Jamel K. Semper
How Judge Semper rules, drawn from 41 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Semper
Jamel Ken Semper is a judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. Appointed by President Joseph R. Biden, Judge Semper received a commission on December 1, 2023.
Judge Semper's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Semper, as published on the court's website (checked October 8, 2026). Judges revise these often, so confirm the current version on the court's site before you file.
Key rules
Contacting chambers
Call chambers only for urgent matters; otherwise file a letter on the docket.
“Calls to chambers are permitted only in urgent situations that require immediate attention. All other communication with chambers must be filed in a letter on the docket via CM/ECF.”
Motions
Seek leave before an early summary judgment motion, with a letter of no more than three pages.
“Parties may not file an early motion for summary judgment (i.e., prior to the close of fact discovery) without leave from either Judge Semper or the Magistrate Judge assigned to the case.”
Trial
Submit civil motions in limine at least four weeks before trial.
“Any motions in limine must be submitted to the Court at least four weeks before the start”
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).
- Second Amended Standing Order 2026-02: In Re Increase in Immigration-Related Habeas Corpus Petitions seeking Emergent Relief ↗
- Standing Order 2025-05: IN RE Procedures for Access to and Service of Sealed Documents ↗
- Standing Order 2025-04: IN RE "Schedule A" Cases ↗
- Standing Order 2024-03: In re: Amendment to Procedures for Requesting, Filing, and Management of Highly Sensitive Documents and Guidance for Same ↗
- Standing Order 2024-02: Electronic Signatures ↗
How Judge Semper decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Pomptonian Food Service v. Grinberg, Semper denied dismissal of trade secret claims after the company alleged that a former executive emailed its secrets to his personal account.
“Here, Plaintiff specifically alleges that Defendant improperly emailed alleged trade secrets to his personal email account.”
In reviewing a labor arbitration award, the court confirmed the award where the arbitrator interpreted the collective bargaining agreement and acted within her assigned authority, despite the employer’s disagreement with the result.
“the Arbitrator did not exceed her contractual authority”
In Fomin v. State National Insurance Co., Semper held that a contract exclusion did not bar coverage for the underlying fraud claim and granted the policyholders’ summary judgment motion.
“the Contract Exclusion does not apply to Count III of the Underlying Complaint.”
Procedural preferences
In Ngambo v. New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, Semper adopted an unopposed magistrate judge's recommendation and granted the defendants' dismissal motions.
“ORDERED that this Court adopts Judge Allen’s July 8, 2024, R&R.”
Cautions
In Herrera v. Nike, Semper dismissed a website accessibility complaint without prejudice because it did not connect the alleged barriers to an injury at a specific physical store; he did not reach the standing challenge.
“Because Plaintiff’s allegations are untethered to a specific physical store, the Court dismisses the FAC without prejudice and does not reach the standing arguments at this time.”
In Martinez v. Jefferson Capital Systems, Semper dismissed an FDCPA complaint without prejudice for lack of standing because the plaintiff alleged confusion from a debt collection letter but no resulting harm or consequential action.
“Because Plaintiff has failed to demonstrate that he suffered any harm because of the letter, the Court finds he has failed to establish Article III standing.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“ORDERED that Defendant's motion pursuant to 12(b)(6) (ECF 7) is hereby DENIED.”
“Defendant's Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED and Plaintiff's Complaint is DISMISSED without prejudice for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.”
“For the reasons stated above, Defendant's Motion to Dismiss (ECF 17) is GRANTED. The First Amended Complaint (ECF 14) is dismissed without prejudice.”
“ORDERED that Plaintiffs' motion for reconsideration (ECF 52) is hereby DENIED.”
“ORDERED that Defendants' motions to dismiss (ECF 17; ECF 18; ECF 46) are GRANTED”
“ORDERED that Plaintiff's cross-motion to strike the pleadings (ECF 28) is DENIED”
“all motions to dismiss (ECF 35; ECF 36; ECF 37; ECF 38; ECF 39; ECF 40; ECF 77) are ADMINISTRATIVELY TERMINATED as moot; Plaintiffs' Complaint (ECF 1) is DISMISSED without prejudice.”
“Accordingly, Defendants' motion for summary judgment is DENIED.”
“Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED and Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment is DENIED.”
“Defendant's Motion to Dismiss (ECF 4) is GRANTED. The Complaint (ECF 1) is dismissed without prejudice.”
“ORDERED that the petition for a writ of habeas corpus (ECF No. 1) is GRANTED”
“ORDERED that the motion for a temporary restraining order (ECF No. 3) is TERMINATED as moot”
“ORDERED that the First Amended Complaint (ECF 25) is dismissed without prejudice for lack of subject matter jurisdiction”
“Accordingly, Plaintiff's motion for a temporary restraining order is DENIED”
“Accordingly, Plaintiff's request to proceed anonymously is DENIED”
“ORDERED that the Third Amended Complaint (ECF 56) is dismissed with prejudice.”
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 | 12 |
| Bench trials submitted more than six months | 1 |
| Bankruptcy appeals pending more than six months | 0 |
| Social Security appeals pending more than six months | 1 |
| Civil cases pending more than three years | 63 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 12 | 63 |
| Sep 2025 | 4 | 61 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 26 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 29 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 28 |
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 U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, not for Judge Semper: 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 | 8,970 | 8.1 months |
| Closed with no court action | 370 | 4.6 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 6,266 | 5.3 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 2,317 | 14.4 months |
| Closed during trial | 17 | 36.6 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 8,970 | 8.1 months |
| Sep 2024 | 7,921 | 8.1 months |
| Sep 2023 | 8,378 | 10.3 months |
| Sep 2022 | 7,053 | 7.9 months |
| Sep 2021 | 9,064 | 9.2 months |
| Sep 2020 | 9,031 | 9.9 months |
| Sep 2019 | 10,590 | 9 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 Semper with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Semper, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
Opens in Ezel Pro.
- Grounded in Judge Semper's own signed orders
- Cites every source it relies on, so you can verify it
- Chat, drafting and research in one workspace