from higher filings of criminal appeals (up 7 percent), other U.S. civil appeals (up 13 percent), and other private civil appeals (up 3 percent). Filings of appeals of administrative agency decisions and filings of original proceedings and miscellaneous applications all rose 1 percent. Reductions occurred in filings of U.S. prisoner petitions (down 6 percent), filings of private prisoner petitions (down 2 percent), and filings of bankruptcy appeals (down 2 percent).

Civil appeals increased by 376 cases to 21,821.

• U.S. prisoner petitions dropped 6 percent.
• Other U.S. civil appeals rose 13 percent.
• Private prisoner petitions decreased 2 percent.
• Other private civil appeals grew 3 percent.

Criminal appeals climbed 7 percent to 10,092, mainly because of increases in appeals related to sex offenses (up 16 percent to 932), firearms and explosives offenses (up 10 percent to 2,506), and violent offenses (up 10 percent to 769).

• Five offense categories accounted for 83 percent of all criminal appeals. More than half of these (56 percent) involved drug offenses or firearms and explosives offenses, and the rest involved property offenses (including fraud), sex offenses, and violent offenses.

Appeals of administrative agency decisions rose 1 percent to 5,005.

• Appeals of decisions by the Board of Immigration Appeals accounted for 75 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 grew less than 1 percent and totaled 3,221.

• Of the 2,848 original proceedings filed, 53 percent involved second or successive motions for writs of habeas corpus, and 40 percent involved writs of mandamus.
• Of the 373 miscellaneous applications reported, those in the category of class action certification under Rule 23(f) accounted for 40 percent of the total, and petitions for permission to appeal constituted 24 percent of the total.

Case terminations declined 2 percent to 39,631. As filings exceeded terminations, pending cases rose 4 percent to 32,827.

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

Bankruptcy Appellate Panels

Total filings with the bankruptcy appellate panels (BAPs) increased 20 percent, rising this year to 329 (up 54 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 increased in all circuits except the Tenth Circuit, whose 32 filings remained unchanged from 2024. Filings rose by 46 appeals in the Ninth Circuit (up 25 percent), by 4 appeals in the Eighth Circuit (up 50 percent), by 3 appeals in the First Circuit (up 11 percent), and by 1 appeal in the Sixth Circuit (up 4 percent). 

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 held steady, rising less than 1 percent to 1,459.

• Filings arising from the Merit Systems Protection Board increased 64 percent (up 132 appeals to 339).
• Filings involving the Patent and Trademark Office had the largest numeric decrease, a decline of 126 appeals (down 26 percent to 368).
• Reductions also occurred in filings originating from the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, which fell 17 percent (down 27 appeals to 128); from the U.S. Court of International Trade, which dropped 43 percent (down 18 appeals to 24); and from the Board of Contract Appeals, which declined 59 percent (down 13 appeals to 9).

Terminations increased 10 percent to 1,471 (up 134 appeals). The pending caseload remained stable, falling less than 1 percent to 1,622 (down 11 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 (including defendant transfers) decreased by 68,580 (down 17 percent) to 345,446. Terminations rose by 214,353 (up 58 percent) to 584,578. As terminations exceeded filings, the total for pending civil cases and criminal defendants declined by 238,802 (down 32 percent) to 507,775.

Civil Filings

After rising 22 percent the previous year, civil case filings in the U.S. district courts dropped 22 percent (down 76,189 cases) to 271,802 in 2025. 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 51 percent to 78,893.

• Personal injury/product liability filings declined 73 percent (down 78,097 cases) as filings in the category of other personal injury/product liability fell by 57,897 (down 80 percent). Last year, 57,600 MDL cases addressing 3M Combat Arms earplugs had been filed in the Northern District of Florida, compared with 93 filed during the 12-month period ending March 31, 2025.
• Health care/pharmaceutical cases decreased 60 percent (down 20,189), with most of the reduction occurring because fewer MDL cases involving Johnson & Johnson talcum powder were filed in the District of New Jersey.
• Contract actions cases dropped 13 percent (down 3,426 cases) as insurance cases fell 28 percent (down 4,331 cases).
• Civil rights filings grew 6 percent (up 190 cases) as cases involving employment increased 10 percent (up 227 cases) to 2,547.
• Cases related to the Defend Trade Secrets Act climbed 56 percent (up 24 cases) to 67.
• Cases addressing the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO) grew 49 percent (up 42 cases) to 128. 

