Scholarship@WashULaw
Document Type
Article
Language
English (en)
Publication Date
2024
Publication Title
University of Pittsburgh Law Review
Abstract
Appellate filings in the United States Courts of Appeals demonstrate a considerable decline since 2006, following an historical trend in increasing caseloads throughout the twentieth century and early parts of the twenty-first. This phenomenon deserves evaluation. In this Article, we demonstrate the trend using data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts and advance a number of potential hypotheses that might assist in explaining the trend, including decreasing trial rates, unique case type and circuit variations, trends in pro se litigation, and political explanations. Ultimately, the trend in case filings in the federal appellate courts is likely the product of a number of contributing factors, but the data deserve additional investigation in order to offer a more fulsome explanation.
Keywords
United States Courts of Appeal, Appellate Filings, Trial Rates, Case Type, Circuit Variations
Publication Citation
Stefanie A. Lindquist & Randazzo, Kirk, The Vanishing Appeal?, 86 U. Pitt. L. Rev. _ (forthcoming 2024)
Repository Citation
Lindquist, Stefanie A. and Randazzo, Kirk, "The Vanishing Appeal?" (2024). Scholarship@WashULaw. 745.
https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_scholarship/745