Adam Ben Abelson
How Judge Abelson rules, drawn from 25 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Abelson
Adam Ben Abelson is a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. Appointed by President Joseph R. Biden, Judge Abelson received a commission on September 12, 2024.
Judge Abelson's practices and standing orders
The court's website lists no individual practices or standing orders of Judge Abelson'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).
- Order 2026-05: Redacted Filings in FRCP 5.2(c) Cases ↗
- Order 2026-03: Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Court Filings ↗
- Order 2025-05: Procedures for the Filing of Sealed Documents ↗
- Amended Order 2021-13: Removal Actions ↗
- Amended Order 2022-04: Social Security Cases ↗
- Second Amended Order 2021-02: Highly Sensitive Documents ↗
- Order 2020-01: Discovery in Criminal Cases ↗
- Order 2018-07: Amicus Briefs ↗
- Order 2018-08: Service of Rule 68 Offers of Judgment ↗
- Second Amended Order 2025-01: Petitions for Writs of Habeas Corpus—Alien Detainee ↗
- Order 2024-01: Deficiency Notices ↗
How Judge Abelson decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Kiver v. Federal Business Council, Abelson granted summary judgment after finding no evidence that the employer’s stated reasons for termination were pretextual.
“Accordingly, this Court will grant summary judgment in favor of Defendant FBC.”
In Douglas v. Baker, Abelson granted habeas relief and ordered supervised release after the government presented no evidence of progress toward third-country removal. He found that removal was no longer significantly likely in the reasonably foreseeable future.
“But the deference baked into the Zadvydas standard does not permit the government to detain a noncitizen and then sit on its hands.”
Procedural preferences
In Harling v. America’s Realty, Abelson dismissed a federal civil rights claim against a private mall owner and found no independent basis for jurisdiction over the remaining negligence claim.
“For the reasons stated above, the Court will grant Defendant's motion to dismiss and close this case.”
In Shaffi v. Leidos, Abelson examined an unopposed dismissal motion for legal merit before dismissing the employment claims without prejudice.
“But here, Defendants' motion to dismiss is not ‘plainly lacking in merit.’”
In A. Perry Designs & Builds, Abelson found good cause to extend service time and held that papers placed on a vehicle departing the defendants’ home completed service.
“The Court concludes that service by that means was adequate to satisfy Rule 4.”
Cautions
In Rivas-Munoz v. Noem, Abelson ordered a bond hearing within ten days but denied the detainee’s request for immediate release and the government’s motion to dismiss.
“The Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART; ... Petitioner shall be provided with a bond hearing within 10 days of the date of this Order”
In Puppolo v. Shoemaker, Abelson denied Rule 59(e) reconsideration because the motion largely repeated arguments already resolved at summary judgment.
“A motion for reconsideration ‘is not a license . . . to get a second bite at the apple.’”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Accordingly, this Court will grant summary judgment in favor of Defendant FBC.”
“Therefore, Movant Defendants' motion for summary judgment will be denied.”
“The Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART; ... Petitioner shall be provided with a bond hearing within 10 days of the date of this Order”
“Petitioner's Motion for Temporary Restraining Order (ECF No. 2) is DENIED”
“Respondents' Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 10) is DENIED.”
“For the reasons stated above, the Court will grant Defendant's motion to dismiss and close this case.”
“The Motion (ECF No. 106) is GRANTED; ... The complaint is DISMISSED with prejudice”
“The motion to stay (ECF No. 84) is GRANTED and the case is STAYED pending the outcome of the interlocutory appeal.”
“Defendants' motion to dismiss, ECF No. 11, is GRANTED. The complaint is DISMISSED without prejudice.”
In a self-represented action challenging a prior judicial ruling, Abelson dismissed the complaint on his own initiative for failure to state a cognizable claim and lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. The order states verbatim: "the complaint (ECF No. 1) is DISMISSED with prejudice."
“Respondents' motion to Stay Preliminary Injunction Pending Appeal, ECF No. 258, is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART. The request to stay pending appeal is DENIED. The request to modify the preliminary injunction to require payment of a bond is granted”
“because Kalshi has failed to show it has a likelihood of success on the merits, Kalshi's motion for a preliminary injunction (ECF No. 2) is DENIED.”
“the Court denies without prejudice Petitioner's request for a release order but retains jurisdiction, and orders that ICE conduct an informal interview as required by the applicable regulations, and sets other deadlines on his Zadvydas claim, including an evidentiary hearing”
“The petition for writ of habeas corpus (ECF No. 1) is GRANTED.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 86 days (N = 8).
Median motion-to-ruling time: 94.5 days (N = 20).
The reviewed assignments include alien-detainee habeas petitions, civil-rights and employment cases, antitrust litigation, real-property disputes, and criminal matters. They also include National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education v. Trump, a challenge to federal executive orders concerning diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
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 | 5 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 5 |
| Sep 2025 | 1 | 1 |
| Mar 2025 | 1 | 3 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 1 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 2 |
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 Maryland, not for Judge Abelson: 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 | 3,191 | 6.7 months |
| Closed with no court action | 151 | 5.7 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 2,564 | 5.9 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 457 | 13.6 months |
| Closed during trial | 19 | 33.9 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 3,191 | 6.7 months |
| Sep 2024 | 3,119 | 7.5 months |
| Sep 2023 | 3,370 | 9 months |
| Sep 2022 | 3,053 | 9.5 months |
| Sep 2021 | 2,629 | 8.9 months |
| Sep 2020 | 2,469 | 9 months |
| Sep 2019 | 2,709 | 7.9 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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