Federal civil cases down

A study into civil cases in the US has found that the percentage of civil cases filed in federal courts that go to trial has declined from 11.5% in 1962 to 1.8% in 2003. The study found that the number of civil trials in federal courts is falling, from a peak of 12,529 in 1985, to just 4569 civil cases in 2002. This is despite the fact that five times more lawsuits are currently being filed.