William C. Frey
Judge Frey no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.
How Judge Frey decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
Frey protected federal officers from state criminal liability when their conduct stayed within the authority and reasonable judgment of their federal duties.
“If a person is authorized to do an act by the law of the United States, and if he does no more than what is necessary and proper for him to do, he is innocent of any crime against the laws of any state.”
He enforced mandatory administrative filing rules where the governing regulation left no discretion to accept an untimely contest answer.
“The language of the regulation which requires the Land Officer to dismiss an untimely answer to a contest complaint is clearly mandatory.”
Procedural preferences
He separately resolved each amendment, class-definition, discovery, and striking request rather than treating a cluster of procedural filings as one undifferentiated result.
“8. Defendant’s Motion to Strike and Dismiss filed herein on December 22, 1971, is declared moot by virtue of the foregoing Orders of the Court.”
At the pleading stage he accepted well-pleaded allegations and deferred fact-dependent questions about individual authority and immunity until a record could be developed.
“IT IS ORDERED that defendants’ motion to dismiss, is denied.”
Cautions
He would dismiss litigation affecting reservation governance and economic interests when the sovereign Tribe was indispensable but could not be joined.
“This Court must dismiss this cause of action for failure to join an indispensablé party, the Navajo Tribe.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“IT IS ORDERED that the defendant’s motion for summary judgment is granted and this action is dismissed; the Clerk is directed to enter judgment accordingly.”
“■ IT IS ORDERED that the defendants’ motion to dismiss, is granted. The complaint in this action is hereby dismissed.”
“IT IS ORDERED that the motion to dismiss by defendant First National Bank of Chicago is denied.”
“It is ordered that defendant’s Motion to Dismiss, is granted and the plaintiffs’ Supplemental Complaint, is dismissed.”
“IT IS ORDERED that the Order of this Court entered November 30, 1976, is vacated, the motion for arrest of judgment heretofore granted is reconsidered and denied.”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that considering the motion for arrest of judgment as a motion for judgment of acquittal, the motion is granted, the verdict rendered herein is set aside; defendant, William Dale Manypenny, is ADJUDGED not guilty.”
“IT IS ORDERED that defendants’ Motion to Dismiss, is granted.”
“It is ordered that the judgment and conviction heretofore entered by the Magistrate, is affirméd.”
“IT IS ORDERED that defendants’ motion to dismiss, is denied.”
“It is ordered the defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment, is granted, and plaintiffs’ Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings, is denied. Defendant is entitled to have judgment entered in his favor dismissing the action.”
“IT IS ORDERED that defendant’s motion to dismiss this complaint for lack of jurisdiction in this Court, is granted; same shall be dismissed.”
“It is ordered that defendants’ Motions to Dismiss, are granted and the complaint, is dismissed.”
“It is ordered that defendant’s Motion to Dismiss, is granted; this action is dismissed.”
“Plaintiff’s motion for preliminary injunction and claim for other relief should be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
No electronic case-level dockets assigned to Frey were located for his historical tenure, so no caseload mix or duration claim is made.
A historical record
Judge Frey 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.