Published On: January 4th, 2013 | Author: Perry Law, P.C. | Category: Arizona Civil Litigation Florida Idaho Washington
Erik W. Scharf’s and Wayne R. Atkins’ article “What are my Chances? Federal Courts of Appeal by the Numbers” was recently published in The Florida Bar Journal Volume 87, No. 1 (January 2013) in which they examine by federal circuit the number of cases decided on the merits as well as the reversal rate of those cases. They found that for the 12-month period ending March 31, 2011 the following statistics:
Circuit |
Percentage of Cases Decided on Merits |
Reversal Rate |
All |
52.4% |
8.6% |
D.C. |
45.9% |
15.5% |
First |
57.6% |
8.2% |
Second |
52.9% |
6.0% |
Third |
56.7% |
8.6% |
Fourth |
61.2% |
5.6% |
Fifth |
49.8% |
8.3% |
Sixth |
51.1% |
9.5% |
Seventh |
45.9% |
16.9% |
Eighth |
64.6% |
4.8% |
Ninth |
50.0% |
10.1% |
Tenth |
54.1% |
5.0% |
Eleventh |
47.9% |
8.9% |
In short, just over 50% of all federal cases were decided on the merits, with less than 10% of those being reversed.
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