Jacob Trieber
Judge Trieber no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.
How Judge Trieber decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
He enforced constitutional limits even when the policy objective was compelling, treating the absence of an enumerated federal power as dispositive.
“If Congress has not the power, the duty of the court is to declare the act void.”
He looked to statutory purpose and practical legal structure rather than an association's chosen label when deciding bankruptcy eligibility.
“Whether this association may be called a joint-stock association, an unincorporated association or a trust association, it is within the letter and clearly within the spirit of the Bankruptcy Act, as one subject to its provisions.”
He treated a genuinely disputed contractual claim as part of the amount in controversy even though its ultimate enforceability remained undecided.
“It is therefore beyond question that the right to recover an attorney’s fee on these notes is ‘a matter in controversy,’ to be determined if pleaded as a defense in the answer, and therefore must be computed in making up the requisite jurisdictional amount.”
Procedural preferences
He permitted a next friend to protect a person of impaired capacity even without a prior incompetency adjudication or appointed guardian.
“What the court does decide is that a person not actually insane, but non compos mentis, who has not been adjudged as incapable by a court of competent jurisdiction and who has no guardian or committee, may maintain an action in this court by his next friend.”
He would not allow a plaintiff to abandon a case after the court had announced a directed result absent an extraordinary justification.
“In my opinion, it is too late for a plaintiff to ask for a nonsuit after the court has granted a motion for a peremptory instruction in favor of the defendant and directed the jury to sign it, unless some extraordinary reason demanded it.”
He measured removability at the moment the removal papers were filed, allowing a prior amendment to reduce the amount in controversy.
“the right of removal has to be determined from the facts as they appear from the pleadings at the time the petition and bond are filed”
Cautions
He was skeptical of informal family wage arrangements asserted against an insolvent estate because they could conceal assets from creditors.
“To permit a recovery in such a case would enable insolvent debtors to use their children as a cover to defraud their creditors.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“There was no error in the conclusions of law reached by the referee, and his judgment is approved.”
“It is therefore ordered by the court that the judgment of the referee- is- affirmed iff all things.”
“The clerk will allow mileage to witnesses who attend court with or without subpcena”
“judgment entered dismissing the intervention, with costs.”
“The order of the referee was for the right party, and is approved.”
“The order of the referee disallowing the claim is approved.”
“The action of the referee will be set aside vyith directions to hear the claim on the merits.”
“There can be no recovery for damages”
“the plaintiff is entitled to a judgment for the money prepaid for the ocean freight, amounting to $247.67, with 6 per cent, interest from the time of payment.”
“The demurrer to the indictment will be sustained.”
“The demurrer to the jurisdiction of the court is overruled.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
No case-level docket records are available for this pre-electronic tenure, so the profile makes no claim about caseload mix or case duration.
A historical record
Judge Trieber no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.