Statistics - First Things First

From the First Things First database

Data current through September 16, 2026

Published decisions, trailing 12 mo.

257

Published in 2026

193

Unpublished opinions, trailing 12 mo.

Median argument → decision

116 days

Argued, awaiting decision

111

The First Circuit issues three kinds of merits decision—published opinions, unpublished opinions (non-precedential, but full opinions), and judgments (brief per curiam summary dispositions under 1st Cir. R. 27.0(c)). It posts both kinds of opinion on its website; it does not publish its judgments, which make up a majority of merits decisions and are decided predominantly without oral argument. The figures here therefore reflect the court’s opinions—the argued, more substantial share of its merits docket—and its reversal and authorship rates should be read in that light.

Among the 247 published decisions of the last twelve months with a recorded outcome (of 257 total), 79% included an affirmance in whole or in part and 34% a reversal or vacatur in whole or in part. The two figures overlap where a single decision did some of each.

Originating forums (published decisions, trailing 12 months): D. Mass. (95) · D.P.R. (67) · BIA (29) · D. Me. (25) · D.R.I. (23) · D.N.H. (14)

Affirmance and reversal by originating forum

The 362 published decisions whose outcome this site has recorded are grouped below by the originating court or agency. A reversal rate is shown only where at least 10 such decisions exist; smaller groups show their counts with the rate withheld. District courts and agencies are listed separately because the First Circuit reviews them under different standards. For an agency petition, a grant counts as a reversal and a denial as an affirmance.

District courts

District	Decisions	Affirmed in whole	Reversed/vacated	Dismissed	Reversal rate
D. Mass.	139	94	45	0	32%
D.P.R.	97	58	36	3	37%
D. Me.	34	25	9	0	26%
D.R.I.	29	17	12	0	41%
D.N.H.	17	11	6	0	35%

Administrative agencies

Agency	Decisions	Affirmed in whole	Reversed/vacated	Dismissed	Reversal rate
BIA	40	24	15	1	38%
OSHRC	1	1	0	0	—
FCC	1	1	0	0	—
NLRB	1	0	1	0	—

Published opinions only—a non-random, selected slice of all merits terminations (most are unpublished), so these figures describe the First Circuit’s disposition of the appeals that drew a published opinion, not any forum’s underlying error rate. The three columns are mutually exclusive and sum to Decisions: “Affirmed in whole” is an affirmance with no reversal or vacatur; “Reversed/vacated” counts any decision reversing, vacating, or granting a petition in whole or in part (a mixed disposition—affirmed in part, reversed in part—is counted here); and “Dismissed” is an appeal or petition dismissed without a merits affirmance or reversal (e.g., for lack of appellate jurisdiction). The reversal rate is the Reversed/vacated column over Decisions. Agency review applies deferential standards (substantial evidence, abuse of discretion) unlike de novo review of legal questions from the district courts. 3 tagged decisions from other tribunals (Tax Ct. 1, U.S. Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the First Circuit 1, U.S. Tax Court 1)—e.g. the Tax Court and bankruptcy panels, reviewed de novo like the district courts—are counted in the totals but shown separately rather than in either table above.

Magistrate-judge involvement below

Of the 322 published decisions for which this site has recorded the judge below, 14 (4%) arose from a district-court case in which a magistrate judge was involved, including 4 in which the district court adopted the magistrate’s report and recommendation. This describes how the district courts handle the cases that reach the First Circuit, not any individual judge.

Lower-court provenance is recorded for 322 of the 368 published decisions tagged in this site’s database; published opinions only.

Submitted and awaiting decision, by sitting

Sitting	Argued	Decided	Awaiting	Longest pending
September 2026	37	0	37	24-1850 · 8 days
July 2026	32	1	31	24-1447 · 52 days
June 2026	19	9	10	25-1407 · 108 days
May 2026	29	17	12	26-1094 · 136 days
April 2026	20	13	7	25-1502 · 164 days
March 2026	9	9	0	—
February 2026	5	5	0	—
January 2026	8	8	0	—
December 2025	22	14	8	24-1853 · 290 days
November 2025	1	1	0	—

A case counts as decided once a matching disposition appears in the database. Coverage begins with the earliest argument calendar on record.

