Martin A. Fitzpatrick
How Judge Fitzpatrick rules, drawn from 36 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Fitzpatrick
Martin A. Fitzpatrick joined the Northern District of Florida as a U.S. magistrate judge in April 2020, based in Tallahassee. Before joining the federal bench, he served as a judge of Florida’s Second Judicial Circuit.
Judge Fitzpatrick's practices and standing orders
The court's website lists no individual practices or standing orders of Judge Fitzpatrick's own (checked October 9, 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 9, 2026).
How Judge Fitzpatrick decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Procedural preferences
In a prisoner civil-rights case, Fitzpatrick recommended denying a motion to file an eighth amended complaint after finding that repeated changes to defendants delayed consideration of pending motions.
“His continued requests to amend are an abuse of the judicial process and are preventing this Court from adjudicating the pending motions to dismiss, ECF Nos. 127 and 132, and motion to revoke in forma pauperis status, ECF No. 111.”
In Porter v. Dixon, he reviewed an unopposed summary-judgment motion on its merits rather than recommending a default grant, then recommended granting the motion.
“Despite the summary judgment motion being unopposed, it has been fully reviewed and will not be granted by default.”
In Dallas v. Summers, his report and recommendation advised the parties that they had fourteen days to file specific objections and that failing to object could waive appellate challenge to unobjected findings.
“If a party fails to object to the Magistrate Judge's findings or recommendations as to any particular claim or issue contained in this Report and Recommendation, that party waives the right to challenge on appeal the District Court's order based on the unobjected-to factual and legal conclusions.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“It is respectfully RECOMMENDED that Defendants' motion for summary judgment, ECF No. 79, be GRANTED, and that current Florida Department of Corrections' Secretary Ricky D. Dixon be automatically substituted for former Secretary Mark S. Inch in his individual capacity only.”
“It is therefore respectfully RECOMMENDED that Respondent’s motion to dismiss (ECF No. 9) be GRANTED and the § 2254 petition (ECF No. 1) be DISMISSED as untimely.”
“Defendant Leon County School District’s Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 32, be GRANTED”
“Plaintiff L.R.’s Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 31, be DENIED”
“It is respectfully RECOMMENDED that Plaintiff's motion for leave to file a second amended complaint, ECF No. 62, be denied and this case proceed on Plaintiff's claim against Defendant Dixon in Count I of the amended complaint, ECF No. 46.”
“It is respectfully RECOMMENDED that Plaintiff's motion to vacate judgment, ECF No. 16, be DENIED.”
“It is respectfully RECOMMENDED that Plaintiff's motion for leave to file an Eighth Amended Complaint, ECF No. 149, be DENIED as an abuse of the judicial process, and this case be REMANDED for further proceedings.”
A 13-page report and recommendation screening a pro se prisoner Section 1983 complaint under 28 U.S.C. 1915 after the plaintiff's amended complaint repeated the original defects. Judge Fitzpatrick recommended sua sponte dismissal for failure to state a claim because the suit was barred by Heck v. Humphrey and Younger abstention, the named state trial judge had judicial immunity, the assistant public defender was not a state actor, and the pleading was an impermissible shotgun complaint. He also recommended that the dismissal count as a strike under Section 1915(g).
A 3-page report and recommendation recommending sua sponte dismissal of a pro se prisoner suit for failure to prosecute and failure to comply with a court order: after being granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis and directed to file a second amended complaint, the plaintiff let the deadline pass despite a warning, appearing to have abandoned the case.
“Considering the record as a whole, the findings of the ALJ are based upon substantial evidence in the record and the ALJ correctly applied the law. Accordingly, the decision of the Commissioner to deny Plaintiff’s application for Social Security Disability Benefits is AFFIRMED. The Clerk is DIRECTED to enter judgment for the Commissioner.”
“For the reasons discussed, it is respectfully RECOMMENDED that Defendant’s motion to dismiss, ECF No. 43, be GRANTED and Plaintiff’s amended complaint be DISMISSED based on Eleventh Amendment immunity.”
“After consideration of the record, for the reasons stated below, the decision of the Commissioner is AFFIRMED.”
“Respondent’s motion to dismiss (ECF No. 13) be GRANTED and the § 2254 petition (ECF No. 1) be DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Judge Fitzpatrick's directly assigned and consent docket is dominated by Social Security disability appeals, alongside magistrate criminal-duty matters and occasional civil-rights or consumer cases. Much of his additional work consists of reports and recommendations in referred prisoner civil-rights, state-habeas, and other civil matters, which are not reflected in the assigned-case mix.
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 United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, not for Judge Fitzpatrick: 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 | 148,428 | 47.7 months |
| Closed with no court action | 30 | 3 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 148,385 | 47.7 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 4 | not reported |
| Closed during trial | 9 | not reported |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 148,428 | 47.7 months |
| Sep 2024 | 140,479 | 43.4 months |
| Sep 2023 | 36,307 | 27.8 months |
| Sep 2022 | 57,845 | 21.8 months |
| Sep 2021 | 14,972 | 5.3 months |
| Sep 2020 | 6,038 | 6.7 months |
| Sep 2019 | 1,148 | 7.5 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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