Jessica D. Hedges
How Judge Hedges rules, drawn from 8 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Hedges
Jessica D. Hedges has served as a U.S. magistrate judge for the District of Massachusetts since August 1, 2024. She sits in Boston and earned degrees from Boston College and Northeastern University School of Law.
Judge Hedges's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Hedges, 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.
Key rules
Motions
Reply briefs are allowed for dispositive motions under the standing order; surreplies are generally disallowed.
“I allow reply briefs for dispositive motions, as explained in my Standing Order Regarding Motion Practice. I do not generally allow sur-reply briefs.”
Conferences
Consult and submit an agreed pretrial schedule at least seven days before the scheduling conference.
“Typically, I issue a scheduling order addressing fact and expert discovery, dispositive motions, and the date of the next status conference. Prior to the scheduling conference, the parties are directed to consult and submit an agreed-upon pretrial schedule no later than 7 days before the scheduling conference.”
Conferences
A party representative with full settlement authority must attend mediation.
“Yes, a party representative with full settlement authority must be present.”
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).
How Judge Hedges decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Strike 3 Holdings v. Doe, she allowed a subpoena to identify an unknown subscriber after finding the request relevant and proportional, while imposing privacy restrictions and an opportunity to object.
“Accordingly, the requested discovery is relevant to Strike 3’s claim and proportional to the needs of the case.”
In United States v. Nwadavid, she denied pretrial detention and ordered conditional release, finding that the proposed safeguards could reasonably address the identified flight risk even though no conditions guarantee appearance.
“No conditions of release can guarantee a defendant’s appearance.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“It is hereby ORDERED that Mr. Pepin be RELEASED pending trial, subject to the following conditions:”
“It is hereby ORDERED that Mr. Nwadavid be RELEASED pending trial, subject to the following conditions:”
“The motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis (Docket No. 2) is GRANTED.”
“The motion to proceed under a pseudonym (Docket No. 3) is DENIED.”
“For the foregoing reasons, Strike 3’s motion for leave to serve a third-party subpoena prior to a Rule 26(f) conference, Docket No. 7, is ALLOWED subject to the following restrictions:”
“The City’s motion to dismiss, Docket No. 10, is ALLOWED in part and DENIED in part.”
“Mr. Snider’s motion to clarify the filing fee is DENIED.”
“The motions for leave to proceed in forma pauperis (Docket No. 7) and for an order to serve the complaint on Defendants (Docket No. 11) are GRANTED.”
“Mr. Duarte’s Motion, Docket No. 3, is DENIED”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 73 days (N = 7).
Median motion-to-ruling time: 3.0 days (N = 20).
The screened matters included securities, consumer, personal-injury, admiralty, defamation, employment, prisoner civil, and criminal pretrial cases. Their motion types differ substantially, so pooled outcomes do not predict a result in any one category.
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 |
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 District of Massachusetts, not for Judge Hedges: 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 | 2,682 | 7.3 months |
| Closed with no court action | 1,095 | 3.8 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 881 | 7.1 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 676 | 17.4 months |
| Closed during trial | 30 | 34.8 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 2,682 | 7.3 months |
| Sep 2024 | 2,439 | 7.2 months |
| Sep 2023 | 2,756 | 9.1 months |
| Sep 2022 | 2,222 | 10.2 months |
| Sep 2021 | 2,582 | 12.2 months |
| Sep 2020 | 2,391 | 11.2 months |
| Sep 2019 | 4,438 | 23 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 Hedges with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Hedges, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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