Scott J. Frankel
How Judge Frankel rules, drawn from 18 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Frankel
Scott J. Frankel became a United States Magistrate Judge in the Northern District of Indiana’s South Bend Division in August 2024. Before joining the court, he was a staff attorney for the district’s Federal Community Defenders and worked in criminal and civil litigation.
Judge Frankel's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Frankel, as published on the court's website (checked October 9, 2026). Judges revise these often, so confirm the current version on the court's site before you file.
Key rules
Conferences
Counsel must attend the Rule 16(b) conference personally unless a nonlocal counsel’s telephone appearance motion is granted.
“Counsel are required to personally attend the Rule 16(b) conference. However, counsel from counties other than St. Joseph or Elkhart may appear telephonically if a motion requesting to appear telephonically is filed and granted.”
Trial
File proposed jury instructions and voir dire questions at least 30 days before trial.
“Not later than 30 days before trial, counsel shall serve and file a complete set of their proposed jury instructions and voir dire questions”
Standing orders for every case in this court
Orders the court applies to all of its cases, whichever judge has them, as published on the court's website (checked October 9, 2026).
How Judge Frankel decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Social Security appeals, Frankel affirms the agency where the ALJ built an adequate 'logical bridge' from the record to the conclusion, even if the ALJ did not address every piece of evidence: he treats a reasonably explained decision as sufficient rather than requiring exhaustive discussion.
“The ALJ need not discuss every piece of evidence presented; rather, she must provide an accurate and logical bridge between the evidence and her conclusion.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“The Court AFFIRMS the decision of the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration.”
“The Court AFFIRMS the Commissioner's decision.”
“The Court AFFIRMS the Commissioner's decision.”
“The Commissioner's decision is AFFIRMED. Judgment is hereby entered in favor of Defendant Commissioner of Social Security and against Plaintiff.”
“The Court AFFIRMS the Commissioner's decision.”
“The Court AFFIRMS the Commissioner's decision.”
“Substantial evidence supports the ALJ's decision, and specifically the ALJ's RFC finding. Therefore, the Court AFFIRMS the Commissioner's decision.”
“The Court now REMANDS the decision of the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration for further administrative proceedings consistent with this opinion.”
“The Court REVERSES and REMANDS the Commissioner's decision for further administrative proceedings.”
“The Court REMANDS this action to the SSA for further administrative proceedings consistent with this opinion.”
“The Court now REMANDS this action to the SSA for further administrative proceedings consistent with this opinion.”
“The Court GRANTS the defendants' motion for summary judgment; and DIRECTS the Clerk to enter judgment in favor of the defendants and against Gyle Del Rio and to close this case.”
Pending matters in the official report
Reported by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts under the Civil Justice Reform Act, as of March 31, 2026.
| Motions pending more than six months | 0 |
| Bench trials submitted more than six months | 0 |
| Bankruptcy appeals pending more than six months | 0 |
| Social Security appeals pending more than six months | 0 |
| Civil cases pending more than three years | 3 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 3 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 3 |
| Mar 2025 | 5 | 3 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 6 |
A snapshot on that date: matters listed may since have been decided or reassigned. A motion referred to a magistrate judge is counted for both judges. Motions in multidistrict litigation, section 2255 cases and Social Security appeals are not counted, and a very large three-year count is generally a multidistrict docket. Source: Appendix A of the report (PDF); about the report.
How long civil cases take in this court
For the whole of U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, not for Judge Frankel: median time from filing to disposition of the civil cases the court closed in the 12 months ending September 30, 2025, as reported by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
| Cases | Median time | |
|---|---|---|
| All civil cases closed | 1,338 | 8.5 months |
| Closed with no court action | 68 | 2.6 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 958 | 7.6 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 302 | 14.5 months |
| Closed during trial | 10 | 43.6 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 1,338 | 8.5 months |
| Sep 2024 | 1,336 | 8.5 months |
| Sep 2023 | 1,248 | 9.4 months |
| Sep 2022 | 1,434 | 12.5 months |
| Sep 2021 | 1,258 | 12.7 months |
| Sep 2020 | 1,408 | 11.8 months |
| Sep 2019 | 1,576 | 13.8 months |
The table leaves out prisoner petitions, land condemnations, deportation reviews, recovery of overpayments and enforcement of judgments, and reports no median for fewer than 10 cases. A district that closed a large multidistrict litigation in the period shows very large counts and long medians for that year. Source: Table C-5, U.S. District Courts (spreadsheet).
Draft for Judge Frankel with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Frankel, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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