Filings with the United States as plaintiff increased 9 percent to 3,315.

• Contract actions surged 79 percent (up 129 cases) as filings involving negotiable instruments rose 817 percent (up 49 cases), filings in the category of other contract actions grew 140 percent (up 49 cases), and defaulted student loan filings went up 314 percent (up 22 cases) to 29.
• Social Security case filings, including those dealing with disability insurance, climbed 188 percent (up 32 cases) to 49.
• Civil rights cases grew 12 percent (up 29 cases) as employment cases increased 10 percent (up 11 cases) and cases related to housing accommodations went up 38 percent (up 10 cases).
• Real property actions rose 25 percent (up 27 cases) as cases addressing foreclosure increased 36 percent (up 16 cases) to 60.
• Forfeiture and penalty cases decreased 6 percent (down 51 cases) as cases related to drug-related seizure of property fell 15 percent (down 48 cases) to 282.
• Labor law cases dropped 22 percent (down 51 cases) as filings under the Fair Labor Standards Act declined 31 percent (down 47 cases) to 104.

Filings with the United States as defendant grew 3 percent to 44,056.

• Prisoner petitions rose 5 percent (up 448 petitions) as petitions in the category of habeas corpus general increased 13 percent (up 350 petitions) to 3,084 and petitions in the category of habeas corpus alien detainees surged 66 percent (up 246 petitions) to 618. Petitions related to civil rights dropped 17 percent (down 130 cases) to 639.
• Civil cases involving immigration increased 2 percent (up 267 cases) as cases in the category of other immigration actions went up 3 percent (up 371 cases) to 11,894 and filings involving naturalization applications dropped 24 percent (down 104 cases) to 335.
• Real property actions rose 70 percent (up 117 cases) as cases addressing foreclosure grew 333 percent (up 140 cases) to 182.
• Social Security cases decreased 1 percent (down 133 cases) as cases related to supplemental security insurance dropped 5 percent (down 305 cases) to 5,915.

Filings of cases involving federal question jurisdiction increased 2 percent to 145,536.

• Civil rights filings grew 8 percent (up 3,321 cases) as cases in the category of American with Disabilities Act (other) rose 6 percent (up 570 cases) and cases related to employment went up 4 percent (up 385 cases) to 10,609.
• Intellectual property rights filings climbed 9 percent (up 1,266 cases) as cases addressing patents increased 24 percent (up 722 cases), cases related to trademarks rose 7 percent (up 235 cases) to 3,656, and cases in the category of patent – abbreviated new drug application went up 26 percent (up 64 cases) to 311.
• Filings of antitrust cases soared 73 percent (up 327 cases) to 772.
• Cases involving RICO grew 16 percent (up 165 cases) to 1,197.
• Freedom of Information Act filings rose 19 percent (up 22 cases) to 140.
• Securities, commodities, and exchanges cases declined 32 percent (down 395 cases) to 824.
• Labor law cases dropped 2 percent (down 212 cases) as cases involving the Fair Labor Standards Act declined 9 percent (down 463 cases) to 4,891.

Civil case terminations increased 70 percent to 507,326

• The Northern District of Florida terminated 248,823 cases. Most were MDL cases involving 3M Combat Arms earplugs.
• The Northern District of Illinois terminated 12,836 cases. Most were MDL cases addressing a hair relaxer made by L’Oreal USA Inc. and others.
• The Northern District of California terminated 11,172 cases.
• The District of South Carolina terminated 6,914 cases.

Pending civil cases declined 37 percent to 398,121.

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 increased 12 percent (up 7,609 defendants) to 73,644.

Filings for defendants charged with immigration offenses, which constituted 40 percent of all criminal defendant filings, grew 40 percent to 29,775 (this total does not include defendants charged with immigration crimes in petty offense cases disposed of by magistrate judges).

• Eighty-nine percent of immigration defendant filings occurred in the five southwestern border districts. Immigration defendant filings within the southwestern border districts increased 41 percent.
• Filings rose in all southwestern border districts, soaring 80 percent in the District of Arizona (after increasing 54 percent last year), growing 33 percent in the Southern District of California (after rising 6 percent last year), increasing 27 percent in the District of New Mexico (after decreasing 10 percent last year), rising 21 percent in the Southern District of Texas (after dropping 14 percent last year), and climbing 19 percent in the Western District of Texas (after decreasing 3 percent last year).

Increases also occurred in filings in the following categories.

