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Is there a website that keeps track of what kind of cases are filed in particular jurisdictions?

You mean like this?

http://www.uscourts.gov/Statistics.aspx

Often the stats you're looking for are easier to find district by district... e.g. http://www.txwd.uscourts.gov/General/statistics.asp

Yep. That's basically what I was looking for. My law school says that my cover letter should include reasons why I want to work for the judge. Aside from "I have family ties," I don't know how to address that question for a fed. district court clerkship. So I thought I'd find the statistics of types of cases filed in the districts I'm applying and compare those to my interests. But honestly, I don't feel right doing this. I can't imagine the judge is going to give a fuck that the types of cases filed in his jurisdiction are relevant to my interests.

Family/other ties to an area and personal connections to the judge (like, you worked with former clerk X who recommended you apply) are generally the things most worth mentioning. But if the district is known for a certain kind of cases, yeah, it's worth saying "I want to practice immigration law and so am particularly interested in clerking in a border district." Only if you can back it up, though, or if there is something distinctive about the district (I don't think there always is, but there are some IP-heavy districts and I think some securities heavy ones?).

Or maybe if there's something specific to the judge that really fits you ("I want to write seminal works of law and economics, which is why I'm dying to work for you, Judge Posner"). But that's muuuuuccchhhh harder to pull off.

A. Nony Mouse wrote:Family/other ties to an area and personal connections to the judge (like, you worked with former clerk X who recommended you apply) are generally the things most worth mentioning. But if the district is known for a certain kind of cases, yeah, it's worth saying "I want to practice immigration law and so am particularly interested in clerking in a border district." Only if you can back it up, though, or if there is something distinctive about the district (I don't think there always is, but there are some IP-heavy districts and I think some securities heavy ones?).

Or maybe if there's something specific to the judge that really fits you ("I want to write seminal works of law and economics, which is why I'm dying to work for you, Judge Posner"). But that's muuuuuccchhhh harder to pull off.

Thanks.

A. Nony Mouse wrote:Family/other ties to an area and personal connections to the judge (like, you worked with former clerk X who recommended you apply) are generally the things most worth mentioning. But if the district is known for a certain kind of cases, yeah, it's worth saying "I want to practice immigration law and so am particularly interested in clerking in a border district." Only if you can back it up, though, or if there is something distinctive about the district (I don't think there always is, but there are some IP-heavy districts and I think some securities heavy ones?).

Or maybe if there's something specific to the judge that really fits you ("I want to write seminal works of law and economics, which is why I'm dying to work for you, Judge Posner"). But that's muuuuuccchhhh harder to pull off.

Immigration has its own admin court system - EOIR.

Macunaíma wrote:

A. Nony Mouse wrote:Family/other ties to an area and personal connections to the judge (like, you worked with former clerk X who recommended you apply) are generally the things most worth mentioning. But if the district is known for a certain kind of cases, yeah, it's worth saying "I want to practice immigration law and so am particularly interested in clerking in a border district." Only if you can back it up, though, or if there is something distinctive about the district (I don't think there always is, but there are some IP-heavy districts and I think some securities heavy ones?).

Or maybe if there's something specific to the judge that really fits you ("I want to write seminal works of law and economics, which is why I'm dying to work for you, Judge Posner"). But that's muuuuuccchhhh harder to pull off.

Immigration has its own admin court system - EOIR.

Yeah, I should have said criminal immigration.

A. Nony Mouse wrote: Yeah, I should have said criminal immigration.

Not sure what you mean by 'criminal immigration.' There is overlap between immigration and criminal law, but actual criminal code doesn't deal with aliens or immigration very much. Removal (formerly deportation) is an administrative matter. This is why there's no guarantee of legal representation for aliens in removal proceedings.

Macunaíma wrote:

A. Nony Mouse wrote: Yeah, I should have said criminal immigration.

Not sure what you mean by 'criminal immigration.' There is overlap between immigration and criminal law, but actual criminal code doesn't deal with aliens or immigration very much. Removal (formerly deportation) is an administrative matter. This is why there's no guarantee of legal representation for aliens in removal proceedings.

We're getting a bit off-topic here just to debate a small point that Mouse was trying to make about being able to pick a district based on caseload that is heavy in the applicant's interest areas. That said, there are a ton of criminal immigration cases in District Court. Just look at the WDTX stats for Del Rio (1500 criminal cases vs 80 civil cases filed last FY). Of Del Rio's criminal load, about half is exclusively illegal re-entry, while well over 3/4 is border crossing related (illegal re-entry, human trafficking, drug trafficking). So yes, there's plenty of criminal immigration to deal with in the border districts, especially in the right divisions.

ETA:
Magistrate's arraignment docket for the next few days: http://www.txwd.uscourts.gov/calendars/vrgdr.pdf
Operation Streamline: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/6807.htm

Yeah, title 18 of the USC doesn't deal with immigration because there's a whole separate section, title 8, outlining all the criminal immigration offenses, and border districts see a huge volume of these cases. But that is a bit off the topic of the thread.