Judiciary
With support from AI, more pro se cases hit court dockets
As people who need legal assistance who cannot afford it increasingly lean on artificial intelligence more frequently, federal judges and legal experts have said the already-overburdened court dockets are being flooded with pro se litigation. (Image from Shutterstock)
As people who need legal assistance who cannot afford it increasingly lean on artificial intelligence more frequently, federal judges and legal experts have said the already-overburdened court dockets are being flooded with pro se litigation.
The New York Times has the story.
Federal district courts handle about 300,000 new civil lawsuits each year with another 42,000 new appeals, with about one-third of that total filed by pro se litigants, according to data compiled by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
From 1998 to 2017, these pro se plaintiffs lost 96% of the time, according to a 2018 study published by the University of Chicago Law School.
And as AI becomes more readily available, pro se cases filed by nonprisoners increased to 16.8% in 2025 from 11% of all civil cases five years ago, according to a new study by two doctoral candidates that has not yet been peer reviewed, noting that much of the increase stems from the use of AI by pro se plaintiffs.
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