Jordan Emery Pratt
How Judge Pratt rules, drawn from 24 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Pratt
Jordan Emery Pratt has served as a United States District Judge for the Middle District of Florida since November 3, 2025. President Donald J. Trump appointed him after service on Florida’s Fifth District Court of Appeal. Judge Pratt earned a B.A. and J.D. from the University of Florida.
Judge Pratt's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Pratt, as published on the court's website (checked October 12, 2026). Judges revise these often, so confirm the current version on the court's site before you file.
Key rules
Trial
In civil jury trials, serve and file proposed voir dire questions, jury instructions, and verdict forms at least six working days before trial.
“Counsel shall serve and file with the Clerk’s Office all proposed voir dire questions, proposed jury instructions, and proposed verdict forms not later than six (6) working days before the scheduled trial date.”
Trial
For civil jury trials, counsel must jointly file agreed jury instructions and file separate proposals for contested instructions.
“Counsel shall meet to agree on a single set of instructions to the jury and shall jointly file the same with the Clerk’s Office. If counsel cannot agree, counsel additionally shall file proposals as to any contested instructions.”
Trial
On the first day of a civil trial, exchange final exhibit and witness lists and give three copies of each list to the courtroom deputy.
“On the date the trial commences, counsel shall exchange a copy of their Exhibit List and final Witness List with other counsel and shall also provide three (3) copies of each list to the Courtroom Deputy.”
Trial
At the end of a civil trial, give the courtroom deputy tagged copies of all admitted exhibits on a thumb drive.
“At the conclusion of the trial, counsel shall provide the Courtroom Deputy a copy of all admitted exhibits with exhibit tags on a thumb drive.”
Trial
For criminal jury trials, serve and file proposed voir dire questions, jury instructions, and verdict forms at least six working days before trial.
“Counsel shall serve and file with the Clerk’s Office all proposed voir dire questions, proposed jury instructions, and proposed verdict forms not later than six (6) working days before the scheduled trial date.”
Trial
In criminal jury trials, the United States must file a one or two page plain-language summary of the charges for prospective jurors.
“The United States shall file a short, concise (one or two page) summary of the charges(s) against the Defendant(s). The summary shall be written in simple terms and will be used by the Court to familiarize prospective jurors about the charge(s).”
Trial
At the end of a criminal trial, provide tagged copies of all admitted exhibits on a thumb drive to the courtroom deputy.
“At the conclusion of the trial, counsel shall provide the Courtroom Deputy a copy of all admitted exhibits with exhibit tags on a thumb drive.”
Trial
In criminal proceedings, defense counsel must provide appropriate attire for an in-custody defendant to the U.S. Marshal’s Office rather than the jail.
“If the defendant is in custody, appropriate attire should be provided to the U.S. Marshal’s Office, not the jail.”
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 10, 2026).
How Judge Pratt decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Perozo Herrera, Pratt relied on binding circuit precedent to grant relief from mandatory immigration detention and require an individualized bond hearing or release.
“This Court has addressed claims and arguments similar to those raised in this case and has concluded it is bound by the Eleventh Circuit’s decision in Hernandez Alvarez...”
For a different post-removal detention claim, the court ordered supervised release after finding removal was not reasonably foreseeable.
“release Petitioner, subject to supervision pursuant to 8 U.S.C.”
Two reviewed bond-hearing petitions were dismissed without prejudice because the applicants had not first used the available administrative bond process.
“(Doc. 1) is DISMISSED without prejudice for Petitioner’s”
In a separate prisoner medical-care case, the court denied renewed emergency injunctive relief after finding the submissions did not establish likely success on the claim.
“Based on the foregoing, Plaintiff has failed to demonstrate a substantial”
In Davis, Pratt rejected a state-prisoner habeas claim based on allegedly false testimony because Davis had not shown the witness’s testimony was false and material.
“As discussed in Ground Five above, Davis has failed to demonstrate Sharp’s testimony was false and material.”
