Charles Willis Pickering Sr.

How Judge Pickering rules, drawn from 25 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

Judge Pickering no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.

Court
United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi
Position
district
Status
Retired 2004
Served
1990–2004
Appointed by
George H. W. Bush (Republican)
Commissioned
1990-10-01
Education
Jones County Junior College, A.A., 1957; University of Mississippi, B.A., 1959; University of Mississippi School of Law, LL.B., 1961
Signed orders read
25

How Judge Pickering decides

Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

What persuades

In the reviewed arbitration cases, the court generally enforced awards when the arbitrator acted within the agreement, but vacated and remanded an award when the record supplied no reasonably inferable basis for the damages figure.

“there are no facts in the record as to which one can draw a reasonable inference as to how the panel reached its conclusion as to a specific damage award.”

Procedural preferences

The court resolved doubts about removal jurisdiction in favor of remand and rejected the All Writs Act as an independent basis for removing an otherwise unremovable state action.

“The All Writs Act is not an independent basis for establishing federal jurisdiction, thus permitting removal.”

Cautions

In the reviewed employment case, conclusory allegations could not substitute for facts showing that a private company acted under color of state law.

“Based on the record before the Court, UPS’s conduct cannot be fairly attributable to the state.”

Signed rulings

A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.

Caldwell v. American Home Products Corp.
2:02-cv-00111 · 2002-07-03
Motions to remand (plaintiffs) Granted

“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that this cause, absent the Campbell claims, be and the same is hereby remanded to the court from whence it came.”

Motions to stay (defendants) Denied

“IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the motion for stay of proceedings pending transfer to MDL is denied.”

Request for attorneys fees and costs (plaintiffs) Denied

“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED AND ADJUDGED Plaintiffs’ request for reasonable attorney’s fees and costs incurred is denied.”

Cullop v. Sphere Drake Insurance
2:00-cv-00061 · 2001-01-16
Summary judgment (defendant) Granted

“IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment is granted”

Heacock v. United States
1:93-cv-00002 · 1999-03-31
Motion to suspend supervised release (petitioner) Denied

“IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the Petitioner’s motion for suspension of supervised release is denied.”

Brown v. Howard Industries, Inc.
2:99-cv-00301 · 2000-10-25
Motions to dismiss (defendant) Granted

“IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs’ Complaint is GRANTED.”

Easterling v. Gulf Guaranty Insurance
5:99-cv-00096 · 1999-08-24
Motions to remand (plaintiff) Granted

“IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that this matter be remanded to the Circuit Court of Coving-ton County.”

McGee v. United States
1:94-cv-00067 · 1994-04-19
Preliminary injunction (plaintiff) Denied

“The plaintiff having failed to carry the burden of proof on the four factors he is required to prove is not entitled to a preliminary injunction.”

Brabham v. A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc.
1:98-cv-00280 · 2003-05-30
Motion to vacate arbitration award (plaintiff) Granted

“IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that Plaintiffs Motion to Vacate Award of Arbitrators is granted and Defendants’ Motion to Confirm Arbitrators’ Award is denied.”

Motion to confirm arbitration award (defendants) Denied
Booth v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
1:99-cv-00002 · 1999-12-15
Summary judgment (defendant) Granted

“IT IS ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED.”

Davis v. Estate of Harrison
2:02-cv-00035 · 2002-08-09
Motion to dismiss improperly removed action (plaintiffs) Moot / procedural

“IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that this matter be and the same is hereby dismissed.”

Mitchell v. United Parcel Service
2:97-cv-00183 · 1998-08-25
Summary judgment (defendant) Granted

“For the reasons stated above, Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment against Plaintiff should be and is hereby GRANTED.”

Rudd v. Jones
2:94-cv-00184 · 1995-03-15

The screening order dismissed an immune judicial defendant and required a more specific amended complaint against the remaining defendants.

Kirksey v. American Bankers Insurance Co. of Florida
5:00-cv-00092 · 2000-09-22
Summary judgment (defendant) Granted

“IT IS ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED. Plaintiffs complaint is dismissed with prejudice.”

Caseload & timing

From public federal docket records for this judge.

The twenty oldest located exact-name assignments were all terminated matters filed from October 1990 through April 1991. They included prisoner civil-rights, maritime, personal-injury, negotiable-instrument, forfeiture, contract, insurance, and government cases. This historical slice is not the judge's full district docket.

A historical record

Judge Pickering no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.