Danny C. Reeves
How Judge Reeves rules, drawn from 21 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Reeves
Danny C. Reeves is a judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. Appointed by President George W. Bush, Judge Reeves received a commission on December 10, 2001. Judge Reeves assumed senior status on February 1, 2025.
Judge Reeves's practices and standing orders
The court's website lists no individual practices or standing orders of Judge Reeves's own (checked October 9, 2026), so the court's local rules and general orders are the place to look (court page ↗).
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 25-7 - Motions Under U.S.S.G. § 5K1.1 and 18 U.S.C. § 3553(e) ↗
- General Order 23-08 - Plea Agreements and Supplements in Criminal Cases ↗
- General Order 22-15 - Standing Procedures for Social Security Actions ↗
- Joint General Order 21-1 - Electronic Case Filing Administrative Policies and Procedures ↗
- General Order 21-1 - Procedures for Highly Sensitive Documents ↗
- General Order 14-11 - Possession and Use of Electronic Devices by Bar ↗
How Judge Reeves decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In United States v. Atkins, he denied an as-applied challenge to the federal felon-in-possession statute after finding the defendant's serious, recent drug-trafficking felonies fit the historical tradition of disarming dangerous persons.
“the government has met its burden by showing, through identification of historical laws, that disarming Atkins under the circumstances alleged is consistent with the Nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation.”
In Tennessee v. Cardona, Reeves read Title IX's use of 'sex' as referring to biological sex, scrutinized the agency's explanation and response to comments under the Administrative Procedure Act, and found serious compelled-speech and viewpoint-discrimination concerns supporting preliminary relief.
“the Department's actions with respect to this rulemaking are arbitrary and capricious. The Department fails to provide a reasoned explanation for departing from its longstanding interpretations regarding the meaning of sex ... A rule that compels speech and engages in such viewpoint discrimination is impermissible.”
Cautions
In K.G. v. Woodford County Board of Education, he treated a skeletal and unsupported argument as waived, citing the rule that judges need not construct a party's argument.
“skeletal and unsupported arguments are subject to waiver. ... it is not a judge's responsibility to research and construct the parties' arguments, and putting this onus on the court is a risky business.”
In Williams v. Eastern Kentucky University, he examined an unanswered summary-judgment motion on its merits and denied it as to the wrongful-termination claim because a factual dispute remained.
“Williams, proceeding pro se, did not respond to the present motion ... Notwithstanding that failure, the undersigned has examined the motion and concludes that the defendant has met its burden ... The defendant, however, has failed to meet it[s burden as to wrongful termination]”
In United States v. Robinson, Reeves denied a second compassionate-release motion and held that rehabilitation alone did not provide a basis for relief.
“rehabilitation alone does not provide a proper basis for relief”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“ORDERED that Defendant Eastern Kentucky University's partial motion to dismiss [Record No. 9] is GRANTED.”
“ORDERED that the defendants' motion for summary judgment [Record No. 48] is GRANTED. All remaining claims against Defendants Deanna Anglin, Austin Pingleton, and Michael Pingleton are DISMISSED, with prejudice.”
“ORDERED that the defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment [Record No. 46] is GRANTED, in part, and DENIED, in part, consistent with this Memorandum Opinion and Order. Plaintiff Tonya Jones' 'Failure to Train or Supervise' Deliberate Indifference Monell Claim against Kenton County in Count III will survive summary judgment. Jones' claims in Counts I, II, IV, V, and VI are dismissed.”
“Defendants National Board of Medical Examiners, Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates, and the Federation of State Medical Boards' motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim [Records No. 16, 21, and 28] is GRANTED.”
“The plaintiff's motion for leave to file an Amended Complaint [Record No. 35] is DENIED.”
“Defendant Eastern Kentucky University's Motion for Summary Judgment [Record No. 43] is DENIED with respect to Plaintiff Williams' claim of wrongful termination. The motion [Record No. 43] is GRANTED with respect to Plaintiff Williams claims of failure to hire, failure to promote, unequal term of employment, retaliation, and hostile work environment.”
“The defendant's motion for summary judgment [Record No. 138] is GRANTED and this action is DISMISSED and STRICKEN from the docket.”
“ORDERED that the defendant's motion to dismiss Count 1 of the indictment [Record No. 20] is DENIED.”
“ORDERED that Defendant McDaniels' Motion to Dismiss Count 3 of the Indictment [Record No. 29] is DENIED.”
“The motions for a preliminary injunction/stay filed by Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Virginia, and West Virginia [Record No. 19] and Christian Educators Association International and A.C. [Record No. 63] are GRANTED.”
“Motion to Abstain [Record No. 25] is GRANTED. This matter is STAYED pending the completion of the investigation and subsequent proceedings, if initiated.”
“Motion for a Preliminary Injunction [Record No. 19] is DENIED.”
“Motion to Dismiss [Record No. 23] is DENIED, without prejudice.”
“This action is DISMISSED pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and STRICKEN from the docket.”
“the defendants' motion will be granted in part and denied in part consistent with this Memorandum Opinion and Order.”
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 | 1 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 1 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 2 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 4 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 4 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 3 |
| 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.
How long civil cases take in this court
For the whole of United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, not for Judge Reeves: 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 | 725 | 8.3 months |
| Closed with no court action | 107 | 7 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 602 | 8.3 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 6 | not reported |
| Closed during trial | 10 | 37.4 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 725 | 8.3 months |
| Sep 2024 | 653 | 8.5 months |
| Sep 2023 | 935 | 14 months |
| Sep 2022 | 810 | 11.6 months |
| Sep 2021 | 811 | 11 months |
| Sep 2020 | 804 | 8.7 months |
| Sep 2019 | 1,098 | 12 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).
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