Staci G. Cornelius
How Judge Cornelius rules, drawn from 18 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Cornelius
Staci G. Cornelius became a United States Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of Alabama in 2014 and was reappointed in 2022. Before joining the bench, she worked as a federal prosecutor, a county prosecutor, and a private litigator. She has also taught trial advocacy at Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law.
Judge Cornelius's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Cornelius, 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 Cornelius decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Procedural preferences
In McCain v. White, Cornelius recommended granting summary judgment for Warden Bennett while denying it for Sergeant White and Captain Hutton. The district judge adopted that recommendation.
“the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation (Doc. 33) should be ACCEPTED and hereby ADOPTS it as the findings of the Court. The Court ORDERS that Warden Bennett's motion for summary judgment is GRANTED. The Court further ORDERS that Sergeant White and Captain Hutton's motion for summary judgment ... are DENIED.”
Cautions
In Horsman v. Brown, Cornelius recommended dismissing the prisoner’s civil rights complaint without prejudice because his challenge to his conviction belonged in habeas corpus. The district judge adopted the recommendation.
“the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation (Doc. 5) should be ACCEPTED and hereby ADOPTS it as the findings of the Court. The case is therefore DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation (Doc. 33) should be ACCEPTED and hereby ADOPTS it as the findings of the Court. The Court ORDERS that Warden Bennett's motion for summary judgment is GRANTED. The Court further ORDERS that Sergeant White and Captain Hutton's motion for summary judgment ... are DENIED.”
“the plaintiff's motion for leave to conduct additional discovery [is] DENIED”
“the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation (Doc. 5) should be ACCEPTED and hereby ADOPTS it as the findings of the Court. The case is therefore DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.”
“the undersigned RECOMMENDS the court permit the plaintiff to obtain the requested discovery regarding PFHS's financial records for 2018-2021.”
“the court will grant the defendants' motion to dismiss (Doc. 4) and dismiss this action without prejudice.”
“the court GRANTS the defendants' summary judgment motion (Doc. 20) as to Carter-Washington's breach of contract claim, claim brought under Ala. Code § 6-6-280, and claim for violations of the court-imposed stay and DISMISSES those claims WITH PREJUDICE. However, the court DENIES the motion (Doc. 20) as to Carter-Washington's invasion of privacy claim”
“Williams's motion for summary judgment is GRANTED IN PART with respect to Counts II and III. (Doc. 106).”
“The Parents' motion for partial summary judgment is DENIED. (Doc. 103).”
“the Commissioner's decision is due to be reversed and remanded for further proceedings pursuant to sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g).”
“the court will GRANT the agency's motion for summary judgment. (Doc. 27).”
“the court DENIES the motion for summary judgment (Doc. 38) filed by Piggly Wiggly ADC.”
“the Goozees' motion to remand is DENIED. (Doc. 7).”
“GRANTS Liberty Mutual's motion to dismiss (Doc. 5).”
“Frankenmuth's partial motion to dismiss is GRANTED. (Doc. 4).”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Her consent docket skews toward consumer-protection cases under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and Fair Credit Reporting Act, Social Security disability appeals, insurance, and employment and civil-rights matters. The case-mix description is based on the case captions and stated causes of action.
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 | 4 |
| 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 | 4 | 0 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 1 |
| Mar 2025 | 2 | 2 |
| Sep 2024 | 3 | 1 |
| Mar 2024 | 2 | 1 |
| Sep 2023 | 2 | 1 |
| Mar 2023 | 3 | 3 |
| Sep 2022 | 5 | 4 |
| Mar 2022 | 21 | 4 |
| Sep 2021 | 7 | 6 |
| Mar 2021 | 4 | 4 |
| Sep 2020 | 15 | 5 |
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 Cornelius: 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 Cornelius with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Cornelius, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
Opens in Ezel Pro.
- Grounded in Judge Cornelius's own signed orders
- Cites every source it relies on, so you can verify it
- Chat, drafting and research in one workspace