Awaiting decision, by panel

Panel	Cases awaiting
Aframe · Gelpí · Rikelman	12
Aframe · Howard · Montecalvo	10
Dunlap · Howard · Rikelman	10
Howard · Montecalvo · Thompson	10
Aframe · Montecalvo · Thompson	9
Barron · Gelpí · Rikelman	7
Dunlap · Gelpí · Thompson	6
Barron · Gelpí · Lynch	6

Panels as listed on the argument calendar at the time of sitting; compositions occasionally change.

Argument-to-decision median computed across 238 argued cases matched to their published decisions by docket number.

Drawn from First Things First’s own records; published dispositions only. Figures update as new decisions are published.

Time from argument to decision

116days

median from argument to decision · 238 decided cases

Fastest	4 days
25th percentile	70 days
Median	116 days
75th percentile	203 days
90th percentile	284 days
Longest	541 days

Distribution

0–29

30–59

60–89

90–119

120–149

150–179

180–209

210–239

240–269

270–299

300–329

330–359

365+

days from argument to decision (30-day bands)

Median by decision year

2024	249 days (1)
2025	109 days (130)
2026	125 days (107)

These figures cover published First Circuit decisions for which both the argument date (from the court’s argument calendar) and the decision date are on record; interim orders and errata are excluded. In the by-year table, the number in parentheses is how many decisions that year’s median rests on.

Judicial Pairings

How often First Circuit judges sat and voted together

Shared decisions01–56–1516–3031–4546+

Split votes 1 split 2+ splits

Judge	Barron	Gelpí	Montecalvo	Rikelman	Aframe	Dunlap	Lynch	Lipez	Howard	Thompson	Kayatta	Selya	Breyer
Barron	—	41	20	571 split vote	261 split vote	2	91 split vote	181 split vote	22	423 split votes	23	1	11
Gelpí		—	26	29	19	15	19	18	21	601 split vote	18		5
Montecalvo			—	18	39	91 split vote	232 split votes	15	11	31	33		1
Rikelman				—	30	5	16	25	16	16	11	1
Aframe					—	191 split vote	181 split vote	20	201 split vote	24	17
Dunlap						—	152 split votes	3	7	111 split vote	5
Lynch							—		22	111 split vote	212 split votes		1
Lipez								—	8	11	10
Howard									—	1	9
Thompson										—	6		2
Kayatta											—		4
Selya												—
Breyer													—

Each cell counts the published First Circuit decisions the two judges sat on together; a darker red means more shared cases. A gold marker flags a split vote — one judge wrote or joined the majority, the other dissented in whole or in part.

Data current through September 16, 2026

Where they split

David J. Barron & O. Rogeriee Thompson — Cortes-Ramos v. Martin-Morales (Barron dissenting in part); Clemente Properties, Inc. v. Pierluisi-Urrutia (Barron dissenting in part); Maldonado-Gonzalez v. Puerto Rico Aqueduct & Sewer Authority (Barron dissenting in part)
Sandra L. Lynch & Lara E. Montecalvo — US v. Bourget (Lynch dissenting); Donovan v. Massachusetts Parole Board (Lynch dissenting)
Joshua D. Dunlap & Sandra L. Lynch — Guerrero Orellana v. Moniz (Dunlap dissenting); African Communities Together v. Mullin (Dunlap dissenting)
William J. Kayatta, Jr. & Sandra L. Lynch — US v. Bourget (Lynch dissenting); Donovan v. Massachusetts Parole Board (Lynch dissenting)
Seth R. Aframe & David J. Barron — Cortes-Ramos v. Martin-Morales (Barron dissenting in part)
David J. Barron & Julie Rikelman — Maldonado-Gonzalez v. Puerto Rico Aqueduct & Sewer Authority (Barron dissenting in part)
Joshua D. Dunlap & O. Rogeriee Thompson — Adames-Garcia v. Divris (Thompson dissenting)
Gustavo A. Gelpí & O. Rogeriee Thompson — Adames-Garcia v. Divris (Thompson dissenting)
Seth R. Aframe & Joshua D. Dunlap — African Communities Together v. Mullin (Dunlap dissenting)
Joshua D. Dunlap & Lara E. Montecalvo — Guerrero Orellana v. Moniz (Dunlap dissenting)
David J. Barron & Sandra L. Lynch — Arias v. Herzon (Lynch dissenting in part)
Seth R. Aframe & Sandra L. Lynch — Conlon v. Scaltreto (Aframe dissenting in part)
David J. Barron & Kermit V. Lipez — Clemente Properties, Inc. v. Pierluisi-Urrutia (Barron dissenting in part)
Seth R. Aframe & Jeffrey R. Howard — Conlon v. Scaltreto (Aframe dissenting in part)
Sandra L. Lynch & O. Rogeriee Thompson — Arias v. Herzon (Lynch dissenting in part)

