Benecia B. Moore

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas magistrate 12 signed orders read

How Judge Moore decides

Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

What persuades

On Social Security appeals she applies deferential substantial-evidence review and affirms the Commissioner where the ALJ's findings are adequately supported -- eight of her nine consent-docket appeals ended in affirmance.

“supported by substantial evidence on the record as a whole and affirms”

Procedural preferences

In prisoner civil-rights screening she lets a narrow set of individual-capacity claims proceed while dismissing official-capacity and unexhausted claims without prejudice for failure to state a claim.

“remaining retaliation, condition-of-confinement, and official-capacity claims are dismissed without prejudice for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted”

Cautions

She enforces the AEDPA one-year limitations period strictly: both merits habeas petitions she reached were dismissed with prejudice as time-barred, with no certificate of appealability, absent grounds for tolling.

“his amended petition is time-barred and must be denied and dismissed with prejudice. No Certificate of appealability shall be issued.”

Signed rulings

A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.

Gardner v. Hecht
3:22-cv-00061-BBM · 2024-03-26
Summary judgment (defendant) Granted

“MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER granting 34 Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment; and dismissing, with prejudice, Gardner's individual-capacity excessive-force claim against Officer Hecht, individual-capacity failure-to-intervene claim against Lieutenant Barnum, and official capacity claims.”

Vann v. Carroll
4:24-cv-00015-KGB-BBM · 2024-08-27
Preliminary injunction (plaintiff) Denied

“Mr. Vann's motion for preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order is denied”

Frazier v. Snyder
3:23-cv-00211-DPM-BBM · 2024-09-10

28 U.S.C. 1915A screening Partial Recommended Disposition by Magistrate Judge Moore, adopted by District Judge D.P. Marshall Jr. Two claims against one officer allowed to proceed; remaining claims dismissed without prejudice. Rules on no party motion; counted as an order read, not a motion. Grounding quote: 'ORDER adopting 5 Partial Recommendation; allowing Frazier's procedural due process and conditions-of-confinement claims against Officer Sanchez to go forward; dismissing, without prejudice, his remaining claims'.

Mayfield v. Wright
4:24-cv-00063-LPR-BBM · 2024-04-29
Motion to add party (plaintiff) Granted in part

“granting in part and denying in part 12 Motion for Status Update and Motion to Add Plaintiff”

Motion for order (plaintiff) Denied

“denying 13 Motion for Order”

Motion to add party (plaintiff) Denied

“denying 15 Motion to Add Plaintiff and for Discovery”

Mayfield v. Wright
4:24-cv-00063-LPR-BBM · 2024-07-08

Screening Partial Recommended Disposition by Magistrate Judge Moore, adopted after de novo review by District Judge Lee P. Rudofsky. Conditions-of-confinement claims proceed; official-capacity claims dismissed without prejudice. Order read, not a motion. Grounding quote: 'dismissing, without prejudice, Plaintiff's official-capacity claims'.

Reeves v. Dunham
4:24-cv-00088-DPM-BBM · 2024-08-02
Preliminary injunction (plaintiff) Moot / procedural

“his request for related injunctive relief is denied as moot”

Reeves v. Dunham
4:24-cv-00088-BBM · 2025-07-15
Motions to strike (defendant) Denied

“denying Defendants' 111 Motion to Strike”

Summary judgment Denied

“denying, without prejudice, 68 , 81 , 91 Motions for Summary Judgment”

Motion for subpoena (plaintiff) Granted

“granting Reeves's construed and embedded 109 Motion for Subpoena”

Ross v. Garrett
2:23-cv-00176-BBM · 2025-01-22
Habeas petition (petitioner) Denied

“ORDER dismissing without prejudice as moot 1 Ross's Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus.”

Hickey v. Payne
4:23-cv-00644-BBM · 2024-05-01
Habeas petition (petitioner) Denied

“MEMORANDUM AND ORDER dismissing, with prejudice, as time barred, 1 5 Hickey's Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus and amendments thereto”

Motions to stay (petitioner) Moot / procedural

“denying as moot 15 Hickey's Motion to Stay the Proceedings”

Daniels v. Payne
4:23-cv-00345-BBM · 2024-01-02
Habeas petition (petitioner) Denied

“his amended petition is time-barred and must be denied and dismissed with prejudice. No Certificate of appealability shall be issued.”

Dunahue v. Branham
4:23-cv-00504-BBM · 2025-03-05
Summary judgment (defendant) Granted in part

“ORDER granting in part and denying in part Defendants' 38 Motion for Partial Summary Judgment”

Motion for appointment of counsel (plaintiff) Denied

“denying 81 Motion to Appoint Counsel”

Hutcherson v. Hays
2:23-cv-00030-BBM · 2025-05-27
Motions to strike (plaintiff) Moot / procedural

“denying as moot Hutcherson's 32 Motion to Strike Affirmative Defense”

Caseload & timing

From public federal docket records for this judge.

Moore's civil docket is dominated by Social Security disability appeals, pro se prisoner civil-rights suits (Eighth/Fourteenth Amendment conditions, excessive force, retaliation) under 42 U.S.C. 1983, and state and federal habeas petitions (28 U.S.C. 2254/2241); she also carries criminal-duty magistrate work (search warrants, criminal complaints, petty offenses). Case durations are not reported as a median because much of the assigned inventory was filed before she joined the court and reassigned to her mid-stream.

Put Judge Moore's record to work

Ezel drafts and answers grounded in this exact profile: how Judge Moore actually rules, not a generic AI guess.

Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer is grounded in Judge Moore's own signed orders and cites them.