Herman N. Johnson, Jr.
How Judge Johnson rules, drawn from 9 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Johnson
Herman N. Johnson Jr. became a United States Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of Alabama in June 2017. He previously practiced civil litigation and taught law at Samford University. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Duke University and law and international affairs degrees from Columbia University.
Judge Johnson's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Johnson, as published on the court's website (checked October 9, 2026). Judges revise these often, so confirm the current version on the court's site before you file.
Key rules
Contacting chambers
Copy all opposing counsel or unrepresented parties on email to chambers.
“Ex parte communications are not allowed. All communications to the chambers’ email address must show a copy to all opposing counsel or pro se parties.”
Filing
Provide a courtesy copy within three business days for submissions exceeding 30 pages, including exhibits.
“For all submissions exceeding thirty (30) pages (including exhibits), the filing party must submit, within three (3) business days of filing, an exact courtesy copy”
Discovery
Before filing a discovery motion, serve opposing counsel with a letter identifying the disputed requests.
“Prior to filing any motion regarding a discovery dispute, the moving party must serve the opposing party with a letter identifying each issue and/or discovery request in dispute”
Standing orders for every case in this court
Orders the court applies to all of its cases, whichever judge has them, as published on the court's website (checked October 9, 2026).
How Judge Johnson decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
As a 636(c) consent judge he does meticulous limitations analysis anchored in the complaint's own statutory quotations, treating veil-piercing as a procedural remedy to reach a second party on an existing judgment rather than a standalone fraud claim, and denies a time-bar dismissal.
“In summary, both claims in Anantharaju's Complaint satisfy the statute of limitations. Accordingly, the court DENIES Defendants' motion to dismiss.”
Procedural preferences
On Social Security appeals he conducts a thorough claim-by-claim review of the ALJ's treating-physician weighting on the administrative record and affirms where the ALJ showed good cause for the weight given.
“the court ACCEPTS and ADOPTS Magistrate Judge Johnson's Report and Recommendation (doc. 21) and finds that Gurley's Motion to Remand (doc. 17) is due to [be] DENIED.”
Cautions
On employment-discrimination summary judgment he grants in part and denies in part, letting specific Title VII retaliation and hostile-work-environment claims survive while dismissing the rest.
“Based on the foregoing analyses, the court will GRANT IN PART AND DENY IN PART the Agency's motion for summary judgment. (Doc. 44). Specifically, the court GRANTS the motion as to all claims EXCEPT Gregerson's Title VII retaliation claims based on (1) the May 16, 2018, verbal reprimand; (2) the November 27, 2018, written reprimand; (3) Gregerson's non-selection for the Thomasville, Georgia Operations Supervisor vacancy; and (4) the retaliatory hostile work environment claim.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“In summary, both claims in Anantharaju's Complaint satisfy the statute of limitations. Accordingly, the court DENIES Defendants' motion to dismiss.”
“the court ACCEPTS and ADOPTS Magistrate Judge Johnson's Report and Recommendation (doc. 21) and finds that Gurley's Motion to Remand (doc. 17) is due to [be] DENIED.”
“recommending that the Court dismiss this action without prejudice for failure to prosecute. (Doc. 5). ... the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation (Doc. 5) should be ACCEPTED and hereby ADOPTS it ... The case is therefore DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.”
“For the foregoing reasons, the court AFFIRMS the Commissioner's decision. The court will enter a separate final judgment.”
“Based on the foregoing analyses, the court will GRANT IN PART AND DENY IN PART the Agency's motion for summary judgment. (Doc. 44). Specifically, the court GRANTS the motion as to all claims EXCEPT Gregerson's Title VII retaliation claims based on (1) the May 16, 2018, verbal reprimand; (2) the November 27, 2018, written reprimand; (3) Gregerson's non-selection for the Thomasville, Georgia Operations Supervisor vacancy; and (4) the retaliatory hostile work environment claim.”
“the court GRANTS summary judgment in favor of the IRS.”
“WILL DISMISS Plaintiff's claims WITH PREJUDICE because Plaintiff failed to timely file this action.”
“the court WILL GRANT Yorktown's motion to dismiss, and it WILL DISMISS all of Salmon's claims WITH PREJUDICE.”
Section 1915A screening recommendation to dismiss a pro se prisoner 1983 suit against a state judge on absolute judicial immunity and frivolity grounds: the undersigned Magistrate Judge RECOMMENDS the court DISMISS this action WITH PREJUDICE pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1915A(b)(1) & (2).
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Judge Johnson's consent caseload includes consumer-protection and Social Security appeals, employment and civil-rights disputes, commercial matters, insurance, transportation, public-records claims, and a qui tam action. The available cases provide an illustrative rather than exhaustive mix.
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 | 3 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 3 |
| Sep 2025 | 1 | 1 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2024 | 2 | 0 |
| Mar 2024 | 2 | 0 |
| Sep 2023 | 2 | 0 |
| Mar 2023 | 2 | 1 |
| Sep 2022 | 2 | 1 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2021 | 1 | 4 |
| Mar 2021 | 1 | 2 |
| Sep 2020 | 0 | 2 |
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.
How long civil cases take in this court
For the whole of U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, not for Judge Johnson: median time from filing to disposition of the civil cases the court closed in the 12 months ending September 30, 2025, as reported by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
| Cases | Median time | |
|---|---|---|
| All civil cases closed | 1,513 | 8.7 months |
| Closed with no court action | 113 | 2.5 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 1,380 | 9.1 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 6 | not reported |
| Closed during trial | 14 | 32.8 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 1,513 | 8.7 months |
| Sep 2024 | 1,290 | 8.6 months |
| Sep 2023 | 1,387 | 9.3 months |
| Sep 2022 | 1,507 | 11.3 months |
| Sep 2021 | 1,803 | 10.8 months |
| Sep 2020 | 1,507 | 10.9 months |
| Sep 2019 | 1,732 | 10.8 months |
The table leaves out prisoner petitions, land condemnations, deportation reviews, recovery of overpayments and enforcement of judgments, and reports no median for fewer than 10 cases. A district that closed a large multidistrict litigation in the period shows very large counts and long medians for that year. Source: Table C-5, U.S. District Courts (spreadsheet).
Draft for Judge Johnson with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Johnson, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
Opens in Ezel Pro.
- Grounded in Judge Johnson's own signed orders
- Cites every source it relies on, so you can verify it
- Chat, drafting and research in one workspace