Drawn from the panel votes recorded in this site’s database (roughly 2023 to date). Panel assignment is administrative, not a matter of choice, so this counts association, not alignment. The court decides the large majority of its cases unanimously, which is why splits are rare. Per curiam Rule 27.0(c) judgments carry no recorded votes and are absent; en banc sittings are included; a decision later vacated by a grant of rehearing en banc is excluded. 7 visiting or by-designation judges also sat and are omitted from the grid.

Dissents and concurrences

21 separate writings on record — 7 dissents, 5 partial dissents, 7 concurrences, 1 concurrence in the judgment, 1 concurrence (dubitante). A separate writing is where a judge sets down something other than the majority opinion; in a small circuit they are where the law visibly moves.

2026 (11 writings)

Julie Rikelman, concurrence in the judgment — Fellers v. Kelley p. 24 Aug 26, 2026
Sandra L. Lynch, dissent — US v. Bourget p. 45 Aug 21, 2026
William J. Kayatta, Jr., concurrence — US v. Bourget p. 44 Aug 21, 2026
Joshua D. Dunlap, dissent — Guerrero Orellana v. Moniz p. 55 Aug 13, 2026
Joshua D. Dunlap, dissent — African Communities Together v. Mullin p. 2 Aug 3, 2026
O. Rogeriee Thompson, dissent — Adames-Garcia v. Divris p. 32 Jul 14, 2026
David J. Barron, partial dissent — Cortes-Ramos v. Martin-Morales p. 37 Jun 12, 2026
Joshua D. Dunlap, concurrence — In re Motion to Quash Admin. Subpoena to RI Hosp. p. 4 May 20, 2026
O. Rogeriee Thompson, concurrence (dubitante) — Villalobos-Santana v. PR Police Department p. 22 Apr 2, 2026
Jeffrey R. Howard, dissent — Hussey v. City of Cambridge p. 36 Jan 28, 2026 vacated
David J. Barron, partial dissent — Clemente Properties, Inc. v. Pierluisi-Urrutia p. 99 Jan 16, 2026

2025 (10 writings)

Sandra L. Lynch, dissent — Donovan v. Massachusetts Parole Board p. 25 Dec 23, 2025
David J. Barron, partial dissent — Maldonado-Gonzalez v. Puerto Rico Aqueduct & Sewer Authority p. 28 Oct 24, 2025
Seth R. Aframe, partial dissent — Conlon v. Scaltreto p. 31 Oct 22, 2025
Sandra L. Lynch, partial dissent — Arias v. Herzon p. 53 Aug 15, 2025
Jeffrey R. Howard, dissent — Hussey v. City of Cambridge p. 36 Aug 15, 2025 vacated
William J. Kayatta, Jr., concurrence — Ass'n to Preserve and Protect Local Livelihoods v. Town of Bar Harbor p. 73 Aug 11, 2025
Sandra L. Lynch, concurrence — Boniface v. Viliena p. 49 Jul 21, 2025
Jeffrey R. Howard, concurrence — Da Silva Borges v. Bondi p. 13 Jul 18, 2025
Seth R. Aframe, concurrence — Central Maine Power Company v. ME Comm'n on Gov't Ethics and Election Practices p. 48 Jul 11, 2025
David J. Barron, concurrence — US v. Soto-Sanchez p. 27 May 27, 2025

From the panel records in this site’s database (roughly 2023 to date). A decision later vacated by a grant of rehearing en banc is kept and flagged. Earlier years fold closed; the count beside each year is its full ledger.

