Charles Randolph Butler Jr.
How Judge Butler rules, drawn from 17 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Butler
Charles Randolph Butler, Jr. is a judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama. Appointed by President Ronald Reagan, Judge Butler received a commission on October 17, 1988. Judge Butler assumed senior status on March 28, 2005.
Judge Butler's practices and standing orders
The court's website lists no individual practices or standing orders of Judge Butler's own (checked October 9, 2026), so the court's local rules and general orders are the place to look (court page ↗).
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 Butler decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In James v. City of Mobile, Butler granted dismissal and striking motions after the plaintiff conceded in his responses that punitive damages against the city were unavailable and that two named defendants were improper.
“In his responses (Docs. 22, 23 & 24), Plaintiff concedes that he is not entitled to recover punitive damages against the City of Mobile and that the City of Mobile, AL Police Department and Chief of Police James H. Barber are not proper defendants. Therefore, the motions to dismiss and the motion to strike are hereby GRANTED.”
In USA Hospitals v. Kemp, Butler found the cited Blackmon decision did not control because its jurisdictional basis and hospital-lien issue were absent from the case before him.
“The instant case is not controlled by Blackmon for several reasons. First and foremost, no party has asserted jurisdiction under Ala. Code § 35-11-373, which was the only basis for subject matter jurisdiction in that case. Second, this case does not involve the determination of the amount of a hospital lien or the lien statute.”
Procedural preferences
In Dorsey v. Hetzel, Butler adopted a magistrate judge’s habeas recommendation after reviewing the objected-to portions de novo, denied the petition, and denied a certificate of appealability.
“After due and proper consideration of all portions of this file deemed relevant to the issues raised, and a de novo determination of those portions of the Recommendation to which objection is made, the Recommendation of the Magistrate Judge made under 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B) is ADOPTED as the opinion of this Court.”
In United States v. Sermeno, Butler denied a Section 2255 motion and a certificate of appealability in the same order after finding that none of the claims met the required threshold.
“A certificate of appealability may be issued only where the applicant has made a 'substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right.'... None of the claims raised in petitioner's § 2255 motion meet this threshold. Accordingly, the certificate of appealability is DENIED.”
Cautions
In Waffensmith v. Mora, Butler granted summary judgment in part while denying it as to the declaratory-judgment claim and the request for attorney’s fees.
“Defendant's motion for summary judgment is DENIED, in part, with respect to Plaintiff's declaratory judgment claim (Count 4) and Plaintiff's request for attorney's fees... summary judgment is GRANTED, in part, with respect to that claim.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“This matter is before the Court on the Report and Recommendation of the Magistrate Judge recommending that summary judgment be granted in favor of Nicole Steele, the only remaining defendant... the Report and Recommendation of the Magistrate Judge made under 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B) is hereby ADOPTED as the opinion of the Court. Accordingly, this action is DISMISSED with prejudice.”
“The motion to transfer is denied because Escambia County, the place where the warrant was signed, is in the Southern District of Alabama.”
“Accordingly, the government's motion to dismiss is GRANTED. It is ORDERED, ADJUDGED and DECREED that petitioner's motion to vacate, set aside or correct sentence be and hereby is DISMISSED with prejudice.”
“Therefore, the current motion is due to be and hereby is DENIED as a second or successive petition filed without authorization from the appellate court... Accordingly, the certificate of appealability is DENIED.”
“petitioner's habeas corpus petition, which the Court construes as having been filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241, be DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE due both to his failure to prosecute this action and, also, due to his failure to exhaust all available state court remedies.”
“Kemp's motion to dismiss or to stay rests entirely on Univ. of S. Ala. Hosps. v. Blackmon... The instant case is not controlled by Blackmon for several reasons... For the foregoing reasons, Defendant's motion to dismiss or, alternatively, to stay is DENIED.”
“Petitioner James Lewis's 28 U.S.C. § 2241 habeas petition (Doc. 1)... [is] DENIED; this action is DISMISSED with prejudice... the Court finds that Lewis not entitled to either a Certificate of Appealability or to appeal in forma pauperis.”
“It is ORDERED that the Respondent's Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED, and that plaintiff's claims brought pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1983 are DISMISSED with prejudice.”
“In his responses (Docs. 22, 23 & 24), Plaintiff concedes that... the City of Mobile, AL Police Department and Chief of Police James H. Barber are not proper defendants. Therefore, the motions to dismiss and the motion to strike are hereby GRANTED.”
“Plaintiff concedes that he is not entitled to recover punitive damages against the City of Mobile... Therefore, the motions to dismiss and the motion to strike are hereby GRANTED.”
“Since the flood damage was within policy limits, plaintiffs have suffered no damage from Thames Batre's alleged failure to increase coverage. Accordingly, for the reasons stated above, motion for summary judgment filed by defendant T&B Ltd. d/b/a Thames Batre Mattei Beville & Ison is hereby GRANTED.”
“For the reasons discussed above, the Defendant’s motion for summary judgment is DENIED, in part, with respect to Plaintiff’s declaratory judgment claim (Count 4) and Plaintiff’s request for attorney’s fees.”
“It is ORDERED that Petitioner's petition for habeas corpus relief is hereby DENIED and, further, that a certificate of appealability is hereby DENIED.”
“For the reasons set forth above, the motion for stay of execution of judgment is GRANTED. The supersedeas bond previously filed by the Appellant shall remain in the bankruptcy court during the pendency of the appeal.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
His sampled docket spans prisoner civil-rights and Eighth Amendment medical-care suits, Social Security disability appeals, an ERISA-adjacent insurance dispute resolved on a voluntary dismissal, and a Title VII employment-retaliation suit against a municipal employer, drawn from both his Southern and Northern Division caseload in Mobile and Selma-area matters.
How long civil cases take in this court
For the whole of U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama, not for Judge Butler: 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 | 352 | 10.4 months |
| Closed with no court action | 98 | 6.7 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 238 | 10.4 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 8 | not reported |
| Closed during trial | 8 | not reported |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 352 | 10.4 months |
| Sep 2024 | 424 | 9.1 months |
| Sep 2023 | 389 | 10 months |
| Sep 2022 | 457 | 11.3 months |
| Sep 2021 | 457 | 10.1 months |
| Sep 2020 | 998 | 4.5 months |
| Sep 2019 | 407 | 9.4 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).
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