David Michael Lawson
How Judge Lawson decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Procedural preferences
Treats the federal habeas 'in custody' requirement (28 U.S.C. 2254(a)) as a hard jurisdictional threshold and will summarily dismiss a petition once the challenged sentence has fully expired -- collateral consequences such as a sex-offender registration obligation do not satisfy custody. A petitioner must be in custody under the challenged judgment when the petition is filed.
“The petitioner is not “in custody” within the meaning of 28 U.S.C. § 2254(a). Therefore, the Court does not have jurisdiction to adjudicate his petition for a writ of habeas corpus.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“defendants Henry Ford Allegiance Hospital and Dr. Frank Lamarca's motion to dismiss (ECF No. 28) is GRANTED.”
“recommending that the Court grant in part the defendants' motion to dismiss, dismiss the plaintiff's equal protection claim, and deny the plaintiff's motions for summary judgment”
“deny the plaintiff's motions for summary judgment”
“it is ORDERED that the defendants' motion to dismiss [dkt. #7] is DENIED.”
“it is ORDERED that the defendants' motion for summary judgment (ECF No. 32) is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART.”
“the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment (ECF No. 13) is DENIED.”
“the defendant's motion for summary judgment (ECF No. 15) is GRANTED. The findings of the Commissioner are AFFIRMED.”
“Accordingly, it is ORDERED that the defendant’s motion to dismiss [dkt. #4] is GRANTED IN PART.”
“Accordingly, it is ORDERED that the defendants’ motion to dismiss the amended complaint (ECF No. 37) is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART.”
“It is further ORDERED that the motion to dismiss by defendant State of Michigan [dkt. #34] is GRANTED IN PART, and the plaintiff’s claim against the State for money damages is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
“It is further ORDERED that the motion to dismiss by defendants City of Madison Heights [dkt. #20], and Oakland County Sixth Circuit Court [dkt. #21], and the motion for summary judgment by defendant City of Warren [dkt. #36] are GRANTED, and the complaint is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE against those defendants.”
“Accordingly, it is ORDERED that the respondent’s motion to dismiss is GRANTED and that the petition for a writ of habeas corpus is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
“It is further ORDERED that the State of Michigan’s motion to dismiss (ECF No. 7) is GRANTED, and the plaintiff’s claims against it are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
“It is further ORDERED that the defendants’ motion to dismiss (ECF No. 25) is DENIED.”
“It is further ORDERED that the motion to dismiss by defendant City of Detroit (ECF No. 92) is GRANTED, and the plaintiff’s claims against that defendant are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The reviewed civil matters include prisoner civil-rights, employment, Social Security, and real-property disputes. This is a descriptive sample, not a complete caseload count.
Put Judge Lawson's record to work
Ezel drafts and answers grounded in this exact profile: how Judge Lawson actually rules, not a generic AI guess.
Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer is grounded in Judge Lawson's own signed orders and cites them.