Patricia L. Cohen
How Judge Cohen rules, drawn from 12 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Cohen
Patricia L. Cohen is a United States magistrate judge for the Eastern District of Missouri. She began federal judicial service in January 2016 after serving on the Missouri Court of Appeals and the state's Twenty-Second Judicial Circuit. She earned her law degree from Cornell Law School in 1982.
Judge Cohen's practices and standing orders
The court's website lists no individual practices or standing orders of Judge Cohen'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).
How Judge Cohen decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In a consent Title VII case, the court rejected a pleading-stage exhaustion challenge where the complaint alleged that prerequisites to suit had been met; it treated failure to exhaust as a defense for the defendant to prove.
“The failure to exhaust administrative remedies, however, is an affirmative defense that a defendant must prove.”
Procedural preferences
In Reid, the district judge adopted Judge Cohen’s recommendation to deny a suppression motion after no written objections were filed, describing her analysis as thorough and grounded in sound legal authority.
“Judge Cohen thoroughly analyzes the law and facts in this matter Her recommendation is based on sound legal authority and detailed analysis. Upon review, the Court adopts the Report and Recommendation in toto.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“The undersigned therefore adopts and sustains Judge Cohen’s Report and Recommendation in its entirety and denies the Motion to Dismiss the Indictment.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant’s Motion to Suppress Illegally Obtained Evidence,[Doc. No. 47] is DENIED.”
“In her May 13, 2021 Report and Recommendation, Judge Cohen recommended that the Defendant’s motions be denied. Defendant has filed a written objection to this recommendation. For the reasons set forth below, the Court adopts Judge Cohen’s recommendation.”
“Magistrate Judge Cohen recommends the Court deny both the Motion to Dismiss Indictment and the Motion to Transfer Case to the Central District of California.”
“On March 12, 2018, Judge Cohen recommended that Defendant’s Motion to Suppress Statements be denied. (Doc. No. 93)”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant’s motion for summary judgment is granted.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendants’ motion for summary judgment [ECF No. 26] is DENIED with respect to all Defendants on the claims not withdrawn by Plaintiff.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff’s seventh motion for appointment of counsel [ECF No. 60] is DENIED without prejudice.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the final decision of the Acting Commissioner of Social Security is REVERSED and that this cause of action is REMANDED pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) for further proceedings.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the final decision of the Commissioner denying Social Security benefits to Plaintiff is AFFIRMED.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Petitioner’s amended Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus [ECF No. 7] is DENIED.”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Court will not issue a Certificate of Appealability.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant’s unopposed motion to reverse and remand [ECF No. 23] is GRANTED.”
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 | 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 | 6 |
| Civil cases pending more than three years | 0 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2024 | 1 | 1 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 1 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2021 | 1 | 2 |
| Mar 2021 | 1 | 4 |
| Sep 2020 | 1 | 7 |
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 Eastern District of Missouri, not for Judge Cohen: 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 | 1,561 | 6 months |
| Closed with no court action | 502 | 4.3 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 1,031 | 7 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 16 | 15.3 months |
| Closed during trial | 12 | 31.2 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 1,561 | 6 months |
| Sep 2024 | 1,525 | 6.6 months |
| Sep 2023 | 1,323 | 7 months |
| Sep 2022 | 1,466 | 10.6 months |
| Sep 2021 | 1,424 | 8.8 months |
| Sep 2020 | 1,950 | 5.5 months |
| Sep 2019 | 2,913 | 2.2 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 Cohen with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Cohen, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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