Bernard Weisberg

United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois magistrate Deceased · served 1985–1994 18 signed orders read

Judge Weisberg no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.

How Judge Weisberg decides

Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

What persuades

In the tax-refund case, he treated a second submission of the same rejected claim as insufficient to restart the statutory filing period.

“Resubmitting a rejected claim does not give a taxpayer a new limitations period in which to file suit.”

In the retaining-lien dispute, he favored access for third-party discovery while preserving conditions protecting the fee dispute.

“we must balance the firm’s right to withhold production of the Stone documents by virtue of their attorneys’ lien against policies favoring unencumbered discovery proceedings and the equitable administration of justice.”

Procedural preferences

He declined to accelerate one housing-discrimination trial when doing so risked duplicating a central issue in related litigation.

“A separate and potentially inconclusive trial would not be conducive to expedition or economy nor would it serve the interests of convenience.”

When witness accounts could not be fully credited, he expressly based a suppression recommendation on the relative probabilities supported by the record.

“This recommended decision is based on the probabilities that events did or did not happen as described, without attempting to resolve each conflict in the testimony”

Cautions

In a recommendation later rejected on mandamus, he would have kept counsel in a civil case where the firm could avoid known false subjects and withdrawal would likely leave the client unrepresented.

“Magistrate Weisberg recommended that the court deny the motion, because the firm could not know that the client would testify falsely in all respects”

Signed rulings

A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.

L & H Co., Inc. v. United States
· 1991-04-17
Summary judgment (United States) Granted

“Summary judgment will be entered in favor of the United States dismissing this action.”

Motion to compel discovery (L & H Co., Inc.) Denied

“motion to compel is denied.”

Edwards v. Atrium Village
· 1989-08-11
Motion for expedited trial (plaintiff) Denied

“Edwards’ motion is denied, because, as more fully explained above, the legality of the Atrium Village quota system, a central issue in her case and the United States case, should not be addressed until it is ready for decision in the United States case.”

In re Sealed Case
· 1988-04-06
Motion to compel discovery (purchaser) Granted in part

“Purchaser’s motion to compel is denied as to Documents 36, 42 and 45.”

Tepper v. Bowen
· 1988-06-27
Summary judgment (plaintiff) Denied

“Magistrate Bernard Weisberg who recommended against summary judgment and that we remand to the Secretary for a new determination of Tepper’s residual functional capacity prior to April 27,1983.”

Gladich v. Navistar International Transportation Corp.
· 1989-01-18
Motions to dismiss (defendant) Denied

“Magistrate Bernard Weisberg’s report and recommendation that the Court deny defendant’s motion to dismiss on the basis of the statute of limitations.”

United States v. Robinson
· 1991-05-02
Motion to suppress (defendant) Granted

“His Further Report and Recommendation, dated May 2, 1991, again urged that we grant Robinson’s motion to suppress.”

Motion for reconsideration (government) Denied

“On April 2, 1991, Magistrate Judge Weisberg denied the government’s motion for reconsideration.”

Skipper v. Duffy
· 1988-06-28
Summary judgment (plaintiffs) Granted in part

“It is recommended that plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment be granted in part as follows:”

United States v. Walker
· 1987-02-27
Motion to suppress (defendant) Granted

“in which he recommended that the motion to suppress be granted.”

United States v. Jaramillo
· 1988-12-02
Motion to suppress (Fenet Jaramillo) Granted

“both defendants moved to suppress the seized cocaine, as well as any statements made after the cocaine was seized. We referred these motions to Magistrate Bernard Weisberg, who, after conducting a suppression hearing and supplemental hearing, recommended that they be granted.”

Motion to suppress (Esther Jaramillo) Granted
Motion for reconsideration (government) Denied

“Magistrate Weisberg held that this new argument was waived and, treating the motion as one addressed to his discretion, denied the request for reconsideration on December 2, 1988”

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith
· 1986-10-02
Summary judgment (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) Granted

“The report recommended this Court grant plaintiff’s, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (‘EEOC’s’), motion for summary judgment.”

Summary judgment (Merrill Lynch) Denied

“Defendant’s cross motion for summary judgment is denied;”

Jernryd v. Nilsson
· 1987-03-11
Motion to compel discovery (plaintiffs) Granted

“Magistrate Weisberg accepted this argument and granted plaintiffs’ motion to compel on March 11, 1987.”

United States v. Savides
· 1987-01-08
Search warrant application (government) Denied

“Magistrate Weisberg then informed Knight that he believed the affidavit of DEA Agent Morley did not establish probable cause and denied the application for a warrant”

Caseload & timing

From public federal docket records for this judge.

The exact-name search returned two terminated patent matters that had been filed before Weisberg's appointment and later reopened during his service. Neither retained docket entries, so the sample does not support a career-wide caseload, duration, motion-outcome, or timing claim.

A historical record

Judge Weisberg 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.