R. Steven Whalen
How Judge Whalen rules, drawn from 12 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Whalen no longer sits on this court. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Whalen
R. Steven Whalen served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit. He held the court's executive magistrate judge role and retired in 2021. His pending cases were reassigned to Magistrate Judge Curtis Ivy Jr.
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Substantial evidence supported the administrative law judge's rejection of the treating source's medical opinion ... defendant's motion for summary judgment [docket entry 14] is granted.”
“plaintiff's motion for summary judgment [docket entry 11] is denied.”
“ADOPTS the Report and Recommendation of Magistrate Judge Whalen that GRANTS the Commissioner's Motion ... and AFFIRMS the decision of the Commissioner”
“DENIES Hartshorn's motion”
“Magistrate Judge R. Steven Whalen has submitted a Report and Recommendation ... in which he recommends that the motion be denied ... IT IS ORDERED that plaintiff's motion for injunctive relief is denied.”
“GRANTS Plaintiff's counsel's motion for an award of fees in the amount of $8,623.50 (ECF No. 37), and further ORDERS the Plaintiff be refunded the previously awarded $5,500.00 EAJA fee”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff's Motion for default Judgment is denied. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Unified Defendants are assessed sanctions in the amount of $5,000.00, jointly and severally”
“Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. No. 11, filed June 26, 2013] is GRANTED.”
“Defendant's Motions for Summary Judgment [Doc. No. 16, filed December 2, 2013] is DENIED.”
“the magistrate judge's Report and Recommendation [19] is ADOPTED, Henderson's Motion for Summary Judgment [14] is DENIED, the Commissioner's Motion for Summary Judgment [17] is GRANTED.”
“the Commissioner's Motion for Summary Judgment [17] is GRANTED.”
“Defendant's motion for summary judgment (ECF No. 11) is GRANTED and Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment (ECF No. 10) is DENIED.”
“Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment (ECF No. 10) is DENIED.”
“the Defendant's motion for summary judgment (ECF No. 11) is GRANTED.”
“Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment (ECF No. 10) is DENIED.”
“Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment is DENIED, Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED, and Plaintiff's cause of action is hereby DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
“Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED.”
“Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment [Docket No. 18, filed on July 1, 2010] is DENIED.”
“Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment [Docket No. 24, file on November 10, 2010] is GRANTED.”
“Defendant Clafton's Motion for Summary Judgment (Dkt. 18) is GRANTED and this case is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE, both on procedural grounds.”
Pending matters in the official report
Judge Whalen was last listed in the Civil Justice Reform Act report as of September 30, 2025.
| 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 | 0 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2021 | 1 | 1 |
| Sep 2020 | 1 | 1 |
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.
A historical record
Judge Whalen no longer sits on this court. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled here. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.