Ira DeMent
How Judge DeMent rules, drawn from 25 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge DeMent no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge DeMent
Ira DeMent was a judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama. Appointed by President George H.W. Bush, Judge DeMent received a commission on March 18, 1992. Judge DeMent assumed senior status on April 15, 2002 and served until death on July 16, 2011.
How Judge DeMent decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
He treated a later third-party complaint as irrelevant to jurisdiction when the original removal was proper and completely diverse.
“Latco’s third-party complaint is irrelevant for jurisdictional purposes”
He found substantially similar prior discrimination evidence probative despite the passage of time.
“particularly given the substantial similarities between the ‘prior bad acts’ evidence and the discrimination at issue in this case.”
Procedural preferences
He declined to decide damages questions that the moving party had not raised.
“The issue of whether on the facts of this case one of the damages requests is more appropriate than the other has not been raised and, therefore, is not addressed in this opinion.”
He expected counsel to begin document searches promptly when ownership changes made discovery predictably difficult.
“This is all the more reason why counsel should have begun searching for the documents with celerity.”
Cautions
He would not allow expert testing of a materially different product to carry a products-liability claim past summary judgment.
“Without this irrelevant testimony, Plaintiffs claim is supported only with speculation.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“this action be and the same is hereby remanded to the Circuit Court of Montgomery County, Alabama.”
“this action be and the same is hereby REMANDED to the Circuit Court of Pike County, Alabama”
“Plaintiffs Motion To Deny Bill Of Costs be and the same is hereby GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART.”
“the Department of Corrections’ absolute prohibition on prisoner’s receipt of subscription magazines and newspapers in administrative segregation in the Alabama prison system, formerly implemented through Administrative Regulation 433, violates the First Amendment”
“Defendants’ Objections be and the same are hereby SUSTAINED and Plaintiffs Bill of Costs be and the same is hereby STRICKEN.”
“Harbor Freight’s Motion For Summary Judgment be and the same is hereby GRANTED.”
“Defendant Wayne Farms-Southland Hatchery’s Motion For Summary Judgment be and the same is hereby GRANTED.”
“this case be and the same is hereby DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.”
“Defendant Alabama State University’s motion to dismiss be and the same is hereby DENIED.”
“Plaintiffs Motion To Remand be and the same is hereby DENIED.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The located writings span removal, civil rights, employment, insurance, arbitration, evidence, default, administrative law, and contract disputes. They do not establish the distribution of DeMent's full caseload.
Pending matters in the official report
Reported by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts under the Civil Justice Reform Act, as of March 31, 2026.
| Motions pending more than six months | 0 |
| Bench trials submitted more than six months | 0 |
| Bankruptcy appeals pending more than six months | 0 |
| Social Security appeals pending more than six months | 0 |
| Civil cases pending more than three years | 0 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2020 | 0 | 0 |
A snapshot on that date: matters listed may since have been decided or reassigned. A motion referred to a magistrate judge is counted for both judges. Motions in multidistrict litigation, section 2255 cases and Social Security appeals are not counted, and a very large three-year count is generally a multidistrict docket. Source: Appendix A of the report (PDF); about the report.
A historical record
Judge DeMent no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled here. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.