Crystal S. Wildeman
How Judge Wildeman rules, drawn from 7 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Wildeman
Crystal S. Wildeman became a United States Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of Indiana in September 2023. She serves in the Evansville Division. She earned degrees from Indiana University Bloomington and DePaul University College of Law.
Judge Wildeman's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Wildeman, 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.
- Practices and Procedures Before Magistrate Judge Crystal S. Wildeman ↗
- Experience for Relatively Inexperienced Attorneys in Civil Cases ↗
Key rules
Filing
File motions and exhibits before supporting briefs so briefs can cite their docket numbers.
“Motions and exhibits must be filed before supporting briefs so that the briefs”
Motions
A party seeking oral argument by a lawyer with less than seven years of practice may request it while the motion is briefed or promptly afterward.
“While a motion is being briefed or promptly thereafter, a party may file a Request for Oral Argument for Less Experienced Attorney”
Motions
Before moving for summary judgment, contact other parties to determine whether they also plan to move.
“Counsel planning to move for summary judgment must contact counsel for the other parties to determine if any other party also plans to move for summary judgment”
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).
- General Order Re: Procedures for Sealed Filings ↗
- General Order Re: Procedures for the Filing, Service, and Management of Highly Sensitive Documents ↗
- Order Regarding Prisoner Electronic Filing Program ↗
- General Order/Administrative Policy 2024-35 - Electronic Submissions to the Court by Pro Se Litigants ↗
- General Order Re: Presentation of Contaminated Materials for Filing ↗
How Judge Wildeman decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Janet B. v. Bisignano, she recommended affirming the ALJ's disability decision after finding that the ALJ adequately explained the residual functional capacity and evaluation of the consultative examiner's opinion.
“For the foregoing reasons, the Magistrate Judge RECOMMENDS the ALJ's decision be AFFIRMED.”
In the reviewed migraine case, Wildeman recommended affirmance where the claimant did not identify evidence requiring work-preclusive absence limits beyond the light and noise restrictions already included, and the agency identified a significant national job count without needing a regional breakdown.
“For the foregoing reasons, the Magistrate Judge RECOMMENDS the ALJ’s decision be AFFIRMED.”
In a disability-benefits review, recommended remand because the administrative decision did not explain how evidence of an elbow injury fit the claimant’s stated work capacity.
“The Undersigned finds the ALJ failed to build an accurate and logical bridge between the evidence and the RFC with respect to Claimant’s manual limitations arising from his elbow dislocation.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“For the foregoing reasons, the Magistrate Judge RECOMMENDS the ALJ's decision be AFFIRMED.”
Prisoner 42 U.S.C. 1983 prison-conditions case (referred by DJ Matthew Brookman). Procedural R&R: plaintiff failed to file a motion/stipulation of dismissal within the time given (and an extension), so Wildeman RECOMMENDS dismissal WITHOUT PREJUDICE under Rule 41(b) for failure to prosecute. Quote: 'the Undersigned RECOMMENDS that this case be dismissed, without prejudice.' Because this is a failure-to-prosecute disposition rather than a merits motion, it is excluded from the motion statistics and counted only as an order read.
“For the foregoing reasons, the Magistrate Judge RECOMMENDS the ALJ’s decision be AFFIRMED.”
“the Undersigned RECOMMENDS Defendant’s Motion to Enforce Settlement (Dkt. 136) be GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.”
After in-camera review, held three emails found on the university server were outside a limited disclosure-protection order and were not privileged; denied the plaintiff’s requested protective relief and sanctions. The dispute was submitted through briefing rather than a distinct docketed motion.
“the Court GRANTS Defendant’s Motion to Compel Arbitration and Stay Proceedings. (Dkt. 29).”
“the Magistrate Judge RECOMMENDS the ALJ’s decision be REVERSED and REMANDED.”
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 | 0 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2023 | 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.
How long civil cases take in this court
For the whole of U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, not for Judge Wildeman: 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 | 2,443 | 11.2 months |
| Closed with no court action | 70 | 2.3 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 1,083 | 5.1 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 1,283 | 26.3 months |
| Closed during trial | 7 | not reported |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 2,443 | 11.2 months |
| Sep 2024 | 2,243 | 9.9 months |
| Sep 2023 | 2,050 | 9.6 months |
| Sep 2022 | 2,896 | 12.7 months |
| Sep 2021 | 2,988 | 11.9 months |
| Sep 2020 | 2,419 | 7.3 months |
| Sep 2019 | 3,168 | 8.2 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 Wildeman with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Wildeman, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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