Ortrie Dale Smith
How Judge Smith rules, drawn from 5 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Smith no longer sits on this court. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Smith
Ortrie D. Smith is an inactive senior judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri. Appointed by President William J. Clinton, Judge Smith received a commission on August 14, 1995. Judge Smith assumed senior status on April 30, 2011.
How Judge Smith decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
On ineffective-assistance claims he holds that a 'strategy' defense must be an objectively valid strategy; an unreasonable choice is not insulated merely by calling it strategic. To defend counsel's conduct, show the strategy was objectively reasonable, not just deliberate.
“an attorney can have a sincerely-held, well-planned strategy that is so far beyond the objective standard of reasonableness – or, in other words, is so invalid – that the performance prong is violated.”
In Hurley’s MHRA case, Judge Smith held that two 2017 statutory amendments were substantive and did not apply them retrospectively to the plaintiff’s pending claims.
“The Court agrees with the vast majority of courts that have considered this issue, and finds these two particular MHRA amendments are substantive in their operation. Accordingly, the Court will not retrospectively apply these MHRA amendments to Plaintiff's claims.”
Procedural preferences
In Brockhoff v. Vescovo, the court denied part of a deputy's summary judgment motion because the facts bearing on qualified immunity also bore on liability and remained disputed. It granted judgment on other claims and dismissed some remaining claims without prejudice.
“Because the facts related to qualified immunity are the same disputed facts that the jury must consider in assessing liability, the Court cannot determine Gauert is qualifiedly immune.”
In Hurley v. Vendtech-SGI, Smith granted summary judgment on a suspension retaliation theory after the plaintiff failed to answer the employer’s argument and conceded he had not engaged in protected activity before his suspension.
“By failing to respond to that argument, Plaintiff tacitly concedes that claim.”
In Talley, Judge Smith denied a second reconsideration motion without prejudice because its brief exceeded the local page limit and its factual background included argument. He warned that another noncompliant motion would be denied with prejudice.
“The Court notes Plaintiff included a table of authorities, but the motion still exceeds the page limitation.”
Cautions
In Gabaree’s habeas case, Judge Smith criticized the state’s response for asserting without analysis that the state court decision was reasonable, while ruling on the petitioner’s ineffective-assistance claims.
“Merely calling it ‘reasonable’ does not make it reasonable.”
On review of an agency decision he applies deferential substantial-evidence review and will not reverse simply because some evidence supports the opposite conclusion. Attack the sufficiency of the record, not the weight of the evidence.
“[The Court] will not reverse a decision simply because some evidence may support the opposite conclusion.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“One motion (Doc. # 77) was filed on behalf of Rich Gauert; this motion is denied with respect to Counts I and VII and granted in all other respects.”
“The second motion (Doc. # 86) is filed on behalf of the remaining defendants; this motion is granted with respect to Counts I through IV and the remaining counts are dismissed without prejudice.”
“Accordingly, the Commissioner's final decision to terminate Plaintiff's benefits is affirmed.”
“For the following reasons, the motion (Doc. # 1) is granted in part and denied in part.”
“Furthermore, to the extent the motion is denied, the Court grants in part a Certificate of Appealability.”
“For the foregoing reasons, Defendant's motion for summary judgment is denied with regard to all of Plaintiff's race discrimination claims, granted with regard to all of Plaintiff's age discrimination claims, granted with regard to Plaintiff's claims that his suspension was retaliatory, denied with regard to Plaintiff's retaliation claim based upon Defendant's alleged failure to investigate or take action to curtail Plaintiff's lengthy suspension, and denied with regard to Plaintiff's retaliation claim based upon his vacation allotment, and granted with regard to Plaintiff's retaliation claim based upon Defendant's challenge to his claim for unemployment benefits.”
“For these reasons, the Court, once again, denies Plaintiff’s motion to reconsider without prejudice.”
Pending matters in the official report
Judge Smith was last listed in the Civil Justice Reform Act report as of September 30, 2020.
| 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 |
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 Smith 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.