Roy Bale Dalton Jr.
How Judge Dalton rules, drawn from 23 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Dalton
Roy Bale Dalton, Jr. is a judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Appointed by President Barack Obama, Judge Dalton received a commission on May 3, 2011. Judge Dalton assumed senior status on July 9, 2022.
Judge Dalton's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Dalton, as published on the court's website (checked October 8, 2026). Judges revise these often, so confirm the current version on the court's site before you file.
Key rules
Filing
Provide a courtesy copy promptly when a motion exceeds 25 pages including exhibits and attachments.
“If, however, a motion exceeds 25 pages in length (including exhibits and attachments). a courtesy copy is required.”
Motions
File sentencing motions and memoranda at least seven business days before the hearing absent extraordinary circumstances.
“Absent extraordinary circumstances, the court will not consider motions or memoranda that are not filed at least seven business days before sentencing hearing.”
Conferences
Complete mediation in most cases four to six months before the trial term.
“Mediation is required in most cases and should be completed four to six months before the trial term.”
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 Dalton decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Gimenez Rivero v. Mina, Dalton held that mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225 did not apply to a noncitizen already present in the United States. He granted the petitioner’s habeas petition and temporary restraining order after finding no lawful basis offered for continued detention.
“In sum, this Court joins the many, many others to conclude that mandatory detention under § 1225 does not apply to noncitizens who are already present in this country.”
In Blaine, detailed medical-staff bylaws plausibly supplied a protected property interest and made the absence of the promised pre-termination process material to the physicians' due-process claim.
“A fundamental principle of procedural due process is that a person be given a pre-termination hearing prior to being deprived of any significant property interest.”
In Sotolongo, Dalton rejected a plea agreement when dismissal of the more serious counts would not reflect the alleged offense conduct and would constrain sentencing discretion.
“Given the nature and scope of the conspiracy alleged, if the Court were to permit dismissal of the more serious bank fraud and false statement charges, the remaining conspiracy charge would not adequately reflect the seriousness of the Sotolongo’s actual offense behavior.”
In Doe v. Rollins College, Dalton required school-specific circumstances connecting external pressure to asserted investigative disparities rather than treating public criticism alone as proof of gender bias.
“Alone, allegations of external pressure fail to support an inference of gender discrimination.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Defendant's Dispositive Motion to Dismiss With Prejudice (Doc. 12) is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART. a. The Motion (Doc. 12) is DENIED to the extent it seeks dismissal of the Complaint with prejudice. b. The Motion (Doc. 12) is GRANTED to the extent it seeks dismissal of the Complaint without prejudice. ... The Complaint (Doc. 2) is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. ... Plaintiff is granted leave to file an Amended Complaint.”
“Defendant State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company's Motion for Summary Judgment on the Coverage Issue (Doc. 87) is GRANTED to the extent identified in this Order. ... Because the Court concludes that the Policy does not obligate State Farm to hire pre-suit counsel for Ayers, State Farm's SJ Motion is due to be granted.”
“Plaintiff Frank Ayers' Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 85) is DENIED.”
“Commodores Entertainment Corporation Motion for Partial Summary Judgment as to the Complaint, First Amended Verified Answer and Counterclaim by Thomas McClary, and the First Amended Third Party Complaint (Doc. 411) is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART.”
“Defendant's Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings (Doc. 81) is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART”
“Defendant Resurrection Life THC, Inc's Dispositive Motion for Final Summary Judgment with Incorporated Memorandum of Law (Doc. 164) is GRANTED.”
“As to Defendant RLTHC, Plaintiff's Second Renewed and Amended Verified Motion for Partial Summary Judgment on the Issue of Liability and Defendants' Affirmative Defenses ... (Doc. 162) is DENIED.”
“Defendant Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc.'s Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 53) is DENIED.”
“Defendant Secretary of the Department of Veteran Affairs' Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 24) is DENIED.”
“Defendants' Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 29) is GRANTED. Plaintiffs' Complaint (Doc. 1) is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
“Plaintiffs Motion for Partial Summary Judgment and Supporting Memorandum of Law (Doc. 45) is GRANTED.”
“Defendant[ ] Clean Fuels of Indiana, Inc.'s Motion for Summary Judgment and Brief in Support (Doc. 52) is DENIED.”
“Defendants moved for summary judgment on all claims (Doc. 115 (‘Motion’)), and Diamond opposed (Doc. 133). The Motion is due to be denied.”
“Both parties moved for summary judgment (Doc. 19 (‘Defendant's Motion’); Doc. 22 (‘Plaintiff's Motion’)), and each side responded and replied (Docs. 27-29). For the reasons set forth below, both motions are due to be denied.”
“Both parties moved for summary judgment (Doc. 19 (‘Defendant's Motion’); Doc. 22 (‘Plaintiff's Motion’)) ... For the reasons set forth below, both motions are due to be denied.”
“Defendant's Motion to Dismiss Counts II-VII of Plaintiffs Complaint with Prejudice (Doc. 19) is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART ... Counts Two through Seven of the Complaint (Doc. 1) are DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. On or before Friday, January 20, 2017, Plaintiff may file an Amended Complaint.”
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 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2020 | 0 | 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 U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, not for Judge Dalton: 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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