Graham C. Mullen
How Judge Mullen rules, drawn from 8 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Mullen no longer sits on this court. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Mullen
Graham C. Mullen served as a United States district judge in the Western District of North Carolina from 1990 until his retirement in February 2026. He was chief judge from 1998 to 2005 and entered senior status in December 2005.
How Judge Mullen decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Procedural preferences
In Hawley v. Neurocrine Biosciences, Mullen reviewed an unopposed magistrate recommendation for clear error, adopted it, and entered the recommended partial dismissal.
“Defendant's Partial Motion to Dismiss, (Doc. No. 25), is GRANTED.”
In Moses v. Pacific Market International, Mullen applied the first-to-file rule and stayed the later-filed nationwide class action in deference to a consolidated case in another district.
“Defendant's Motion to Dismiss or, in the Alternative, Stay All Proceedings, (Doc. No. 10), is GRANTED, and this action is STAYED.”
Cautions
In Hendon v. Hayes, Mullen converted a motion to dismiss into one for summary judgment and relied on body-camera footage that contradicted the plaintiff's account, dismissing the action with prejudice as frivolous.
“IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED that the Defendants' Motion to Dismiss [Doc. 23] is construed as a Motion for Summary Judgment, it is GRANTED, and this action is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE AS FRIVOLOUS.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Defendant's Partial Motion to Dismiss, (Doc. No. 25), is GRANTED.”
“Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss, (Doc. No. 11), is GRANTED, and the Amended Complaint, (Doc. No. 9), is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE;”
“Defendants' Motion to Dismiss, (Doc. No. 16), is GRANTED pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(2) and 12(b)(5), and this matter is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE”
“Plaintiff's Second Motion to Remand, (Doc. No. 18) is DENIED AS MOOT.”
“Defendants' Motions to Dismiss, (Doc. Nos. 57, 60), are GRANTED; and”
“IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED that the Defendants' Motion to Dismiss [Doc. 23] is construed as a Motion for Summary Judgment, it is GRANTED, and this action is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE AS FRIVOLOUS.”
“Defendants' Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Prosecution, (Doc. No. 52), is GRANTED.”
“Defendant's Motion to Dismiss or, in the Alternative, Stay All Proceedings, (Doc. No. 10), is GRANTED, and this action is STAYED.”
“The Stipulated Preliminary Injunction (Doc. No. 23) and the January 4, 2024 Order, (Doc. No. 51), are hereby VACATED. In lieu thereof, the Parties enter the following stipulated injunction:”
“Plaintiff's claims against Defendants are DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE;”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 246 days (N = 10).
- The sampled late-career caseload includes Social Security disability appeals, self-represented prisoner civil-rights and prison-conditions cases, employment-discrimination actions, and occasional diversity or statutory matters.
- Mullen handled many benefits and self-represented cases directly, while some employment matters were referred to Magistrate Judges Susan C.
- Rodriguez or David C. Keesler.
- His remaining cases were reassigned after his February 2026 retirement.
Pending matters in the official report
Judge Mullen was last listed in the Civil Justice Reform Act report as of September 30, 2025.
| Motions pending more than six months | 1 |
| 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 | 1 | 0 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 2 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 3 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 4 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 3 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 2 |
| Sep 2022 | 6 | 4 |
| Mar 2022 | 5 | 4 |
| Sep 2021 | 2 | 5 |
| Mar 2021 | 5 | 6 |
| Sep 2020 | 3 | 6 |
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 Mullen 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.