Samuel J. Horovitz
How Judge Horovitz rules, drawn from 26 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Horovitz
Samuel J. Horovitz became a United States Magistrate Judge in the Jacksonville Division of the Middle District of Florida in July 2024. He earned his law degree from the University of Florida, clerked for Chief Judge Marcia Morales Howard, and practiced law in Jacksonville before joining the bench.
Judge Horovitz's practices and standing orders
The court's website lists no individual practices or standing orders of Judge Horovitz's own (checked October 8, 2026), so the court's local rules and general orders are the place to look (court page ↗).
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 Horovitz decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Cautions
For post-judgment reconsideration, the court enforced the local requirement to file a supporting legal memorandum. The omission alone warranted denial, especially after prior warnings in the same case.
“The Motion to Alter or Amend includes no legal memorandum as required by Local Rule 3.01(b), which alone warrants its denial.”
In Gardner, the court rejected a summary judgment motion supported by counsel’s account of unfiled video and an uncertified rough deposition transcript. The moving party had to present admissible evidence establishing an undisputed material fact.
“In short, the MSJ is predicated on unsupported statements of counsel, not evidence.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Plaintiff, having obtained a sentence-four reversal of a denial of benefits and remand under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), is a ‘prevailing party.’”
“The Motion (Doc. 19) is granted. ... The Clerk of Court shall enter judgment in favor of Plaintiff and against Defendant in the amount of $2,911.39.”
“Plaintiff, having obtained a sentence-four reversal of a denial of benefits and remand, is a ‘prevailing party.’”
“The Motion (Doc. 22) is granted. ... The Clerk of Court shall enter judgment in favor of Plaintiff and against Defendant in the amount of $3,380.73.”
“Mr. Culbertson is awarded $17,220.15 in net attorney's fees pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 406(b)(1)(A), to be paid out of Plaintiff's past-due benefits in accordance with agency policy.”
“The Commissioner's decision is affirmed. ... Because the ALJ's decision clears 'the low evidentiary bar' of substantial evidence, it is due to be affirmed.”
“The Commissioner's decision is affirmed. ... Because the ALJ's decision clears 'the low evidentiary bar' of substantial evidence, it is due to be affirmed.”
“The decision of the Commissioner is hereby reversed under sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), and this case is remanded to the Commissioner for further proceedings.”
“The Motion (Doc. 23) is granted. ... The Clerk of Court shall enter judgment in favor of Plaintiff and against Defendant in the amount of $8,040.00 for attorney's fees and $405.00 for costs.”
“ORDER affirming the Commissioner of Social Security's decision. The Clerk of Court is directed to enter judgment accordingly, terminate any motions, and close the file.”
“The decision of the Commissioner is hereby reversed under sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), and this case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with the Motion.”
“Plaintiff, having obtained a sentence-four reversal of a denial of benefits and remand, is a ‘prevailing party.’ ... [T]he Motion is due to be granted.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median motion-to-ruling time: 20 days (N = 31).
- The docket is dominated by criminal complaints and initial appearances handled on the magistrate-duty rotation; those matters usually terminate within days and are not merits-motion rulings.
- The civil component consists chiefly of consent Social Security appeals, including contested affirmances and reversals as well as agreed remands, plus occasional referred wage-and-hour and other civil matters.
- The reviewed Social Security appeals ran about three and a half to six and a half months from filing to termination.
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 |
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 Horovitz: 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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