Susan L. Collins
How Judge Collins rules, drawn from 26 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Collins no longer sits on this court. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Collins
Susan L. Collins served as a United States Magistrate Judge in the Northern District of Indiana’s Fort Wayne Division, beginning in January 2015. She previously worked as an Assistant United States Attorney in Hammond and as a deputy prosecuting attorney in Lake County.
How Judge Collins decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Procedural preferences
In Wells v. Commissioner of Social Security, she extended the plaintiff's reply-brief deadline to August 26, 2016, and warned that no further extension would be granted.
“The Social Security Reply Brief of the Plaintiff is due by 8/26/2016. No further extension will be granted.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“The decision of the Commissioner is AFFIRMED. The Clerk is directed to enter a judgment in favor of the Commissioner and against Holsinger.”
“The decision of the Commissioner is REVERSED, and the case is REMANDED to the Commissioner for further proceedings in accordance with this Opinion and Order.”
“The decision of the Commissioner is REVERSED, and the case is REMANDED to the Commissioner for further proceedings in accordance with this Opinion and Order.”
“The decision of the Commissioner is REVERSED, and the case is REMANDED to the Commissioner for further proceedings in accordance with this Opinion and Order.”
“The decision of the Commissioner of Social Security is AFFIRMED. The clerk is directed to enter judgment in favor of the defendant and against the plaintiff.”
“The decision of the Commissioner is REVERSED, and the case is REMANDED to the Commissioner for further proceedings in accordance with this Opinion and Order.”
“The decision of the Commissioner is AFFIRMED. The Clerk is directed to enter a judgment in favor of the Commissioner and against Grant.”
“The decision of the Commissioner is REVERSED, and the case is REMANDED to the Commissioner for further proceedings in accordance with this Opinion and Order.”
“The decision of the Commissioner is REVERSED and the case is REMANDED to the Commissioner for further administrative proceedings as set forth in the Order. Judgment is entered in favor of Plaintiff Lonnie McGraw, Jr.”
“The decision of the Commissioner is AFFIRMED. The Clerk is directed to enter a judgment in favor of the Commissioner and against Woods.”
“The decision of the Commissioner is AFFIRMED. The Clerk is directed to enter a judgment in favor of the Commissioner and against Annis.”
“The decision of the Commissioner is AFFIRMED. The Clerk is directed to enter a judgment in favor of the Commissioner and against Martin.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 248 days (N = 26).
- The sampled 2016, 2018, and 2021 filing cohorts consist entirely of Social Security disability appeals under Titles II and XVI and therefore represent only her consent docket.
- Her broader work includes employment, civil-rights, contract, and diversity cases; Report and Recommendation assignments in cases before district judges; and preliminary criminal duties such as initial appearances, detention hearings, arraignments, and guilty-plea colloquies, which are not separately represented.
Pending matters in the official report
Judge Collins was last listed in the Civil Justice Reform Act report as of March 31, 2025.
| 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 | 1 |
| Civil cases pending more than three years | 1 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 2 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2020 | 0 | 0 |
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.
A historical record
Judge Collins no longer sits on this court. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled here. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.