Time from argument to decision, by authoring judge

Judge	Median days
William J. Kayatta, Jr.	251 days (15)
Lara E. Montecalvo	216 days (24)
Gustavo A. Gelpí	159 days (23)
Kermit V. Lipez	155 days (12)
O. Rogeriee Thompson	147 days (26)
David J. Barron	134 days (32)
Seth R. Aframe	118 days (22)
Julie Rikelman	111 days (30)
Joshua D. Dunlap	70 days (11)
Sandra L. Lynch	36 days (16)

Median days from oral argument to the authored opinion, for judges with at least ten authored decisions whose argument date is on record. The figure describes opinions, not judges — pace turns on case complexity and the court’s assignment of the harder cases. The number in parentheses is the count the median rests on. Per curiam decisions have no author and are excluded.

Official figures: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, through March 31, 2026 (caseload profile) and December 31, 2025 (statistical tables). First Things First database figures update as new decisions are published.

Appeals filed

1,232

+10.4% year over year

Terminated

1,142

trailing 12 months

Pending

1,717

end of period

Median disposition

15.0 mo.

national: 9.9 mo.

Reversal rate

14.8%

merits decisions, calendar year 2025

The bench

6 judgeships

plus 6 senior judges—smallest of the twelve circuits

The caseload, 2021–2026

PendingFiledTerminated

Filings in the First Circuit rose +10.4% in the twelve months ending March 31, 2026—roughly double the national increase of +5.8%—and the pending docket reached 1,717 appeals, its highest level of the six-year window. Terminations have trailed filings in each of the last four periods.

12-month periods ending March 31. Percent changes computed from the published counts.

What the court hears

Other private civil—419 filed

Criminal—253 filed

Other U.S. civil—115 filed

Administrative agency—113 filed

Original proceedings & misc.—88 filed

U.S. prisoner petitions—75 filed

Private prisoner petitions—56 filed

Bankruptcy—18 filed

Nature of proceeding	Filed	Terminated	Pending
Other private civil	419	347	589
Criminal	253	287	443
Other U.S. civil	115	78	142
Administrative agency	113	89	208
Original proceedings & misc.	88	68	70
U.S. prisoner petitions	75	70	72
Private prisoner petitions	56	70	94
Bankruptcy	18	16	51
All proceedings	1,137	1,025	1,669

Calendar year 2025. The First Circuit accounted for 2.7% of the 42,664 appeals commenced nationwide.

How appeals end

Route to termination—1,025 appeals, calendar year 2025

Merits—after oral argument—212 (20.7%)Merits—on the briefs—367 (35.8%)Merits—by consolidation—45 (4.4%)Procedural—by staff—305 (29.8%)Procedural—by judge—93 (9.1%)Procedural—by consolidation—3 (0.3%)

Of the 579 decisions on the merits (excluding consolidations), 37% followed oral argument.

Disposition of the 579 merits decisions

Affirmed / enforced—423 (73.1%)Reversed—80 (13.8%)Dismissed—35 (6%)Certificate of appealability—31 (5.4%)Remanded—6 (1%)Other—4 (0.7%)

The court reversed in 14.8% of merits decisions—nearly double the national rate of 7.6%. Reversal was most common in administrative-agency appeals.

Nature of proceeding	Merits decisions	Affirmed	Reversed	% reversed
Other private civil	173	146	21	12.1%
Criminal	166	119	25	15.1%
Original proceedings	59	49	3	—
Administrative agency	50	25	19	38.0%
Private prisoner petitions	45	25	3	6.7%
Other U.S. civil	42	33	7	16.7%
U.S. prisoner petitions	39	22	2	5.1%
Bankruptcy	5	4	0	—

“Affirmed” includes decisions affirmed in part and reversed in part. The AO does not publish a reversal rate where fewer than ten merits decisions exist, or for original proceedings.

The pace of decision

Median time from notice of appeal to disposition stood at 15.0 months in the twelve months ending March 31, 2026—the slowest figure of the six-year window and more than five months above the national median of 9.9.

