Heather K. McShain
How Judge McShain decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In SSA disability appeals she applies Seventh Circuit concentration/persistence/pace (CPP) precedent rigorously: an RFC that accommodates a moderate CPP limitation with only 'simple, routine work' is reversible error UNLESS a medical expert translated the CPP finding into the RFC, or the RFC otherwise accounts for the claimant's documented symptoms. Claimants' counsel should foreground the CPP-vs-simple-work gap; the Commissioner should make sure a medical opinion actually bridges it.
“The question, therefore, is whether 'simple, routine tasks' accounts for a moderate limitation in CPP. The answer from the Seventh Circuit, time and time again, has been no.”
She confines SSA review to the rationales the ALJ actually articulated and will not let the Commissioner defend a decision on a post-hoc reading of the record the ALJ never adopted. Briefs that re-argue the evidence rather than the ALJ's stated reasoning will not persuade her.
“this Court's review of social security decisions is limited to the ALJ's rationales, and a decision cannot be upheld by giving it new ground to stand on.”
Procedural preferences
Strict on Rule 59(e): a motion to alter or amend is not an opportunity to raise arguments that could and should have been made in the merits briefing (those are forfeited), nor to recycle arguments already rejected. Make every argument the first time, in the merits brief.
“A motion under Rule 59(e) does not permit a party to advance arguments or theories that could and should have been made before the district court rendered a judgment, nor is it a vehicle for recycling arguments that the Court has previously rejected.”
Cautions
On discovery/case-management disputes she is pragmatic and proportionate: she will not impose a case-crippling sanction (e.g. forcing a party to proceed with a hostile sole expert) for a delay that was outside the party's control where counsel showed reasonable diligence. She weighs Rule 16 good-cause and Rule 37 substantial-justification together and looks at actual prejudice.
“Even if such a delay was error, however, it does not merit such a severe punishment---forcing Plaintiffs to prosecute their case using a hostile expert witness as their sole witness on standard of care.”
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.
| Summary judgment N = 2 |
Granted: 1Denied: 1 | counts only |
| Motion to alter or amend judgment N = 1 |
Denied: 1 | counts only |
| Motion to substitute experts 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.
“the Court grants plaintiff's motion for summary judgment [18], denies the Acting Commissioner's motion for summary judgment [27], reverses the SSA's decision, and remands this case for further proceedings.”
“denies the Acting Commissioner's motion for summary judgment [27], reverses the SSA's decision, and remands this case for further proceedings.”
“The Acting Commissioner's motion to alter or amend judgment [35] is denied.”
“Plaintiffs' motion to substitute experts [221] is granted subject to the above.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
MAGISTRATE GOTCHA: in docket, search_dockets(assigned_judge='Heather K. McShain') returns (a) her DUTY-MAGISTRATE criminal miscellaneous docket -- search/seizure warrants for phones, mail packages, and 'United States v. Suppressed' sealed matters, opened and terminated same day; (b) criminal cases; and (c) civil cases where she is merely the DESIGNATED magistrate while a district judge (e.g. Edmond E. Chang in Cardenas v. Kroger, 1:22-cv-02737) decides dispositive motions. Her own dispositive rulings come in CONSENT civil cases (SSA appeals like Maria R., med-mal) and referred discovery -- which is why the reasoning layer (GovInfo) carries the groundable signal here, not the docket layer. She also presides over the district's Veterans Treatment Court. Current page is 2026 duty-magistrate/criminal heavy.