Michael R. Wilner
How Judge Wilner rules, drawn from 5 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Wilner no longer sits on this court. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Wilner
Michael R. Wilner served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the Central District of California from 2011 to 2025. Before joining the bench, he was a federal prosecutor in Los Angeles and a civil enforcement attorney at the Securities and Exchange Commission. He graduated from Dartmouth College and the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
How Judge Wilner decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
Remand followed where the administrative decision did not give a specific, legitimate, evidence-supported reason for rejecting an examining orthopedic surgeon's functional assessment.
“The Court concludes that the ALJ failed to identify a specific and legitimate reason supported by substantial evidence to reject the physical function assessment of an examining orthopedic surgeon.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“IT IS THEREFORE RECOMMENDED that the District Judge issue an order: (1) accepting the findings and recommendations in this Report; (2) directing that judgment be entered denying the Petition; and (3) dismissing the action with prejudice.”
“the decision of the Administrative Law Judge is VACATED, and the matter is REMANDED to the Social Security Administration for further proceedings consistent with the Courts Order”
“The ALJs decision is VACATED for the reasons stated above. The Court REMANDS the case to the agency for further proceedings.”
“ORDER DISMISSING CASE by Magistrate Judge Michael R. Wilner. ... re Notice of Voluntary Dismissal of an Action (Pursuant to FRCP 41a(1)) 48”
“IT IS ADJUDGED that the action is dismissed with prejudice as untimely. Related to: Order on Motion to Dismiss 42”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
All twenty sampled matters had terminated. Their median duration was 224.5 days, with a range of 43 to 678 days.
Pending matters in the official report
Judge Wilner was last listed in the Civil Justice Reform Act report as of March 31, 2024.
| Motions pending more than six months | 2 |
| Bench trials submitted more than six months | 0 |
| Bankruptcy appeals pending more than six months | 0 |
| Social Security appeals pending more than six months | 1 |
| Civil cases pending more than three years | 0 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2024 | 2 | 0 |
| Sep 2023 | 2 | 2 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 6 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 7 |
| Sep 2021 | 1 | 8 |
| Mar 2021 | 1 | 9 |
| Sep 2020 | 0 | 10 |
A snapshot on that date: matters listed may since have been decided or reassigned. A motion referred to a magistrate judge is counted for both judges. Motions in multidistrict litigation, section 2255 cases and Social Security appeals are not counted, and a very large three-year count is generally a multidistrict docket. Source: Appendix A of the report (PDF); about the report.
A historical record
Judge Wilner no longer sits on this court. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled here. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.