COVID has decimated the Court System; Entirely Backlogged

A 2021 report from Thomson Reuters explored the “unprecedented” challenges that the court system faced with the COVID pandemic. Among its findings was a survey of how much the pandemic had affected court backlogs. This survey relied on responses from more than 238 people from courts at the state, county and municipal levels. Their responses shed light on how much the courts’ backlogs had increased over 12 months: The average backlog for state cases rose from 1,030 to 1,430, a 39% increase. The average backlog for county and municipal cases rose from 828 to 940, a 13.5% increase 38% of respondents said the backlog in state cases had “increased greatly.” Meanwhile, the website for the United States Courts houses the annual federal judicial caseload statistics. The statistics for 2021 show that civil filings in U.S. district courts increased by 39 percent from 2020. Indeed, the courts saw an increase in filings for each year since 2018. At the same time, the courts were able to resolve fewer of these cases. The number of cases terminated in the district courts dropped from 2019 to 2020 and then dropped more steeply from 2020 to 2021. The result is that courts across the nation have seen increased backlogs. These have not been universal. Some courts have seen fewer filings. However, most courts continue to struggle. They continue to receive new filings even as they continue to amend their policies for COVID and track COVID cases among their staff. As the courts try to catch up on their backlogs, their delays have the potential to harm the people and businesses who see their motions and trial dates kicked down the road.