⚖️Judicial BranchCourt Efficiency
Average Case Resolution Time
How long does a typical federal civil or criminal case take to resolve?
10.2 mo.
months (median civil)
vs. prior year
Updated AnnualHigh data quality
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Are federal courts keeping up with incoming caseloads, or is the backlog growing?
The ratio of cases terminated to cases filed in a given period. A clearance rate above 100% means the court is reducing its backlog; below 100% means the backlog is growing. Tracked separately for district courts (civil and criminal), circuit courts of appeals, and bankruptcy courts.
Formula
Clearance Rate (%) = Cases Terminated ÷ Cases Filed × 100Case clearance rate is the fundamental measure of whether courts are sustainably managing their dockets. Persistent clearance rates below 100% compound into backlogs that delay justice for litigants, increase pretrial detention duration, and strain public defender resources.
Example Visualization
Line chart of clearance rate with 100% reference line. Circuit-level heatmap. Separate panels for civil, criminal, and bankruptcy clearance rates.
How long does a typical federal civil or criminal case take to resolve?
How many cases are pending in federal courts, and how long have they been waiting?
What percentage of federal judicial seats are currently vacant?