Matthew E. Orso
How Judge Orso rules, drawn from 17 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Orso
Matthew Emile Orso is a judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. Appointed by President Donald J. Trump, Judge Orso received a commission on December 12, 2025.
Judge Orso's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Orso, as published on the court's website (checked October 9, 2026). Judges revise these often, so confirm the current version on the court's site before you file.
- Pretrial Order and Case Management Plan ↗
- Standing Arraignment Order & Standing Order Governing Criminal Cases ↗
- Standing Order Governing Jury Selection and Instruction in Civil Cases ↗
- Standing Order Requiring an Initial Settlement Conference in Civil Cases ↗
Key rules
Contacting chambers
Do not deliver courtesy copies of unsealed memoranda or exhibits; sealed materials require a flash drive to chambers.
“Unless memoranda or supporting exhibits are sealed, the parties should not deliver ‘courtesy copies’ to the Judge’s chambers or the Clerk of Court. If memoranda or supporting exhibits are sealed, the parties shall provide a flash drive to the Judge’s chambers containing the sealed documents.”
Motions
In criminal cases, motions to continue trial must be filed at least 28 days before the scheduled trial term.
“Motions to continue trial shall be filed no later than twenty-eight (28) days prior to the term at which the case is scheduled to be tried.”
Discovery
Before filing a disputed discovery motion, a party must seek an informal conference with the court.
“a party shall, before filing a disputed motion for an order relating to discovery, request a conference with the Magistrate Judge”
Conferences
Covered civil parties must hold a settlement conference before the defendant’s answer or other response.
“The parties and/or their counsel meet either in person or by telephone to meaningfully discuss the possibility of settling this matter prior to the filing of an Answer or other response to the Complaint.”
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 Orso decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Esiet’s employment case, Orso partly granted the employer’s summary-judgment motion, dismissed two counts, and left two claims for trial.
“This case shall proceed toward trial on the merits of the remaining claims, Counts I and II”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. No. 70) is DENIED; and this case shall proceed to trial on the merits in the absence of a voluntary resolution of the dispute among the parties.”
“Plaintiff has failed to show that there is a genuine issue of material fact such that a reasonable jury would conclude that Defendants discriminated against Plaintiff because of his race under either Title VII or Section 1981. Accordingly, the Court grants summary judgment in favor of Defendants. ... Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. No. 34) is GRANTED and the Clerk is directed to close this case.”
“Defendants' Motion to Dismiss (Doc. Nos. 17, 26, 40) are GRANTED; ... This action is DISMISSED in its entirety; and ... The Clerk is directed to close this case.”
“Plaintiff's Motion for Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction (Doc. No. 20) is DENIED AS MOOT”
“The Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's Amended Complaint filed by Defendants Jessica Battle, Travis Archer, Vi Lyles, Johnny Jennings, and Joanne Franze (Doc. No. 117) is GRANTED and the Amended Complaint is DISMISSED as to these Defendants”
“The Providence Defendants' Motion to Dismiss, or Alternatively, to Compel Plaintiff's Initial Disclosures and Discovery Responses (Doc. No. 84) is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. Specifically, it is GRANTED as to the Motion to Compel and DENIED as to the motion to dismiss and for other sanctions”
“Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment, (Doc. No. 53), is GRANTED, and this matter is DISMISSED with prejudice in its entirety.”
“Plaintiff's Second Motion for Preliminary Injunction is GRANTED.”
“Plaintiff's Motion for Class Certification pursuant to Rule 23(b)(3) is GRANTED.”
“Plaintiff's Motion for Conditional Certification is DENIED without prejudice.”
“Plaintiff's Motion to Certify the Court's Order for Interlocutory Appeal is DENIED.”
“Defendants' Motion for Reconsideration pursuant to Rule 59(e) is DENIED.”
“Plaintiff's Motion to Amend the Order to Certify for Interlocutory Appeal is DENIED.”
“Defendant's Motion to Dismiss on the ground of forum non conveniens is GRANTED, and this action is DISMISSED with prejudice.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 691 days (N = 2).
Orso's early caseload includes employment discrimination, other civil-rights claims, consumer-credit reporting, foreclosure, personal injury, trademark, civil forfeiture, and criminal matters. Because he joined the court in December 2025, several reviewed civil cases were reassigned from Judges Robert J. Conrad Jr. or Kenneth D. Bell rather than filed initially before Orso.
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 | 5 |
| Civil cases pending more than three years | 9 |
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 Western District of North Carolina, not for Judge Orso: 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 | 1,033 | 5.9 months |
| Closed with no court action | 193 | 3 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 586 | 5.1 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 248 | 13.2 months |
| Closed during trial | 6 | not reported |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 1,033 | 5.9 months |
| Sep 2024 | 1,154 | 5.5 months |
| Sep 2023 | 958 | 6.9 months |
| Sep 2022 | 1,210 | 10.1 months |
| Sep 2021 | 951 | 10.3 months |
| Sep 2020 | 873 | 8.5 months |
| Sep 2019 | 816 | 9.1 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 Orso with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Orso, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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