The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals saw an increase in caseloads in the 2012 fiscal year according to a report recently released by the federal court system. At the Sixth Circuit, the total number of appeals filed was up from 4,725 in 2011 to 4,855 in 2012, and the total number of appeals terminated also rose from 5,163 in 2011 to 5,417 in 2012.

The Sixth Circuit sits in Cincinnati and hears federal appeals from Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, and Tennessee.

The United States Courts released the 2012 fiscal year judicial caseload profile for the nation’s 12 courts of appeals last week. Overall the national total number of cases filed is up from the previous year, from 55,126 to 57,501. The number of appeals terminated held steady from 57,357 in 2011 to 57,570 in 2012.

Other highlights from the report included:

• An increase in criminal and administrative appeals filed nationally, and a decrease in prisoner appeals filed.
• An 120 percent increase (4,553 in 2011 to 9,971 in 2012) in prisoner appeals terminated. Criminal appeals terminated also increased from 2011 to 2012, but decreased in administrative cases.
• At the Sixth Circuit, the court saw an increase in criminal and administrative cases filed, but a decrease in prisoner appeals filed.
• The Sixth Circuit also saw an increase in prisoner, criminal, and administrative appeals terminated.

The Ohio Supreme Court will release its 2012 statistical caseload summaries in its annual report, which will be published in the spring. Ohio’s trial and appeals court caseload statistics for 2012 will be released this summer in the Ohio courts statistical report and the Ohio courts statistical summary.