Karyn L. Bass Ehler
How Judge Ehler decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In a consent Social Security remand, she required the ALJ to carry a finding of even 'mild' mental limitations at the early steps of the disability analysis all the way through to the residual-functional-capacity finding -- an ALJ who finds mild-to-moderate limitations in concentrating, persisting, or maintaining pace cannot then omit any corresponding RFC restriction without explaining why. A claimant seeking remand should show a concrete, unexplained gap between the ALJ's own step-by-step findings and the final RFC, rather than simply re-arguing the weight of the evidence.
“the Court concludes the mental limitations in the RFC are not supported by substantial evidence because the ALJ did not explain how those restrictions accommodated Claimant's moderate limitations in CPP.”
Procedural preferences
On the flip side, she affirms where the Commissioner's brief can point to specific, discussed record evidence (normal exam findings, effective conservative treatment, daily activities) supporting the ALJ's conclusion, even where the ALJ's own explanation 'could have been clearer.' A claimant who only characterizes the ALJ's reasoning as cursory or cherry-picked, without identifying the specific evidence the ALJ overlooked or a specific additional limitation the record compels, will not get a remand.
“Claimant must point to evidence compelling the conclusion that the adverse disability decision lacks substantial support in the record.”
In pretrial practice she polices duplicative and oversized briefing: she criticized a motion in limine for copying its factual background wholesale from earlier summary-judgment briefing, noting a simple cross-citation would have sufficed, and she enforces the presiding district judge's standing order requiring parties to meet and confer before filing motions in limine.
“it was unnecessary for Plaintiff to include factual background that appears to have largely been copied from the summary judgment briefing in his motions in limine. A simple citation to the summary judgment briefing would have sufficed”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Judge Bass Ehler took the bench on May 7, 2026, inheriting the initial calendar of retiring Magistrate Judge Jeffrey T. Gilbert under the court's Executive Committee General Order 26-0008: roughly thirty consent Social Security disability appeals (decided under 28 U.S.C. Section 636(c), where the parties agree to have a magistrate judge decide the case for all purposes), well over a hundred referred civil discovery and settlement matters in cases assigned to other district judges, and one case already on track for a jury trial before her, a Fair Housing Act dispute (Durr v. Vermilion Investments). Because the inherited docket is still working through its existing schedule, most of it has not yet reached a ruling under her.
Put Judge Ehler's record to work
Ezel drafts and answers grounded in this exact profile: how Judge Ehler actually rules, not a generic AI guess.
Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer is grounded in Judge Ehler's own signed orders and cites them.