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U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts

Massachusetts · 12 months ending 06/30/2026

Filings
6,422
Pending
7,476
Judgeships
13
23.0 vacant judgeship months
Median civil case
6.9 months
Filing to disposition

Caseload by year

12-month periods

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PeriodFilingsTerminationsPendingPer judgeship
Ending 06/30/20266,4225,2067,476494
Ending 06/30/20254,5833,6696,277353
Ending 06/30/20244,4373,5365,376341
Ending 06/30/20233,7203,6764,488286
Ending 06/30/20223,1123,1844,448239
Ending 06/30/20213,3523,5124,544258

Time to disposition

Median months. Not reported when there were too few cases

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PeriodCivilCriminal felonyCivil to trialCivil over 3 years old
20266.913.333.111.8%
20257.420.129.07.2%
20247.223.335.98.6%
202310.026.126.013.2%
202210.021.834.516.8%
202112.216.935.612.2%

Civil cases filed by type

Latest 12 months, 5,689 cases

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TypeCasesShare
Prisoner Petitions1,89533.3%
All Other Civil90515.9%
Civil Rights73212.9%
Personal Injury/Product Liability4698.2%
Labor Suits4217.4%
Torts (other than Personal Injury/Product Liability)3656.4%
Contracts3646.4%
Intellectual Property Rights2594.6%
Social Security1723.0%
Real Property871.5%
Antitrust110.2%
Forfeitures and Penalties90.2%

Criminal felony defendants by offense

Latest 12 months, 511 defendants

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OffenseDefendantsShare
All Other Drugs14829.0%
Fraud13125.6%
All Other Criminal5510.8%
Sex Offenses489.4%
Firearms and Explosives418.0%
Immigration367.0%
Larceny and Theft173.3%
Violent Offenses163.1%
Justice System Offenses132.5%
Regulatory Offenses61.2%
Marijuana00.0%
Forgery and Counterfeiting00.0%

Judges serving

Article III judges from the Federal Judicial Center. Magistrate and bankruptcy judges are not listed

Active judges (11)

  • Richard Gaylore Stearns · appointed by William J. Clinton, commissioned 11/24/1993
  • Denise Jefferson Casper (chief judge) · appointed by Barack Obama, commissioned 12/20/2010
  • Indira Talwani · appointed by Barack Obama, commissioned 05/12/2014
  • Mark Gerald Mastroianni · appointed by Barack Obama, commissioned 06/05/2014
  • Leo Theodore Sorokin · appointed by Barack Obama, commissioned 06/10/2014
  • Allison Dale Burroughs · appointed by Barack Obama, commissioned 12/19/2014
  • Angel Kelley · appointed by Joseph R. Biden, commissioned 09/15/2021
  • Margaret Rose Guzman · appointed by Joseph R. Biden, commissioned 03/03/2023
  • Myong Jin Joun · appointed by Joseph R. Biden, commissioned 07/14/2023
  • Julia Eleanor Kobick · appointed by Joseph R. Biden, commissioned 11/13/2023
  • Brian Edward Murphy · appointed by Joseph R. Biden, commissioned 12/06/2024

Senior judges (7)

  • William G. Young · appointed by Ronald Reagan, commissioned 04/04/1985, senior status 07/01/2021
  • Douglas Preston Woodlock · appointed by Ronald Reagan, commissioned 06/16/1986, senior status 06/01/2015
  • Nathaniel M. Gorton · appointed by George H.W. Bush, commissioned 09/24/1992, senior status 05/31/2025
  • Patti B. Saris · appointed by William J. Clinton, commissioned 11/24/1993, senior status 12/02/2024
  • Michael Adrian Ponsor · appointed by William J. Clinton, commissioned 02/14/1994, senior status 08/15/2011
  • George A. O'Toole Jr. · appointed by William J. Clinton, commissioned 05/26/1995, senior status 01/01/2018
  • F. Dennis IV Saylor · appointed by George W. Bush, commissioned 06/02/2004, senior status 07/31/2025

Filings count civil cases and criminal felony defendants. Criminal data count defendants rather than cases. These are court statistics and do not describe any person or case.

Source: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Federal Court Management Statistics; Federal Judicial Center · Last updated 06/30/2026