Civil detainee
Federal civil · Prisoner Petitions · 2,368 cases filed and closed (1988–present).
2,368
Cases filed
70.6%
Ended before a merits judgment
1,672 of 2,368 cases
0.9%
Plaintiff win
of 696 merits judgments
93.8%
Defendant win
of merits judgments
How they closed
- Dismissed52.2%
- Defendant win27.6%
- Other11.7%
- Transferred3.6%
- Settled2.7%
- Decided — other1.4%
- Remanded0.4%
- Plaintiff win0.3%
- Mixed0.2%
Where you file matters
The same claim resolves differently across districts. Plaintiff-win rate among merits judgments, busiest courts first.
- District Court, C.D. Illinois719 cases · 151 decided0.7%
- District Court, E.D. California331 cases · 176 decided—
- District Court, D. Minnesota308 cases · 68 decided1.5%
- District Court, M.D. Florida199 cases · 89 decided1.1%
- District Court, D. South Carolina109 cases · 26 decided—
- District Court, W.D. Washington94 cases · 35 decided—
- District Court, N.D. California64 cases · 8 decided—
- District Court, N.D. Texas52 cases · 29 decided—
- District Court, D. New Jersey52 cases · 15 decided—
- District Court, E.D. North Carolina50 cases · 16 decided—
- District Court, E.D. Missouri49 cases · 2 decided—
- District Court, N.D. New York36 cases · 12 decided—
- District Court, D. Arizona36 cases · 29 decided—
- District Court, W.D. Wisconsin28 cases · 3 decided—
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.