Frederick R. Buckles
How Judge Buckles rules, drawn from 3 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Buckles no longer sits on this court. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Buckles
Frederick R. Buckles served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri from December 1989 until November 2013, including service as Chief Magistrate Judge. Before joining the bench, he spent fifteen years in the United States Attorney’s Office for the district, where he led its Organized Crime and Violent Crime section.
How Judge Buckles decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Wade v. Colvin, Buckles reversed and remanded the Commissioner’s decision because the ALJ deemed the claimant’s carpal tunnel syndrome non-severe while relying on a 2007 work release despite later clinical evidence that the condition had recurred.
“[T]o rely on a January 2007 work release statement to find plaintiff's carpal tunnel syndrome not to be severe in May 2011 was error.”
In Barnes v. Astrue, Buckles upheld the ALJ’s decision to discount Dr. Hoja’s opinion because the ALJ acknowledged his treating-source status and explained why later medical evidence did not support giving the opinion controlling weight.
“[T]he ALJ acknowledged Dr. Hoja's status, cited the Regulations mandating the treatment to be afforded evidence from treating sources, and fully explained his reasons for declining to give Dr. Hoja's opinion controlling weight. The undersigned therefore concludes that substantial evidence supports the ALJ's decision.”
Procedural preferences
In Barnes v. Astrue, the court affirmed the denial of Social Security benefits despite a Missouri public-assistance finding of disability. The state determination did not bind the Commissioner, and the ALJ had considered it and given reasons for assigning it little weight.
“a determination made by any non-governmental or any other governmental agency that a claimant is disabled is based on its own rules, and is not binding on the Commissioner.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, pursuant to sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), the decision of the Commissioner is REVERSED, and this cause is REMANDED to the Commissioner for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. Because the current record does not conclusively demonstrate that plaintiff is entitled to benefits, it would be inappropriate for the Court to award plaintiff such benefits at this time.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Commissioner's decision be affirmed, and Plaintiff's Complaint be dismissed with prejudice.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant's Motion To Reverse And Remand (Docket No. 22) is granted. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Commissioner's decision is reversed and this cause is remanded to the Commissioner for further consideration pursuant to sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g).”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
- The analyzed sample focuses on Social Security appeals.
- Buckles's docket also included referred pretrial matters, habeas corpus petitions, prisoner civil-rights cases, forfeiture and miscellaneous proceedings, and general consent civil matters typical of a long-serving magistrate judge's referred-and-consent docket.
- Many of those cases resolve by dismissal, referral, or settlement without a written dispositive-motion ruling, and the broader docket was not surveyed exhaustively.
Pending matters in the official report
Judge Buckles was last listed in the Civil Justice Reform Act report as of September 30, 2022.
| 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 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2020 | 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.
A historical record
Judge Buckles 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.