Legal Decisions, Legislation & Forces of Nature Influence Federal Court Caseload in FY 2005: “Caseload statistics of the federal courts are compiled by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts…For the tenth consecutive record-breaking year, filings in the 12 regional courts of appeals rose 9 percent to an all-time high of 68,473…Civil filings fell 10 percent to 253,273 in FY 2005; over a five year period, civil filings have climbed one percent…Nationwide, criminal filings in the U.S. district courts fell 2 percent to 69,575 in FY 2005, and the number of defendants in these cases dropped 1 percent to 92,226…Bankruptcy filings in the federal courts climbed 10 percent to 1,782,643, for a new record in FY 2005.”