---
title: What fills the U.S. federal civil docket? (FY2024)
fiscal_year: 2024
total_civil_cases: 268242
categories: 15
source: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts — Judicial Business, Table C-3
sourceId: src:aousc:judicial-business-table-c3
---

# What kinds of cases fill the U.S. federal civil docket?

**268,242 civil cases** were commenced across the U.S. district courts in **fiscal year 2024**, spread across **15 nature-of-suit categories**. This is the national case-type mix — each category's share of the docket and how it splits between cases where the U.S. government is a party and cases between private parties. The U.S.-vs-private split is AOUSC Judicial Business Table C-3's own party classification — whether the United States is a party to the case (as plaintiff or defendant).

These are counts of cases **filed (commenced)**, not outcomes. They do **not** measure who won, the merit of any claim, caseload per judge, or how a specific case would fare — and they are **not** legal advice. One statistical year (FY2024).

## Case types, by national volume

| Case category | Cases commenced | Share of docket | U.S. a party | Private parties |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Prisoner petitions | 64,791 | 24% | 8,627 | 56,164 |
| Civil rights | 46,187 | 17% | 1,775 | 44,412 |
| Personal injury (other) | 42,672 | 16% | 0 | 42,672 |
| Contract | 28,392 | 11% | 506 | 27,886 |
| Labor & employment | 22,197 | 8% | 239 | 21,958 |
| All other civil | 17,341 | 6% | 17,341 | 0 |
| Social Security appeals | 14,043 | 5% | 14,043 | 0 |
| Intellectual property | 12,500 | 5% | 0 | 12,500 |
| Motor-vehicle injury | 5,868 | 2% | 0 | 5,868 |
| Real property | 4,685 | 2% | 324 | 4,361 |
| Tort actions (other) | 4,370 | 2% | 0 | 4,370 |
| Tort actions | 3,025 | 1% | 3,025 | 0 |
| Maritime injury | 1,129 | <1% | 0 | 1,129 |
| Forfeitures & penalties | 770 | <1% | 770 | 0 |
| Railroad worker injury (FELA) | 272 | <1% | 0 | 272 |

Each category has a detail page (with the districts where it concentrates) at `/justice/docket/<slug>` (plus `.jsonld`/`.md`). For the case mix of one *court* near you, see `/justice/jurisdictions`. For free civil legal aid, see `/justice/states`.

RECORDED filing counts; shares and the government-vs-private split are DERIVED. Source: https://www.uscourts.gov/statistics-reports/analysis-reports/judicial-business-united-states-courts

Structured data: `/justice/docket.jsonld`