Susan M. Bazis
How Judge Bazis decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
On a motion to suppress, Bazis (as magistrate, after a live evidentiary hearing) resolves Fourth Amendment standing on witness CREDIBILITY: a defendant claiming overnight-guest status must put on a credible witness, and a standing witness with a prior false-report conviction who admits lying to police will be found not credible, defeating standing without reaching the search's merits. Her in-person credibility finding was treated as 'virtually unassailable' and adopted on de novo review.
“In her written Findings and Recommendation, Judge Bazis concluded that Kuany's testimony was not credible. ... Upon de novo review, the Court agrees with Judge Bazis that Mr. Kuany's testimony was not sufficiently credible to establish that the Defendant had standing to challenge the search based on his claim that he was an overnight guest.”
Bazis treats Second Amendment challenges to the felon-in-possession statute (18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1)) as foreclosed by binding Eighth Circuit precedent, which requires no felony-by-felony as-applied analysis. A motion to dismiss a 922(g)(1) charge on Bruen/2A grounds is a losing posture in this district.
“As Judge Bazis correctly concludes, Gatkuoth's jurisdictional, standing, and dual sovereignty challenges lack all merit ... '[T]here is no need for felony-by-felony determinations regarding the constitutionality of 922(g)(1) as applied to a particular defendant.'”
Even where she finds a genuine constitutional violation warranting dismissal of an indictment (here, a Sixth Amendment right-to-counsel violation caused by the defendant's mid-case deportation), Bazis favors dismissal WITHOUT prejudice over the defendant's request for a with-prejudice dismissal, reasoning that the lesser remedy protects the public's interest in prosecution and leaves the defendant no worse off than before indictment.
“The Court finds dismissal without prejudice to be the appropriate remedy here. Dismissal without prejudice protects the public's interest in prosecuting Defendant, and as noted by the Magistrate Judge, this is not a situation in which dismissal with prejudice is needed to deter misconduct on the part of the Government.”
Procedural preferences
Failure to file timely, specific written objections to her Findings & Recommendation waives the right to review (NECrimR 59.2; Fed. R. Crim. P. 59(b)). Post-F&R filings that were mailed before the F&R issued cannot be construed as objections.
“Because Gatkuoth did not file objections to Judge Bazis's Findings and Recommendation, he has waived his right to review.”
In Social Security disability appeals, when the Commissioner concedes reversible error rather than defending the agency's decision, the case is resolved on an unopposed motion to reverse and remand under sentence four of 42 U.S.C. 405(g) -- a materially faster and less adversarial path than a contested reverse/affirm briefing cycle -- and Bazis has consistently granted the claimant's subsequent Equal Access to Justice Act fee petition without opposition from the government.
“Defendant's Unopposed Motion to Reverse and Remand pursuant to Sentence Four of 42 U.S.C. Section 405(g) (Filing No. 13) is granted. Defendant's decision is reversed, and this case is remanded pursuant to sentence four of 42 U.S.C. Section 405(g).”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“After reviewing the matter, the Court overrules Gatkuoth's objection, adopts Judge Bazis's Findings and Recommendation in its entirety, and denies Gatkuoth's Motion to Suppress.”
“Judge Bazis's Findings and Recommendation, Filing 119, is adopted in its entirety; ... Gatkuoth's Motion to Dismiss, Filing 108, is denied; and ... Gatkuoth's Superseding Motion to Suppress, Filing 120, is denied.”
Bazis's OWN signed DISTRICT-era Memorandum and Order (signature 'Susan M. Bazis, United States District Judge'). On de novo review with no objections, adopts the magistrate judge's Findings & Recommendation on Plea of Guilty (Filing 102), finds the plea knowing/intelligent/voluntary with a factual basis, accepts the plea, finds defendant guilty, and defers acceptance of any plea agreement until PSR review. Rules on no contested party motion; counts as an order read, not toward motion stats.
Bazis's OWN signed DISTRICT-era Order accepting a guilty plea: on de novo review with no objections, adopts the magistrate judge's Findings & Recommendation on Plea of Guilty (Filing 30), accepts the plea, finds defendant guilty. Rules on no contested party motion; counts as an order read, not toward motion stats.
Bazis's OWN signed MAGISTRATE-era sua sponte recusal under 28 U.S.C. 455(a): after reviewing the pretrial services report and confirmations at the Stuart detention hearing, she recused herself and referred the file to the Chief Judge for reassignment to a different magistrate judge. Rules on no party motion (court's own motion); counts as an order read, not toward motion stats. Useful signal that she will self-recuse on a 455(a) appearance-of-partiality concern.
“The Magistrate Judge's Findings, Recommendation, and Order (Filing No. 28) is adopted. ... The defendant's Motion to Dismiss or Compel Election of Charge (Filing No. 23) is denied.”
“The Magistrate Judge's Findings, Recommendation and Order (Filing No. 229) as it pertains to Defendants' motion to dismiss (Filing No. 157; Filing No. 163) is accepted. ... Defendants' motion to dismiss (Filing No. 157; Filing No. 163) is denied.”
“The Magistrate Judge's Findings and Recommendation (Filing No. 84) is adopted in its entirety. ... Counts I, II, and III, and the Forfeiture Allegation, as they pertain to Defendant Alejandro Robles Rodriguez, are dismissed without prejudice.”
“The Magistrate Judge's Findings and Recommendation (Filing No. 137) is accepted in its entirety. ... Defendant's motions to suppress (Filing No. 87, Filing No. 107; Filing No. 110) ... are denied.”
“Defendant's motions to suppress (Filing No. 87, Filing No. 107; Filing No. 110) and pro se motion to dismiss (Filing No. 113) are denied.”
“Having reviewed the record, and upon hearing the matter, the Court will grant the Motion for Preliminary Injunction and deny JDT's Motion for Contempt Sanctions.”
“Defendant's partial Motion to Dismiss (Filing No. 5) is denied as moot.”
“Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (Filing No. 41) is granted.”
“The court has reviewed the magistrate judge's order, and it is not clearly erroneous. Plaintiff's motion is denied.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 701 days (N = 4).
Median motion-to-ruling time: 48 days (N = 1).
Bazis-assigned dockets span two distinct pools. From her 2017-2024 magistrate tenure: consent-jurisdiction (636(c)) civil cases across employment/ADA, contract, trade secrets, insurance, and motor-vehicle/personal-injury matters, plus same-day search-warrant matters, and -- her largest recurring caseload -- Social Security disability appeals she decided directly to final judgment. Since her 2024 elevation to the district bench: a mix of her own directly-authored civil and criminal rulings (no magistrate referral), orders adopting other magistrates' Findings & Recommendations (both in Social Security appeals and in criminal suppression/dismissal motions), and continuing Social Security appeals and Equal Access to Justice Act fee petitions in cases the government elects to remand rather than litigate.
Put Judge Bazis's record to work
Ezel drafts and answers grounded in this exact profile: how Judge Bazis actually rules, not a generic AI guess.
Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer is grounded in Judge Bazis's own signed orders and cites them.