Charles Edward Wyzanski Jr.
How Judge Wyzanski rules, drawn from 26 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Wyzanski no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Wyzanski
Charles Edward Wyzanski, Jr. was a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Judge Wyzanski received a commission on December 19, 1941. Judge Wyzanski assumed senior status on September 1, 1971 and served until death on September 3, 1986.
How Judge Wyzanski decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
Wyzanski preserved alternative remedies when the record did not yet justify forcing a plaintiff to choose between them.
“It is too early to require plaintiff to elect between the two counts.”
Wyzanski treated superior advocacy as valuable even when it was economical, concise, and produced by relatively young counsel.
“the very economy of counsel’s methods and his youth are perhaps the most significant hall marks of an outstanding talent.”
Procedural preferences
In document-heavy litigation, Wyzanski expected counsel to select, read, and explain the evidence on which they relied.
“Counsel cannot dump into the lap of the Court an undigested mass of documents comprising hundreds of thousands of pages and then expect the Court to read all of them”
Wyzanski left threshold waiver questions to the arbitrator when the collective-bargaining agreement placed the underlying grievance within arbitration.
“if it could be said that the issues with respect to the waiver are not substantive issues but procedural issues they would be appropriate matters to be determined by the arbitrators.”
Cautions
Wyzanski declined to use equitable power when the plaintiff had not yet suffered a legal restraint and could protect its position by proceeding.
“The chancellor ought not to use the powers of an equity court merely to stiffen a plaintiff’s own spine.”
When designing antitrust relief, Wyzanski emphasized institutional limits and the need for judicial restraint.
“a trial judge is only one man, and should move with caution and humility.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“the order of the referee is set aside with instructions to him to find the subsidiary facts as to what services were rendered”
“Ordered that (1) the Referee’s disallowance of the Board’s amended claim be set aside”
“The application for leave to file a petition for writ of habeas corpus in forma pauperis is granted”
“but the petition is denied for the foregoing reasons.”
“Defendant violated § 2 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.’C.A. § 2, by monopolizing the shoe machinery trade and commerce among the several States. Defendant violated the same section of the law by monopolizing that part of the interstate trade and commerce in tacks, nails, eyelets, grommets, and hooks, which is concerned with supplying the demand for those products by shoe factories within the United States. The other charges of violation of the Sherman Act set forth in the complaint are dismissed with prejudice.”
“Petition denied. Referee’s order affirmed.”
“I allow, in addition to disbursements of $856.85, a reasonable attorney’s fee of $35,000”
“Judgment to enter dismissing the complaint against American Surety Company”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
No case-level docket record was returned for Wyzanski's tenure. The profile therefore makes no claim about caseload mix, case duration, administrative dispositions, or motion timing.
Pending matters in the official report
Judge Wyzanski 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 | 0 |
| Civil cases pending more than three years | 0 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| 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 Wyzanski 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.