Richard A. Posner
How Judge Posner rules, drawn from 30 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Posner no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.
How Judge Posner decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
An express written condition that a settlement would not bind the parties until a typed agreement was signed controlled when neither the plaintiff nor her lawyer signed it.
“The parties had agreed in writing however that there would be no binding agreement until the typed settlement agreement was signed, and it never was by either the plaintiff or her lawyer. There was therefore no agreement that bound the plaintiff”
At summary judgment, a medical order and an unsubstantiated denial created a genuine factual dispute despite the unrepresented plaintiff's pleading errors.
“This is doubly false. It is disputed and he did receive an order from a doctor directing that he be assigned to a lower bunk. The defendants' brief does not discuss the dispute. It denies there was a permit or a doctor's order, but does not substantiate its denial.”
Procedural preferences
A material modification of an earlier class-certification order falls within Rule 23(f), even if it does not switch certification from granted to denied or vice versa; permission to appeal still requires the separate discretionary criteria.
“an order materially altering a previous order granting or denying class certification is within the scope of Rule 23(f) even if it doesn't alter the previous order to the extent of changing a grant into a denial or a denial into a grant.”
Cautions
A prison restriction required evidentiary support connecting the asserted safety concern to the inmate; an unsupported assumption and an available narrower accommodation did not justify confiscation.
“the defendants have presented no contrary evidence to support their assumption that Williams wanted a trophy. And the prison could have avoided this controversy in the first place by holding on to the death certificate except for the short time needed to include it (or indeed just a xerox copy of it) in Williams's court filing.”
A party could not repair an evidentiary failure by offering new material for the first time on appeal.
“No luck; new evidence may not be presented on appeal.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Because there was no evidentiary proceeding, there was no basis for the judge's deciding that the plaintiff had agreed to release the claims against the nonparties. The judgment must therefore be vacated and the case remanded for a factual inquiry into the parties' disagreement.”
“We therefore vacate the decision of the district court and remand for further proceedings in that court; since we have determined that there has been no settlement, the case remains open in the district court.”
“The dispositive principle is ‘no harm, no foul.’ ... in the circumstances of this case justice did not require that court to set aside the stipulation. Its judgment is AFFIRMED.”
“Frager had a reasonable expectation that he'd be able to renew his season tickets for 2016. ... given the wording of his contract with the Colts it was merely ‘a speculation on a chance, not a legal right.’ AFFIRMED.”
“there can't be deliberate indifference if the indifferent person did not know what harm he was being indifferent to. The judgment of the district court is therefore AFFIRMED.”
“we cannot say that the costs are trivial, bearing in mind that the increase in the guidelines range imposed on the defendant by virtue of those costs was modest. We therefore affirm the defendant's sentence.”
“In short, his claim is groundless, and so the district court's judgment is AFFIRMED.”
“We therefore have no alternative to dismissing Susinka's application.”
“The bankruptcy court's order implementing the district court's decision regarding the estate's entitlement to the defendants' assets was therefore valid, and is in any event not challenged by the appellants. The appeal is therefore Dismissed.”
“The judgment of the district court is affirmed with regard to the dismissal of the defendants not involved in the confiscation of the death certificate, but is otherwise reversed and the case remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.”
“The judgment is reversed in part, with instructions to vacate the grant of summary judgment with respect to the plaintiff's claim of willful indifference to an acute medical need, but is otherwise affirmed.”
A historical record
Judge Posner 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.