First Circuit median (months)National median

Median months to disposition, by circuit—the 12 months ending December 31, 2025

Around the circuits

Circuit	Appeals filed	Change	Pending	Median mo.	% reversed	Pending per panel
D.C.	1,131	+2.1%	1,539	10.6	34.8	420
1st	1,137	−5.1%	1,669	14.7	14.8	835
2d	3,416	−1.7%	3,386	15.4	5.4	781
3d	2,680	+8.7%	2,146	8.6	6.8	460
4th	3,480	+2.9%	2,631	9.0	8.2	526
5th	5,735	+6.8%	3,430	8.3	6.7	605
6th	3,463	−0.4%	2,504	8.7	7.0	470
7th	2,437	+0.1%	2,189	10.3	7.8	597
8th	2,579	−3.8%	1,785	4.8	6.0	487
9th	9,779	+20.6%	8,603	11.5	6.7	890
10th	1,773	+0.4%	1,259	10.4	5.7	315
11th	5,054	+11.0%	3,534	9.8	6.8	884
All circuits	42,664	+6.6%	34,675	9.9	7.6	—

Filed, change, and pending: calendar year 2025 (Statistical Tables, Table B). Median and pending per panel: 12 months ending December 31, 2025 (FCMS). % reversed: Table B-5. Excludes the Federal Circuit.

The bench & its workload

The First Circuit is the smallest court of appeals—6 authorized judgeships hearing cases in 2 three-judge panels at a time, supported by 6 senior judges. Each panel carried 859 pending appeals at the close of the period—against a national figure of 634, the third-heaviest load among the circuits.

The court carried a vacancy for much of the period under review: Judge William J. Kayatta Jr. assumed senior status on October 31, 2024, and the sixth active seat stood open until Judge Joshua D. Dunlap received his commission on November 7, 2025.

Who hears the cases—share of case participations

Resident circuit judgesResident senior judgesVisiting judges

Visiting judges took part in 10.6% of case participations in the most recent period—far the highest share of any circuit (nationally: 1.7%)—though down from roughly a quarter of all participations earlier in the window. A participation counts one judge hearing one appeal, at argument or on the briefs.

Workload measure, 12 months ending March 31, 2026	1st Cir. / national
Appeals filed per panel	616 / 772
Appeals pending per panel	859 / 634
Written decisions per active judge	82 / 114

Where appeals come from: the district courts

District	Filings	Change	Pending	Judgeships	Weighted filings per judgeship
Massachusetts	6,021	+42.1%	7,146	13	413
Puerto Rico	1,971	+1.6%	2,424	7	289
Rhode Island	982	+37.3%	970	3	301
Maine	938	+37.5%	756	3	287
New Hampshire	821	+38.4%	1,381	3	251

Pace & pressure

District	Median mo., civil	Median mo., felony	% civil over 3 years old	Trials per judgeship
D. Mass.	7.0	12.7	10.0	8
D.P.R.	12.0	17.2	16.9	10
D.R.I.	8.7	19.5	10.7	9
D. Me.	5.8	11.0	4.2	18
D.N.H.	20.1	15.7	48.1	6

The 12 months ending March 31, 2026 (FCMS district profiles). Criminal figures count defendants rather than cases.

Civil filings by district—calendar year 2025

The five districts received 7,075 civil cases (2,011 with the United States as a party; 5,064 private) and ended the year with 9,405 pending. Pending counts can include cases temporarily assigned under multidistrict-litigation orders.

The First Circuit at the Supreme Court

OT 2025: 2 merits decisions in cases from the First Circuit—Urias-Orellana v. Bondi (Mar 4, 2026); Trump v. Barbara (Jun 30, 2026). Full coverage →

Sources: Statistical Tables for the Federal Judiciary (Dec. 31, 2025) · Federal Court Management Statistics (Mar. 31, 2026) · Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges (FJC) · stfj_b1_1231.2025-2.xlsx (12 months ending Dec. 31, 2025) · stfj_c1_1231.2025-1.xlsx (12 months ending Dec. 31, 2025) · fcms_na_distprofile1231.2025-1.xlsx (12 months ending Dec. 31, 2025) · fjcs_b_0331.202.xlsx (12 months ending Mar. 31, 2025)

Official figures are drawn from the statistical tables of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts and may be revised by the AO; percent changes labeled as computed are derived from the published counts. Database figures are drawn from First Things First’s own records and reflect published dispositions only. This page does not constitute legal advice.