James Larry Edmondson
How Judge Edmondson rules, drawn from 26 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Edmondson
James Larry Edmondson is a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Appointed by President Ronald Reagan, Judge Edmondson received a commission on May 7, 1986. Judge Edmondson assumed senior status on July 15, 2012.
Judge Edmondson's practices and standing orders
The court's website lists no individual practices or standing orders of Judge Edmondson's own (checked October 11, 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 11, 2026).
How Judge Edmondson decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Morrow v. Federal Bureau of Prisons, he held that Heck did not bar a former prisoner's damages claim for extra incarceration because success would not imply that the conviction or sentence was invalid.
“But we do not understand Heck’s rule to extend to a case like this one”
In the Mamani appeal, he called for judicial restraint before extending Alien Tort Statute liability to allegations arising from Bolivian protests.
“In a case like this one, judicial restraint is demanded.”
Procedural preferences
In Miccosukee Tribe, he vacated an injunction against the S-9 pump because the district court had not accounted for the flooding that stopping the pump could cause in Broward County.
“does not make the injunction any less an abuse of discretion.”
In Ratliff, he declined pendent appellate review of a fact-based attack on the district court’s assumptions during an interlocutory qualified-immunity appeal.
“We question that we have the right in this case to exercise discretionary pendent jurisdiction”
In an appeal over access to immigration hearings, the panel treated an immigration judge’s courtroom-control decisions as judicial acts covered by absolute immunity.
“Immigration Judges are judges entitled to absolute immunity for their judicial acts, without regard to the motive with which those acts are allegedly performed.”
Cautions
In Priester v. City of Riviera Beach, he denied qualified immunity to officers accused of using excessive force or failing to intervene because no reasonable officer could view their conduct as objectively reasonable on the facts presented.
“no reasonable officer would believe that either the amount of force used in these circumstances or the failure to intervene was objectively reasonable.”
Requires evidence of both an emergency medical condition and the hospital’s knowledge for the stabilization claim presented.
“Plaintiff failed to provide evidence either that Smith was in an emergency medical condition when discharged or that Humana knew of the emergency condition.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“PETITION DISMISSED.”
“AFFIRMED in part, REVERSED in part, and REMANDED”
“AFFIRMED in part, VACATED in part, and REMANDED.”
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