John Randell Adams Jr.
How Judge Adams decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
On standing he demands a concrete, particularized injury and treats a single de minimis contact (here a ringless voicemail the plaintiff could not even recall) as a 'bare procedural violation' insufficient under Spokeo, even where other circuits find standing.
“Dickson's sole alleged harm appears to be the de minimus time he took to read the RVM, a time so limited that he did not even recall its contents.”
He will certify a 1292(b) interlocutory appeal when a controlling question of law is genuinely first-impression (he had to look outside the Sixth Circuit for persuasive authority) and an appeal would materially advance the case -- notwithstanding a stated reluctance toward piecemeal litigation.
“the facts and law presented by this matter compel the conclusion that an interlocutory appeal is both legally appropriate and the best use of both the Court's and the parties' resources.”
Procedural preferences
On an unopposed dispositive motion he does not rubber-stamp: per Guarino he reviews the movant's legitimacy and evidence rather than 'blithely accept' the motion, but he will not invent arguments for a silent non-movant.
“The trial court must indeed intelligently and carefully review the legitimacy of such an unresponded-to motion, even as it refrains from actively pursuing advocacy or inventing the riposte for a silent party.”
On unobjected magistrate R&Rs he adopts by default under Thomas v. Arn rather than re-reviewing -- file objections within 14 days or the recommendation stands.
“Plaintiff did not file objections to the R&R. Thus, any further review by this Court would be a duplicative and inefficient use of the Court's limited resources.”
Cautions
Once a case is closed he treats it as closed: post-judgment motions to reopen, amend the judgment, or change venue filed long after the Rule 59(e) window are denied as untimely, though he will still address each 'for the sake of thoroughness.'
“He filed these motions in a closed case. They are, therefore, at a minimum untimely. The Court will nevertheless address each motion separately for the sake of thoroughness.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Therefore, Defendants are entitled to judgment as a matter of law, and their motion for summary judgment is GRANTED.”
“Accordingly, Defendant's motion to dismiss for lack of standing is GRANTED.”
“For the reasons stated below, the motion to certify an interlocutory appeal is GRANTED.”
“Accordingly, the motion to stay the Court's scheduling order (Doc. 46) is GRANTED, and the motion to certify an interlocutory appeal (Doc. 39) is GRANTED.”
“ACE's relation motion to dismiss (Doc. 38) is denied without prejudice subject to refiling, if appropriate, following conclusion of the appeal.”
“Plaintiff's Motion/Request for Leave to File Motion to Reopen for Relief from a Judgment and to Show Proof of Service (Doc. 68) ... [is] DENIED.”
“his Motion/Request for Leave of Court to Amend Court's Judgment Pursuant to Civil Rule 15(c) and Federal Rules of Procedure 59(e) (Doc. 71) [is] DENIED.”
“his Motion/Request for Leave of Court for Change of Venue (Doc. 70) ... [is] DENIED.”
“Accordingly, the report and recommendation of the Magistrate Judge is hereby adopted. This Court AFFIRMS the Commissioner's decision.”
“Accordingly, the report and recommendation of the Magistrate Judge is hereby adopted. The decision of the Commissioner is hereby AFFIRMED.”
“For the reasons set forth herein, Cleveland Clinic’s motion for summary judgment is GRANTED.”
“For the reasons set forth below, Defendants’ motion for summary judgment is GRANTED and this matter is DISMISSED.”
“Further, Plaintiff’s motion for leave to file supplemental discovery (doc. 122) is DENIED, and his remaining motions (doc. 126, 127) are DENIED as MOOT.”
“Defendants’ motion for judgment on the pleadings is GRANTED. This matter is hereby DISMISSED in its entirety.”
“Defendant’s Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings (Doc. No. 7) is granted, and this action is dismissed.”
“Boja’s motion to compel arbitration is GRANTED, and this matter is STAYED pending arbitration.”
“The Motion for Preliminary Injunction (Doc. 23) is DENIED.”
“TA’s Amended Motion for Expedited Discovery (Doc. 11) is DENIED.”
“Plaintiff’s request for withdrawal of the reference as to Adversary Proceeding 25-06007 is GRANTED and that case is hereby transferred to the District Court for random assignment to a District Judge for final discovery and trial.”
“Defendant’s Motion for Abstention and Motion to Dismiss is hereby Denied.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The Akron caseload sample is criminal-heavy and includes a substantial group of 2026 alien-detainee habeas matters. The civil sample includes civil-rights, employment-discrimination, copyright, False Claims Act, and Social Security cases. Reassigned cases are included in caseload measures only when the recorded outcome was signed by Judge Adams.
Put Judge Adams's record to work
Ezel drafts and answers grounded in this exact profile: how Judge Adams actually rules, not a generic AI guess.
Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer is grounded in Judge Adams's own signed orders and cites them.