Prisoner petitions - vacate sentence
Federal civil · Prisoner Petitions · 227,130 cases filed and closed (1988–present).
227,130
Cases filed
68.4%
Ended before a merits judgment
155,347 of 227,130 cases
11.6%
Plaintiff win
of 71,783 merits judgments
80.3%
Defendant win
of merits judgments
How they closed
- Dismissed59.4%
- Defendant win25.4%
- Plaintiff win3.7%
- Other3.4%
- Settled2.5%
- Decided — other2.4%
- Transferred1.9%
- Affirmed0.8%
- Remanded0.2%
- Mixed0.2%
- Denied0.1%
Where you file matters
The same claim resolves differently across districts. Plaintiff-win rate among merits judgments, busiest courts first.
- District Court, S.D. Florida11,909 cases · 3,513 decided5.6%
- District Court, S.D. Texas8,617 cases · 1,070 decided16.4%
- District Court, M.D. Florida8,516 cases · 2,940 decided8.5%
- District Court, W.D. Texas8,069 cases · 1,015 decided7.4%
- District Court, N.D. Texas6,787 cases · 1,345 decided5.4%
- District Court, S.D. New York5,972 cases · 137 decided13.1%
- District Court, D. Arizona5,840 cases · 4,246 decided5.8%
- District Court, M.D. North Carolina5,586 cases · 4,127 decided9.9%
- District Court, E.D. Virginia5,496 cases · 247 decided11.3%
- District Court, C.D. California5,405 cases · 1,434 decided34.9%
- District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania5,229 cases · 1 decided—
- District Court, D. Maryland5,191 cases · 642 decided16.4%
- District Court, D. South Carolina4,776 cases · 2,671 decided14.8%
- District Court, E.D. New York4,399 cases · 939 decided9.1%
- District Court, E.D. North Carolina4,206 cases · 2,382 decided9.4%
- District Court, N.D. Georgia3,903 cases · 2,752 decided4.2%
- District Court, W.D. North Carolina3,825 cases · 2,102 decided10%
- District Court, N.D. Illinois3,743 cases · 1,222 decided71.2%
- District Court, S.D. California3,653 cases · 3,221 decided5%
- District Court, E.D. Michigan3,626 cases · 2,049 decided7.7%
- District Court, W.D. Missouri3,345 cases · 869 decided9.9%
- District Court, E.D. Tennessee3,150 cases · 1,788 decided10.3%
- District Court, E.D. Texas3,099 cases · 96 decided16.7%
- District Court, E.D. Missouri3,085 cases · 598 decided13.4%
- District Court, D. New Jersey2,996 cases · 1,695 decided5.1%
- District Court, N.D. Ohio2,954 cases · 374 decided8.8%
- District Court, W.D. Virginia2,932 cases · 506 decided7.7%
- District Court, N.D. Florida2,686 cases · 1,063 decided12.2%
- District Court, D. Puerto Rico2,607 cases · 884 decided7.9%
- District Court, W.D. Tennessee2,533 cases · 116 decided21.6%
Source: FJC Integrated Database (public domain), via CourtListener — federal civil cases filed and terminated, 1988–present. Figures are descriptive statistics about how cases of a given type have closed in a given court. They describe the historical record — not a prediction or assessment of any specific case. Not legal advice.