James Earl Major
How Judge Major rules, drawn from 8 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Major no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.
How Judge Major decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
The court permitted a defective involuntary-bankruptcy petition to be amended after years of administration where dismissal would unfairly erase creditor rights.
“the motion by the petitioning creditors for leave to amend the original petition will be allowed as requested”
Remand followed because separate plaintiffs could not aggregate distinct claims to satisfy the federal jurisdictional amount.
“there can be no aggregation of the amounts claimed in order to constitute the necessary amount by which this court acquires jurisdiction.”
Procedural preferences
A delayed sentence did not invalidate custody where the prisoner had not requested prompt execution and had benefited from postponement.
“In the absence of such request he must be held to have consented to the indefinite delay, and cannot complain.”
A motion to strike historical bankruptcy allegations failed because those allegations were material to the court's discretionary amendment decision.
“the motion to strike the paragraphs referred to is denied.”
Cautions
A federal court could not issue election-related mandamus relief where Congress possessed exclusive authority to judge its members' elections and qualifications.
“The court has no jurisdiction to issue the writ prayed for, and the petition is herewith dismissed.”
Farm status exempted an individual from involuntary bankruptcy when the petitioning creditors failed to carry their burden.
“The burden was upon petitioners to prove that she was not in the exempt class, and' this they have failed to. do.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“the motion to strike the paragraphs referred to is denied.”
“The motion by respondent to dismiss the original petition is therefore denied”
“the motion by the petitioning creditors for leave to amend the original petition will be allowed as requested”
“The petition for writ of habeas corpus is therefore dismissed, and the petitioner remanded to the custody of respondent.”
“The court has no jurisdiction to issue the writ prayed for, and the petition is herewith dismissed.”
“Alta Cox, on the 17th day of March, 1933, and at the time of the filing of the petition herein, was a person chiefly engaged in farming and not amenable to involuntary bankruptcy.”
“The motion of the plaintiff to remand the cause to the circuit court of Sangamon county, Ill., is therefor allowed”
“debtor’s petitions will he dismissed.”
“the same is denied. It naturally follows the restraining order heretofore issued is dissolved.”
“The prayer of the petition is therefore denied and the same dismissed.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The reviewed decisions include bankruptcy, habeas, removal, insurance, and public-law matters. No electronic records are available to quantify the tenure.
A historical record
Judge Major 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.