Pro Se Cases Increase in U.S. Federal Courts

Federal Caseload Trend: More Civil Cases Being Filed Without Lawyer's Help

The number of civil cases filed in U.S. district courts without a lawyer’s help has increased over the last several years. In fiscal year 2010 – the 12-month period ending September 30, 2010 – a total of 72,900 “pro se” cases were filed.

That total compares to 71,543 in FY 2009; 70,948 in FY 2008; and 70,240 in FY 2007. As in previous years, most of the civil pro se cases filed in FY 2010 were filed by prison inmates challenging some condition of their incarceration. In FY 2010, 48,581 of the 72,900 pro se filings were prison petitions.

But the number of non-prisoner pro se cases has been climbing as well. In FY 2010, that total was 24,319. It was 22,821 in FY 2009; 20,192 in FY 2008; and 20,545 in FY 2007.

These statistics are compiled by the Administrative Office of the United States and are available on Table 23 of Judicial Business of the United States Courts (pdf).Comparable statistics are available back to 1997 on uscourts.gov.

Taken From U.S. Courts - Press Release, June 15, 2011

For a related article, see Pro Se Law Clerks: A Valuable Resource, published in the April 2011 issue of The Third Branch.