When screening a prisoner civil-rights complaint, the court allowed amendment but directed the plaintiff to focus on related events and omit unrelated claims.
“should not include any unrelated claims.”
In a separate prisoner civil-rights case, the court dismissed an amended complaint without prejudice after finding it did not identify the people responsible for the alleged lack of medical care.
“fails to identify the persons responsible”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“(Doc. 1) is DISMISSED without prejudice for Petitioner’s”
“2. The Warden’s motion to dismiss (Doc. 6) is DENIED as moot.”
“(Doc. 1) is DISMISSED without prejudice.”
“2. The Warden’s motion to dismiss (Doc. 11) is DENIED for the same”
“§ 2241 (Doc. 1) is DENIED to the extent he seeks relief under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) and GRANTED as to his claim that his current detention is unlawful based on his deferred action status.”
“2. The Warden’s motion to dismiss (Doc. 8) is DENIED for the same”
“1. The petition for a writ of habeas corpus (Doc. 1) is GRANTED as”
“2. The Warden’s motion to dismiss (Doc. 6) is DENIED for the same”
“(Doc. 1) is GRANTED as to Petitioner’s claim that his detention”
“2. The Warden’s motion to dismiss (Doc. 7) is DENIED for the same”
“(Doc. 1) is GRANTED as to Petitioner’s claim that his detention”
“2. The Warden’s motion to dismiss (Doc. 8) is DENIED as moot.”
“§ 2241 (Doc. 10) is DISMISSED without prejudice for”
“2. The Warden’s motion to dismiss (Doc. 16) is DENIED as moot.”
“(Doc. 1) is GRANTED as to Petitioner’s claim that his mandatory”
“2. The Warden’s motion to dismiss (Doc. 7) is DENIED for the same”
“(Doc. 1) is GRANTED as to Petitioner’s claim that his mandatory”
“2. The Warden’s motion to dismiss (Doc. 6) is DENIED for the same”
“(Doc. 1) is GRANTED as to his Zadvydas claim. 2 Respondents shall”
“(Doc. 6) is DENIED for the same reasons stated in Lanvin-Valdez v.”
“(Doc. 1) is GRANTED as to Petitioner’s claim that his mandatory”
“2. The Warden’s motion to dismiss (Doc. 6) is DENIED for the same”
“(Doc. 1) is GRANTED as to Petitioner’s claim that his mandatory”
“2. The Warden’s motion to dismiss (Doc. 7) is DENIED for the same”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
This selected docket set illustrates issues reaching the court and is not a census of assigned cases.
Pending matters in the official report
Reported by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts under the Civil Justice Reform Act, as of March 31, 2026.
| Motions pending more than six months | 0 |
| Bench trials submitted more than six months | 0 |
| Bankruptcy appeals pending more than six months | 0 |
| Social Security appeals pending more than six months | 0 |
| Civil cases pending more than three years | 0 |
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.
How long civil cases take in this court
For the whole of United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, not for Judge Pratt: median time from filing to disposition of the civil cases the court closed in the 12 months ending September 30, 2025, as reported by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
| Cases | Median time | |
|---|---|---|
| All civil cases closed | 6,896 | 5.5 months |
| Closed with no court action | 49 | 3.5 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 6,492 | 5.2 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 319 | 14.7 months |
| Closed during trial | 36 | 24.2 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 6,896 | 5.5 months |
| Sep 2024 | 7,115 | 5.6 months |
| Sep 2023 | 6,777 | 5.5 months |
| Sep 2022 | 6,781 | 6.7 months |
| Sep 2021 | 6,749 | 6.2 months |
| Sep 2020 | 6,392 | 6.2 months |
| Sep 2019 | 6,830 | 5.7 months |
The table leaves out prisoner petitions, land condemnations, deportation reviews, recovery of overpayments and enforcement of judgments, and reports no median for fewer than 10 cases. A district that closed a large multidistrict litigation in the period shows very large counts and long medians for that year. Source: Table C-5, U.S. District Courts (spreadsheet).
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