James J. Brady
How Judge Brady rules, drawn from 20 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Brady no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Brady
James J. Brady was a judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana. Appointed by President William J. Clinton, Judge Brady received a commission on May 25, 2000. Judge Brady assumed senior status on December 31, 2013 and served until death on December 9, 2017.
How Judge Brady decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Netherland v. City of Zachary, Brady granted summary judgment to a street evangelist on an as-applied First Amendment claim. He found that the City's content-based restriction of religious speech in a public forum lacked a compelling interest and was not narrowly tailored.
“the City had no compelling interest in silencing Mr. Netherland’s religious speech, and removing Mr. Nether-land from the forum and silencing him completely was not a narrowly tailored response”
In Ponder v. Pfizer, Brady dismissed a data-breach complaint because the plaintiff alleged the cost of guarding against possible future identity theft but no actual damages.
“This Court, however, finds that Mr. Horne’s complaint does not allege that he suffered any actual damages”
Procedural preferences
In Department of Transportation and Development v. Kition Shipping, Brady adopted the magistrate judge's report and recommendation as his opinion in an admiralty dispute.
“The court hereby approves the July 24, 2009 report and recommendation of the magistrate judge and adopts it as the court’s opinion herein.”
In EEOC v. Columbia Sussex, Brady denied the employer's motion to strike an employee's declaration and denied both sides' summary judgment motions. He found that any inconsistency between the declaration and deposition concerned credibility and weight for the jury, while the evidence left factual disputes about discrimination and retaliation.
“Credibility assessments are not fit grist for the summary judgment mill.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Because plaintiffs’ tax refund claim is prescribed, defendant’s motion to dismiss is GRANTED. However, in the interests of justice, defendant’s motion to dismiss is DENIED with regard to plaintiffs Freedom of Information Act claim.”
“the motion by defendants, East Baton Rouge Parish School Board and Charlotte Placide, to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (doc. 5), is hereby DENIED.”
“the Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss (doc. 22) is hereby GRANTED”
“For the reasons stated herein, the Court GRANTS Defendant’s motion.”
“Defendants’ Motion for Reconsideration is GRANTED.”
“the Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss pursuant to Fed. Rule Civ. P. 12(b)(1) is hereby DENIED.”
“the motion by defendant, Level 3 Communications, LLC, for summary judgment (doc. 10) is hereby DENIED.”
“Plaintiffs Motion (Doc. 43) is hereby GRANTED as it relates to Plaintiffs as-applied claims.”
“The Plaintiffs application for a preliminary injunction is hereby GRANTED.”
“the Motion for Summary Judgment (doc. 25) by Western World is hereby GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART”
“both motions for summary judgment are DENIED.”
“Columbia Sussex’s motions to strike the declarations of Ms. Rice and Mr. Knight are DENIED.”
“the petitioner’s motion for injunctive relief (doc. no. 22) is DENIED”
“the petitioner’s application for habeas corpus relief is DENIED and this action is DISMISSED”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 118.5 days (N = 14).
Sampled from the judge's tenure-era civil dockets. The mix spans civil-rights and employment matters, products-liability and personal-injury suits, insurance and contract disputes, and a securities and a forfeiture case — consistent with the employment, insurance, removal, and constitutional disputes seen in his published opinions.
Pending matters in the official report
Judge Brady was last listed in the Civil Justice Reform Act report as of September 30, 2021.
| 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Brady no longer hears cases. 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.