Lynn Steven Adelman
How Judge Adelman decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
At summary judgment he enforces the Rule 56 / Local Rule 56 evidentiary burden strictly and even-handedly -- a movant (here even a pro se prisoner moving for his own SJ) must cite particular record evidence and file the supporting affidavits/declarations; reiterating the complaint's allegations is not enough.
“allegations alone are insufficient to grant a motion for summary judgment. Because the plaintiff's motion does not comply with the Federal or Local rules and provides no evidence showing that he is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, I will deny his motion.”
He enforces administrative-exhaustion limits on federal-employee discrimination suits: claims must have been charged in (or be 'like or reasonably related' to) the EEOC charge, measured by whether they 'describe the same conduct and implicate the same individuals'; he will take judicial notice of the undisputed EEOC charge on a motion to dismiss.
“Two different decisions made by two different individuals three years apart cannot be characterized as like or reasonably related. ... To conclude otherwise would frustrate the purpose of administrative exhaustion.”
Cautions
Successive habeas: an unauthorized second-or-successive 28 U.S.C. 2254 petition will be dismissed without Seventh Circuit authorization, and a certificate of appealability denied absent a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right (2253(c)(2)). He routinely adopts Magistrate Judge Stephen C. Dries's screening R&Rs.
“Petitioner's unauthorized second or successive petition for a writ of habeas corpus (ECF No. 1) and this action are hereby DISMISSED. ... the Court finds that petitioner has not made the showing required by 28 U.S.C. 2253(c)(2), and therefore will not issue a certificate of appealability.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“For the reasons stated, IT IS ORDERED that the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment (ECF No. 19) is DENIED.”
“IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Wilke's motion to dismiss is GRANTED.”
“IT IS ORDERED that Magistrate Judge Dries' Report & Recommendation (ECF No. 12) is ADOPTED in its entirety. ... Petitioner's unauthorized second or successive petition for a writ of habeas corpus (ECF No. 1) and this action are hereby DISMISSED. ... the Court finds that petitioner has not made the showing required by 28 U.S.C. 2253(c)(2), and therefore will not issue a certificate of appealability.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 309.0 days (N = 10).
Illustrative from the docket sample, not an authoritative caseload denominator. Observed dispositions in the sample include merits judgments after summary judgment (Johnson v. Kammer), Rule 41 voluntary dismissals (Global Thermoforming), court-approved FLSA settlements (Behlman v. Fairway Transit), dismissals (Davis v. Wilke), and habeas dismissals (Tinnon v. Fuchs).
Put Judge Adelman's record to work
Ezel drafts and answers grounded in this exact profile: how Judge Adelman actually rules, not a generic AI guess.
Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer is grounded in Judge Adelman's own signed orders and cites them.