Stephen B. Jackson, Jr.
How Judge Jackson rules, drawn from 23 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Jackson
Stephen B. Jackson Jr. has served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of Iowa since 2015, including service as Chief Magistrate Judge. He earned degrees from the University of Notre Dame and the University of Iowa College of Law.
Judge Jackson's practices and standing orders
The court's website lists no individual practices or standing orders of Judge Jackson'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 Jackson decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Procedural preferences
In Ohlensehlen v. University of Iowa, Jackson directed counsel to confer under Local Rule 7(k) and supplement a motion for videoconference attendance with the defendants’ position. He granted the motion after the defendants confirmed no objection.
“TEXT ORDER FOR L.R. 7(k) STATEMENT: Plaintiffs' counsel shall confer with counsel for defendants pursuant to Local Rule 7(k) as to whether defendants consent to Plaintiffs' Motion for Videoconference 19 and then file a supplementation to the motion by December 16, 2020, indicating defendants' position. Signed by Magistrate Judge Stephen B. Jackson, Jr. on 12/15/2020.”
In Jimmy John’s Franchise v. Winkel, Parker & Foster, Jackson denied an expedited-hearing request without prejudice and said he would decide whether to set a hearing on the subpoena motion after the respondent appeared and responded.
“The determination as to whether a hearing will be set on the Motion to Compel Compliance with Third-Party Subpoena 1 will be made by the Court after there is an appearance and response to the motion filed by the named respondent. See L.R. 7(c).”
In Puente, Jackson denied an expert-deadline extension without prejudice when the motion omitted the required statement about conferring with opposing counsel.
“The motion does not contain a statement as to the requisite conferral with defendant's counsel pursuant to Local Rule 7(k).”
Cautions
In the EEOC’s case against Walmart, Jackson granted an unopposed extension to respond to summary judgment but warned that it could affect the trial date and that counsel should expect no further extensions.
“This extension may affect the ability to maintain the current trial date. No further extensions should be expected.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“TEXT ORDER granting 6 Plaintiffs' Motion to Amend Class Action Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief. Pursuant to Local Rule 15, the Clerk of Court is directed to detach and docket the amended complaint attached to the motion. Signed by Magistrate Judge Stephen B. Jackson, Jr. on 10/19/2020.”
“TEXT ORDER granting 22 Defendants' Unresisted Motion for Overlength Brief in Support of Their Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' First Amended Complaint. Pursuant to Local Rule 7(h), the Clerk of Court is directed to detach and docket the brief attached to the motion. Signed by Magistrate Judge Stephen B. Jackson, Jr. on 12/16/2020.”
“TEXT ORDER granting 19 Plaintiffs' Motion for Videoconference in Addition to In-Person Hearing. Defendants have notified the Court they do not object to Plaintiffs' request and, therefore, the motion is hereby granted. Signed by Magistrate Judge Stephen B. Jackson, Jr. on 12/17/2020.”
“TEXT ORDER granting 34 Plaintiff's Unopposed Motion for Extension to its Response to Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment. Plaintiff has until May 26, 2023 to respond to Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment 33 . This extension may affect the ability to maintain the current trial date. No further extensions should be expected. Signed by Magistrate Judge Stephen B. Jackson, Jr. on 5/4/2023.”
“TEXT ORDER granting in part 46 Joint Motion for Extension to Respond to Motions in Limine. The parties have until November 15, 2023 to respond to the motions in limine 41 and 42 . Signed by Magistrate Judge Stephen B. Jackson, Jr. on 7/17/2023.”
“TEXT ORDER granting 54 Defendants' Unopposed Motion for One-Week Extension of the Deadline for the Parties to File Briefs in Opposition to Motions In Limine. The parties have until November 22, 2023 to respond to the motions in limine 41 and 42 . Signed by Magistrate Judge Stephen B. Jackson, Jr. on 11/15/2023.”
“TEXT ORDER denying without prejudice 3 Jimmy John's Franchise, LLC's Motion for Expedited Hearing. The determination as to whether a hearing will be set on the Motion to Compel Compliance with Third-Party Subpoena 1 will be made by the Court after there is an appearance and response to the motion filed by the named respondent. See L.R. 7(c). Signed by Chief Magistrate Judge Stephen B. Jackson, Jr. on 5/15/2024.”
“TEXT ORDER granting 4 Motion for Leave to Appear Pro Hac Vice Matthew J. Kramer. Signed by Chief Magistrate Judge Stephen B. Jackson, Jr on 5/15/2024.”
“TEXT ORDER granting 21 Plaintiffs' Motion to Dismiss. Case dismissed with prejudice pursuant to stipulated dismissal. Signed by Chief Magistrate Judge Stephen B. Jackson, Jr. on 11/20/2024.”
“TEXT ORDER granting 5 Joint Motion for Protective Order. The court will enter a protective order in the form submitted with the motion except for paragraphs 23 and 24 which have been edited. Signed by Magistrate Judge Stephen B. Jackson, Jr. on 3/13/2024.”
“ORDER granting 36 Plaintiff's First Motion in Limine; granting in part and denying in part 37 Defendant's Motions in Limine. Signed by Chief Magistrate Judge Stephen B. Jackson, Jr. on 5/13/2025.”
“TEXT ORDER denying 82 Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law, as stated on the record. Signed by Chief Magistrate Judge Stephen B. Jackson, Jr on 5/20/2025.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 361 days (N = 6).
Median motion-to-ruling time: 1 days (N = 7).
- The reviewed 2023-2025 cases include Social Security appeals, civil matters decided with the parties' consent, miscellaneous subpoena proceedings, and two matters managed on referral from district judges.
- The sample suggests a portfolio led by Social Security appeals and civil case-management work, with recurring personal-injury and employment disputes, including several involving Walmart.
- It is not a complete account of his referred caseload.
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 | 1 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2023 | 2 | 0 |
| Sep 2022 | 2 | 0 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 1 |
| 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 Southern District of Iowa, not for Judge Jackson: 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 | 395 | 8 months |
| Closed with no court action | 161 | 9.1 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 222 | 5.8 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 4 | not reported |
| Closed during trial | 8 | not reported |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 395 | 8 months |
| Sep 2024 | 360 | 7.6 months |
| Sep 2023 | 363 | 8.9 months |
| Sep 2022 | 311 | 10.5 months |
| Sep 2021 | 372 | 9.5 months |
| Sep 2020 | 339 | 7.7 months |
| Sep 2019 | 341 | 9.4 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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