Lydia Kay Griggsby
How Judge Griggsby rules, drawn from 24 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Griggsby
Lydia Kay Griggsby is a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. Appointed by President Joseph R. Biden, Judge Griggsby received a commission on July 20, 2021.
Judge Griggsby's practices and standing orders
The court's website lists no individual practices or standing orders of Judge Griggsby'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 Griggsby decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Procedural preferences
In Goddard v. Thomas Jefferson University, Griggsby dismissed a remote worker's suit against a Pennsylvania employer for lack of personal jurisdiction in Maryland. Allowing remote work and supplying equipment had not established purposeful availment there.
“GRANTS the Defendant's motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction (ECF No. 21) and (2) DISMISSES the complaint”
Cautions
In Galvin v. Farren, Griggsby dismissed a prisoner's conditions-of-confinement claims because he had not completed the administrative grievance process and prison officials had not caused that failure.
“Defendants' motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, for summary judgment, is GRANTED; The complaint is DISMISSED for failure to exhaust administrative remedies”
In Bermegi v. Donis, Griggsby dismissed a suit to compel adjudication of a pending asylum application because the plaintiff had not established subject-matter jurisdiction under the Mandamus Act or Administrative Procedure Act.
“For the reasons set forth below, the Plaintiff has not met his burden to show that the Court possesses subject-matter jurisdiction to consider his claim seeking to compel the Defendants to complete the adjudication of his asylum application.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“GRANTS-in-PART and DENIES-in-PART defendant's partial motion to dismiss”
“Defendants' motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, for summary judgment, is GRANTED; The complaint is DISMISSED for failure to exhaust administrative remedies”
“the Court GRANTS the County's motion to dismiss; and DISMISSES Counts I, II and VI of the amended complaint against the County”
“DENIES Mr. Pesce's motion to dismiss, or, alternatively, for summary judgment (ECF No. 28)”
“GRANTS the Defendant's motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction (ECF No. 21) and (2) DISMISSES the complaint”
“the Court DENIES the Plaintiff's motion for certification of judgment (ECF No. 129)”
“the Court: (1) GRANTS the Secretary's motion for summary judgment and (2) DISMISSES the complaint. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 56.”
“the Court: (1) GRANTS-in-PART and DENIES-in-PART Grebow's motion for summary judgment; (2) DENIES Scientific's motion to strike; and (3) DISMISSES the complaint and counter-complaint.”
“the Court: ... (2) DENIES Scientific's motion to strike”
“the Court: ... (2) DENIES Defendant's motion to dismiss”
“the Court: ... (3) DENIES Defendant's motion to disqualify”
“the Court: (1) DENIES Defendant's motion for a bill of particulars without prejudice”
“the Court DENIES the Defense's motions to dismiss Counts 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19 of the Indictment.”
“the Court DENIES the Defense's motion to suppress email evidence. ... the Court also DENIES the Defense's motion to suppress cell phone evidence.”
“the Court DENIES the Defense's motion to sever WITHOUT PREJUDICE, to permit the Defense to addresses these concerns.”
“the Court GRANTS the Defense's motion for a bill of particulars as to Count 1 regarding: (1) The specific life insurance policies at issue in Count 1; and (2) The number of, and identities of, investors who were allegedly defrauded by the Wilsons”
“the Court HOLDS-IN-ABEYENCE Defendant James Wilson's motion to suppress statements (ECF No. 58)”
“GRANTS NSA's motion for summary judgment; and (2) DISMISSES the complaint”
“GRANTS-in-PART the Defendant's motion to dismiss (ECF No. 15); and (2) TRANSFERS this case to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 392 days (N = 11).
Median motion-to-ruling time: 133 days (N = 11).
The fourteen sampled matters filed from July 2021 through December 2025 include employment disputes, prisoner civil-rights claims, personal-injury and medical-malpractice actions, immigration mandamus cases, environmental litigation, copyright claims, landlord disputes, FOIA matters, banking, and federal criminal litigation.
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 | 1 |
| Bench trials submitted more than six months | 0 |
| Bankruptcy appeals pending more than six months | 2 |
| Social Security appeals pending more than six months | 0 |
| Civil cases pending more than three years | 10 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 1 | 10 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 12 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 13 |
| Sep 2024 | 28 | 18 |
| Mar 2024 | 27 | 19 |
| Sep 2023 | 17 | 25 |
| Mar 2023 | 24 | 14 |
| Sep 2022 | 4 | 7 |
| Mar 2022 | 10 | 2 |
| Sep 2021 | 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 Maryland, not for Judge Griggsby: 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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