Gershwin Allen Drain
How Judge Drain rules, drawn from 40 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Drain
Gershwin Allen Drain is a judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Appointed by President Barack Obama, Judge Drain received a commission on August 8, 2012. Judge Drain assumed senior status on August 13, 2022.
Judge Drain's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Drain, as published on the court's website (checked October 8, 2026). Judges revise these often, so confirm the current version on the court's site before you file.
- Practice Guidelines ↗
- Bankruptcy Appeal Scheduling Order ↗
- Civil Scheduling Order ↗
- Criminal Scheduling Order ↗
Key rules
Filing
Courtesy copies are required for all motions, briefs, responses and replies.
“Courtesy copies are required for all motions, briefs, responses and replies.”
Conferences
The parties are required to submit a Rule 26(f) plan no later than one week prior to the initial scheduling conference.
“The parties are required to submit a Rule 26(f) plan no later than one week prior to the initial scheduling conference.”
Trial
In civil actions, motions in limine must be filed no later than four weeks prior to the final pretrial conference so that responses can be filed in accordance with L.R. 7.1.
“In civil actions, motions in limine must be filed no later than four weeks prior to the final pretrial conference so that responses can be filed in accordance with L.R. 7.1.”
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 8, 2026).
- Procedures for Access, Service, and Management of Sealed Documents ↗
- Procedures for the Filing, Service and Management of Highly Sensitive Documents ↗
- Standing Order for Discovery and Inspection and Fixing Motion Cut-Off Date in Criminal Cases ↗
- Pro Se Filings (Revised & Amended) ↗
- Filing a New Civil Case or Civil Initiating Papers Under Seal ↗
How Judge Drain decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Brown, evidence connecting the employee’s vaccination objection to a religious principle and disputed testimony about sincerity kept the religious accommodation claim alive at summary judgment.
“Plaintiff’s credibility on the issue of his sincerity is for the jury’s determination.”
Cautions
In D. Savage, Drain rejected the gun pointing claim because the plaintiffs did not identify which officers allegedly pointed weapons after the arrests. He assessed each officer’s potential liability separately while allowing other excessive force claims to proceed.
“due to the absence of specific allegations against particular officers, no Defendant can be held individually liable on Plaintiffs’ excessive force claim for gun pointing that occurred after the arrest.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment [#44] is GRANTED.”
“Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 11) is DENIED.”
“Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 15) is GRANTED.”
“GRANTED IN WHOLE with respect to Count I. The motion is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART with respect to count II.”
“Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED as to Count II of the Amended Complaint. Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment is DENIED as to Counts I, III, IV, V, and VI of the Amended Complaint.”
“the Court GRANTS Respondent's motion to dismiss and DISMISSES WITH PREJUDICE the petition for a writ of habeas corpus.”
“Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss [ECF No. 19] under Rules 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) is GRANTED in its entirety.”
“Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED.”
“Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment is DENIED.”
“Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment [#33] is DENIED”
“Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment [#34] is DENIED IN PART and GRANTED IN PART.”
“Plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary injunction is DENIED.”
“Defendant’s Motion to exclude the causation opinion of Dr. Pierce (ECF No. 26) is GRANTED.”
“Plaintiff’s Motion for Reconsideration [#30] is DENIED.”
“Plaintiff’s Motion to Remand [#7] is DENIED.”
“Plaintiff’s Motion to Dismiss [#4] is also DENIED.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The reviewed civil matters include tax, racketeering, municipal civil-rights, Social Security, and habeas cases. This is a descriptive sample, not a complete caseload count.
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 | 22 |
| 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 | 4 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 22 | 4 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 6 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 4 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 4 |
| Mar 2024 | 1 | 5 |
| Sep 2023 | 4 | 10 |
| Mar 2023 | 5 | 13 |
| Sep 2022 | 27 | 11 |
| Mar 2022 | 21 | 8 |
| Sep 2021 | 18 | 5 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 3 |
| 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 U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, not for Judge Drain: 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 | 2,926 | 8.3 months |
| Closed with no court action | 410 | 2.9 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 1,246 | 4.1 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 1,252 | 15.3 months |
| Closed during trial | 18 | 35.8 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 2,926 | 8.3 months |
| Sep 2024 | 2,615 | 7.9 months |
| Sep 2023 | 2,616 | 8.5 months |
| Sep 2022 | 2,541 | 9.2 months |
| Sep 2021 | 2,405 | 10.2 months |
| Sep 2020 | 2,677 | 9 months |
| Sep 2019 | 3,237 | 8.6 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 Drain with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Drain, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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