• Defendants charged with regulatory offenses went up 13 percent to 1,294.
• Defendants facing charges related to general offenses grew 6 percent to 1,648.
• Defendants prosecuted for sex offenses rose 5 percent to 3,292.
• Defendants charged with traffic offenses increased 4 percent to 1,956 (this total does not include defendants charged with traffic crimes in petty offense cases disposed of by magistrate judges)
• Defendants accused of violent offenses went up 3 percent to 2,599.
• Defendants prosecuted for property offenses increased 1 percent to 6,711.

Filings addressing drug offenses, which accounted for 22 percent of total defendant filings, went down 7 percent to 16,069.

• Defendants charged with crimes involving drugs other than marijuana dropped 7 percent to 15,404.
• Defendants charged with marijuana offenses declined 12 percent to 573.

Filings for defendants prosecuted for firearms and explosives crimes decreased 2 percent to 9,571, and filings for defendants accused of justice system offenses went down 9 percent to 621.

Terminations for criminal defendants increased 8 percent to 77,252. The number for defendants pending declined 3 percent to 109,654.

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 13 percent (up 61,306 petitions) to 529,080 (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 higher filings. Despite this year’s growth in filings, the number of new bankruptcy cases was below the total filed shortly after the Great Recession of 2007-2008. 

• The largest percentage increase was a rise of 30 percent in the Western District of Texas (up 1,689 filings).
• Bankruptcy petitions climbed 27 percent in the District of Rhode Island (up 222 filings).
• The Middle District of Florida saw the most significant numeric growth with a rise of 4,348 filings (up 25 percent).
• The largest percentage decrease was a 10 percent drop in the Southern District of Georgia (down 399 filings). 

More petitions were filed under all chapters of the bankruptcy code during this period than during the previous year.

• Chapter 7 filings increased 18 percent to 320,571.
• Chapter 13 filings went up 6 percent to 199,130.
• Chapter 11 filings climbed 10 percent to 8,844.
• Chapter 15 filings grew 26 percent to 273.
• Chapter 12 filings surged 67 percent to 259.
• Chapter 9 filings rose 50 percent to 3.

Nonbusiness petitions (i.e., those filed primarily by individuals with mainly consumer debt) grew 13 percent to 505,771. Nonbusiness cases accounted for 96 percent of all petitions. Petitions filed by debtors with predominantly business debts climbed 15 percent to 23,309.

Terminations of bankruptcy cases increased 10 percent to 517,515, and the number of cases pending on March 31 rose 2 percent from the previous year’s total to 663,622 (both totals include 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, 2025, filings of adversary proceedings grew 31 percent to 17,395 (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). Fifty-four of the 90 bankruptcy courts reported increases in filings, 35 of the bankruptcy courts experienced reductions in filings, and in 1 bankruptcy court filings remained unchanged from the previous period.

The number of adversary proceedings terminated rose 6 percent to 14,085. The number of pending adversary proceedings grew 18 percent from the previous year to 21,448. 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, 2025, fell 2 percent from the total 12 months earlier to 120,378 (down 2,083 persons). Persons serving terms of supervised release on that date following release from a correctional institution decreased 1 percent to 108,349.

• Ninety percent of persons under post-conviction supervision on March 31, 2025, were serving terms of supervised release.
• Nine 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, 2025, that involved probation imposed by district and magistrate judges fell 5 percent from the previous year’s total to 11,379.

Persons on parole, special parole, military parole, and mandatory release on the last day of the reporting period declined 13 percent to 464. 

The number of persons received for post-conviction supervision was 61,291, an increase of 1 percent from the previous year.

Closings of post-conviction supervision cases (excluding transfers and deaths) rose 4 percent to 53,546 (up 2,139 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 2025, probation officers wrote 58,168 presentence reports, 4 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 decreasing 6 percent in 2024, this year the number of cases activated in the pretrial services system increased 9 percent to 76,794.

• A total of 267 pretrial diversion cases were activated, down 15 percent from the previous year.

The number of defendants received for supervision in the pretrial services system was 19,867, which was 5 percent below the number received in 2024.

• Defendants received for pretrial services supervision declined 6 percent to 19,437.
• Defendants received for pretrial diversion supervision fell to 430, down 2 percent from the previous year.

A total of 79,117 pretrial services cases were closed, an increase of 5 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 40,705 defendants (up less than 1 percent) and prepared 73,302 pretrial services reports (up 10 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 6 percent to 22,446.

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