Fewer than 61,000 were resolved during the year, leaving more than 40,000 unresolved heading into 2026.
Criminal felony backlogs worsened sharply, growing from 2,198 pending felony cases at the beginning of 2025 to 3,438 by year’s end.
Kathleen Bush-Joseph
NEW: D.C.’s court system is buckling under a crushing backlog of criminal and civil cases, as more than a quarter of judicial seats remain vacant.
Felony trials now being pushed years into the future, Stacy M. Brown of @washingtoninformer.com reports:
With more than a quarter of judicial seats open, the court system is being stretched to its limits.
