Kyle C. Dudek
How Judge Dudek decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
On the 2026 wave of immigration-detention habeas petitions he applies the Zadvydas v. Davis framework strictly: detention within the first presumptively-reasonable six months after a removal order is not unlawful, so a pre-six-month petition is denied without prejudice (with leave to refile) rather than granted -- a petitioner needs to show both that the six-month mark has passed and that there is no significant likelihood of removal in the reasonably foreseeable future.
“denying without prejudice ... to him refiling a new petition should his current detention exceed the six-month mark, and he can demonstrate there is no significant likelihood of removal in the reasonably foreseeable future.”
On default judgments (from his magistrate-era practice) he does not rubber-stamp: he recommends judgment only on the counts the complaint actually supports, recommending grant as to some counts while treating unsupported counts as abandoned.
“Plaintiffs' Motion for Default Judgment (Doc. 30) is GRANTED as to Counts I, III, and V. ... The Court deems Counts II, IV, and VI abandoned.”
When intervening binding precedent changes the governing law, he will revisit a final judgment under Rule 60 rather than preserve an outcome that no longer fits controlling authority. In Perez Acanda, he vacated the prior habeas denial, ordered the statutory bond-hearing process required by the new circuit decision, and limited relief to that process rather than immediate release.
“But as it turns out, that order has now run headlong into binding appellate precedent. The Eleventh Circuit has since changed the legal landscape, requiring a do-over here.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“ORDER denying without prejudice 4 Amended Complaint filed by Alan Gomez to him refiling a new petition should his current detention exceed the six-month mark, and he can demonstrate there is no significant likelihood of removal in the reasonably foreseeable future. The Clerk is DIRECTED to enter judgment accordingly ... Signed by District Judge Kyle C. Dudek on 6/17/2026.”
“Judge Dudek recommends that Plaintiffs' motion be granted. ... Plaintiffs' Motion for Default Judgment (Doc. 30) is GRANTED as to Counts I, III, and V.”
“Accordingly, the Motion for Relief from Judgment Under Rule 60 (Doc. 11) is GRANTED AS PROVIDED ABOVE. The Clerk is directed to reopen the case and enter judgment in Acanda's favor as per this order. The Court's prior order (Doc. 10) is VACATED. The Government must provide Acanda with the statutory process required under § 1226, which includes a bond hearing. All other or different relief sought in the habeas petition is DENIED.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The reviewed matters provide descriptive caseload context. His district-court tenure is still too recent to support representative duration figures or a case-disposition baseline.
Put Judge Dudek's record to work
Ezel drafts and answers grounded in this exact profile: how Judge Dudek actually rules, not a generic AI guess.
Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer is grounded in Judge Dudek's own signed orders and cites them.