Clyde Roger Vinson
Judge Vinson no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.
How Judge Vinson decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In the multistate Affordable Care Act challenge he reached the merits on summary judgment and was willing to invalidate an entire federal statute, entering a final declaratory judgment that the Act was unconstitutional after concluding the individual mandate was inseverable.
“it is hereby DECLARED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED that The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ... is unconstitutional.”
Procedural preferences
Where a motion to dismiss is bundled inside a motion to transfer venue, he decides the transfer question first and leaves the dismissal for the judge who will preside after transfer.
“when a motion to dismiss is contained within a motion to transfer, it is proper to decide the transfer issue first and then --- if transfer is granted --- leave the motion to dismiss 'to be more properly dealt with by the judge who will be presiding over the litigation.'”
On summary judgment he applies the McDonnell Douglas framework and draws all reasonable inferences for the non-movant, denying the motion where a reasonable jury could find the employer's stated reason pretextual.
“given the facts established by the evidence in the record, a jury may well conclude that this stated reason was merely a pretext to hide discrimination. There are genuine issues of material fact present, precluding summary judgment.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“it is hereby DECLARED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED that The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Pub. L. No. 111-148, 124 Stat. 119 (2010), as amended ... is unconstitutional.”
“For the above-stated reasons, Defendant's motion for summary judgment (doc. 23) is DENIED.”
“WYBR, Inc.'s motion for summary judgment (Doc. 21) is GRANTED, and the United States' motion for summary judgment (Doc. 43) is also GRANTED.”
“The Defendants' motion to dismiss, doc. 48, is hereby GRANTED, and Plaintiff's amended complaint, doc. 21, is DISMISSED for failure to exhaust administrative remedies pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1997(e) and for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1915(e)(2).”
“The plaintiff's motion to transfer (doc. 49) is hereby GRANTED. The Clerk is directed to transfer this case to the Tallahassee Division.”
“the defendant's motion for summary judgment (doc. 13) is DENIED, without prejudice, at this time. ... all further proceedings in this case are STAYED.”
“Defendant’s Revised Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 20) is GRANTED under Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b) for Plaintiff’s failure to prosecute this action and under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) for Plaintiff’s failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.”
“Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment (Docs. 93, 94) is GRANTED.”
“The plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment (doc. 18) is GRANTED.”
“Defendant Baptist Health Care’s motion for summary judgment (doc. 39) is GRANTED.”
“the defendant’s motion for summary judgment (doc. 20) is GRANTED. The Clerk shall enter judgment in favor of the defendant”
“Seacoast’s motion for summary judgment (doc. 26) is GRANTED. Seacoast is dismissed as a defendant in this case”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 119.5 days (N = 10).
The enumeration shows his tail-end (2022-2023) reassigned docket: prisoner civil rights (42:1983 prison-condition), state habeas (28:2254), in forma pauperis matters, FTCA, and insurance/interpleader, plus one 1984 civil-rights case. This reflects late reassignments to a senior judge, not the composition of his active-service docket. Referral magistrates surfaced: Hope T. Cannon, Zachary C. Bolitho, Midori A. Lowry, Martin A. Fitzpatrick.
A historical record
Judge Vinson no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.