Overworked man lying beneath a stack of papers. Photo: : Francesca Coati/Shutterstock.com. Overworked. Photo: : Francesca Coati/Shutterstock.com.

As COVID-19 has closed courthouses to the public, pushed judges out of their chambers and sent jurors packing, are Broward and Palm Beach courts facing an unforgiving backlog of civil cases?

Court data suggests they're clinging on — but there could be trouble ahead if new filings increase anytime soon.

Broward

Broward Circuit's productivity has dipped slightly amid the pandemic, according to the data. The court saw more civil cases filed between March and June than it did in the same period in 2019, but it disposed of fewer.

Civil cases filed and disposed in Broward Circuit 2019 vs. 2020

March 2019: 8,558 filed. 10,151 disposed.

March 2020: 11,425 filed. 7,723 disposed.