Mark L. Hornsby
How Judge Hornsby rules, drawn from 8 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
How Judge Hornsby decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
On removal, he applies the strict 'unequivocally clear and certain' standard before an 'other paper' starts the 30-day clock: a defendant is not penalized for failing to remove on ambiguous early discovery, but the clock runs once a document makes >$75k unmistakable.
“Whatever the form of the other paper, it does not trigger the removal period ... unless 'the information supporting removal' in the paper is 'unequivocally clear and certain' that the facts now support removal.”
Rigorous on PLRA exhaustion: a prisoner suit filed before the two-step Louisiana DOC ARP is complete is dismissed (with prejudice to IFP refiling), per Woodford v. Ngo proper-exhaustion.
“Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 24) is granted and Plaintiffs complaint dismissed with prejudice to its refiling in forma pauperis.”
Procedural preferences
Will recommend granting habeas relief where the merits warrant: not a rubber stamp for the State; he vacated a conviction and life habitual-offender sentence and ordered release-or-retry.
“It is recommended, for the reasons that follow, that the petition be granted.”
He may forgive a short missed dispositive-motion deadline when counsel is responsible and the delay causes no appreciable prejudice, but the same flexibility does not extend to a late expert disclosure that would disrupt a near-term trial schedule.
“The court exercises its discretion to allow Greenwood's motion for summary judgment to stand and be tested on the merits.”
Cautions
Post-removal attempts to add a non-diverse defendant to force remand are denied: frame the original pleading and joinder strategy before removal, not after.
“IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiff's Motion to Remand (Doc. 8) and Motion for Leave to File Amended Complaint (Doc. 9) are denied.”
A motion in limine is not a substitute for summary judgment when resolving it would require weighing evidence or deciding disputed facts.
“Motions in limine are meant to deal with evidentiary issues related to trial, and they should not be offered as a disguised motion for summary judgment.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiff's Motion to Remand (Doc. 8) and Motion for Leave to File Amended Complaint (Doc. 9) are denied.”
“IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiff's ... Motion for Leave to File Amended Complaint (Doc. 9) [is] denied.”
“IT IS ORDERED that the petition for writ of habeas corpus is granted as follows: Petitioner's conviction, and related enhanced sentence, for possession of Schedule II CDS (cocaine) is vacated and set aside. The State of Louisiana is ordered to release Petitioner from custody based on that conviction unless the State grants Petitioner a new trial within 120 days from the date this judgment is signed.”
“IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiffs Motion for Preliminary Injunction (Doc. 17) is denied.”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 24) is granted and Plaintiffs complaint dismissed with prejudice to its refiling in forma pauperis.”
“Penske's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Doc. 20) is granted. All claims asserted in this action against Penske Truck Leasing Co., LP are dismissed with prejudice.”
“Greenwood's Motion in Limine and to Strike Affirmative Defenses (Doc. 23) is denied.”
“Greenwood's Motion for Leave to Amend Complaint (Doc. 28) is granted.”
“Southern Pipe's Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 22) is granted, and a judgment in its favor will be entered in accordance with this ruling.”
“Defendants' Joint Motion to Strike Greenwood's Untimely Identification of its Expert Witness and Partial Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc 56) is (a) denied in part by declining to strike Greenwood's motion for partial summary judgment and (b) granted in part by excluding Mr. Chandler as an expert witness based on his untimely identification.”
“Milam and Merchants' Joint Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Doc 49), Milam's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Doc 50), and Greenwood's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Doc. 53) are all denied.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 435 days (N = 15).
Draft for Judge Hornsby with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Hornsby, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
Opens in Ezel Pro.
- Grounded in Judge Hornsby's own signed orders
- Cites every source it relies on, so you can verify it
- Chat, drafting and research in one workspace