J. Mark Coulson
How Judge Coulson rules, drawn from 19 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Coulson
J. Mark Coulson joined the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland as a magistrate judge in 2014 and was reappointed in 2022. His work on the court includes settlement proceedings.
Judge Coulson's practices and standing orders
The court's website lists no individual practices or standing orders of Judge Coulson'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 Coulson decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Smith v. BLD Services, an overtime misclassification suit decided with the parties' consent, Coulson denied the employer's summary-judgment motion because a factual dispute remained over whether management was the construction superintendent's primary duty.
“Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 25) is DENIED”
Procedural preferences
In O'Connell v. Brigham, a confessed-judgment case, Coulson required the plaintiff to amend its pleading to establish diversity jurisdiction before recommending entry of a $106,400 judgment.
“I recommend that the Court direct the Clerk to enter the confessed judgment against Defendants, jointly and severally, in the amount of $106,400.00”
When the plaintiff showed repeated efforts to serve a defendant, Coulson granted more time but required a stronger showing before allowing alternative service.
“Plaintiff’s Motion (ECF No. 21) is hereby GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.”
Cautions
In Diaz Mancilla v. Chesapeake Outdoor Services, Coulson partly granted a prevailing wage-and-hour plaintiff's fee petition, reducing the requested fees rather than awarding the full amount.
“Plaintiff's Motion for Attorney Fees (ECF No. 101) is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART”
In a disability retaliation case, Coulson permitted a mental examination but limited its duration, examiner, methods, and topics to the diagnoses and allegations in dispute.
“the Court will not permit an open door to the exploration of any mental health topic”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 25) is DENIED”
“Plaintiff's Motion for Attorney Fees (ECF No. 101) is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART”
“Plaintiff's Motion for Leave to File Affidavit in Support of Fee Petition Out of Time (ECF No. 105) is GRANTED”
“the undersigned recommends that ... The Court GRANT in part Plaintiff's Motion for Entry of Default Judgment Pursuant to Rule 55(b)(2)”
“I recommend that the Court direct the Clerk to enter the confessed judgment against Defendants, jointly and severally, in the amount of $106,400.00”
“For the reasons set forth above, Plaintiff’s Motion for Service of Process by E-Mail (ECF No. 10) is granted.”
“Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel, (ECF No. 33), shall be DENIED as moot.”
“the Court is unable to determine whether the fee sought is reasonable, and Plaintiff’s request for fees will also be denied.”
“Defendants’ Motion to Compel and to Extend the Discovery Schedule (ECF No. 15) is GRANTED.”
“Plaintiff’s Motion to Amend/Correct its Opposition brief is GRANTED.”
“Defendants’ Motions to Dismiss (ECF Nos. 28, 34, and 35) shall be GRANTED and all claims set forth in Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint (ECF No. 17) are hereby dismissed. Dismissal shall be without prejudice”
“Pursuant to sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), the SSA’s judgment is REVERSED due to inadequate analysis. The case is REMANDED for further proceedings in accordance with this opinion.”
“Plaintiff’s Motion to Reconsider (ECF No. 17) is GRANTED. The case is REMANDED for further proceedings in accordance with this opinion.”
“Pursuant to sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), the SSA’s judgment is REVERSED due to an improper function-by-function assessment, and the decision of the SSA is REMANDED for further proceedings in accordance with this Letter Order and Opinion.”
“the Motion to Dismiss filed by Public Storage and Public Storage Operating Company (ECF No. 23) is hereby DENIED as MOOT without prejudice.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 62 days (N = 9).
Median motion-to-ruling time: 57 days (N = 7).
Coulson's consent civil caseload includes removed insurance and motor-vehicle disputes, wage cases, multiemployer pension-fund collections, and immigration mandamus actions that often end quickly once the agency acts. He is also frequently assigned to conduct settlement conferences.
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 | 1 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 1 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 1 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 2 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 2 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 2 |
| Sep 2020 | 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 Coulson: 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).
Draft for Judge Coulson with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Coulson, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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