Stephen B. Jackson, Jr.
How Judge Jr. decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Procedural preferences
Jackson enforces the Southern District of Iowa's meet-and-confer / position-statement local rules before acting on a contested logistics request. On the plaintiffs' videoconference motion he first ordered counsel to confer under L.R. 7(k) and supplement the motion with the opposing party's position, then granted it once the defendants confirmed no objection. Practical lesson: file motions with the L.R. 7(k) statement already in hand.
“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.”
On a third-party-subpoena miscellaneous matter he will not set a hearing on a motion to compel until the named respondent has appeared and responded; an attempt to short-circuit that with an expedited-hearing motion is denied without prejudice. Counsel should perfect service and let the response period run before seeking a 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).”
Cautions
He grants reasonable, unopposed extensions but flags the limit: in the EEOC v. Walmart case he granted the EEOC's MSJ-response extension while warning that it 'may affect the ability to maintain the current trial date' and that 'No further extensions should be expected.' Expect one courtesy extension, not a string of them.
“This extension may affect the ability to maintain the current trial date. No further extensions should be expected.”
Motion outcomes
Counted from classified signed orders only. Percentages are shown only where the sample is large enough to be meaningful; smaller samples are reported as raw counts.
| Motion for extension of time N = 3 |
Granted: 2Granted in part: 1 | counts only |
| Motion to amend N = 1 |
Granted: 1 | counts only |
| Motion to file overlength brief N = 1 |
Granted: 1 | counts only |
| Motion for videoconference N = 1 |
Granted: 1 | counts only |
| Motion to expedite N = 1 |
Moot / procedural: 1 | counts only |
| Motion for pro hac vice N = 1 |
Granted: 1 | counts only |
A "1 of 1" is one ruling, not a tendency. Treat small samples as illustrative, not predictive.
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.”
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).
Sample of dockets docket lists with Stephen B. Jackson Jr. as assigned judge (Social-Security appeals, consent/duty civil, and miscellaneous subpoena matters), filed 2023-2025, plus the two District-Judge referral cases he managed. Nature-of-suit mix is from case-level metadata. As a magistrate his portfolio is dominated by SS appeals and case-management/referral work; many civil cases listing him as assigned are personal-injury/employment matters (several v. Walmart) in which he serves a consent or referral role.