Michael Jason Hendershot
How Judge Hendershot rules, drawn from 7 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Hendershot
Michael Jason Hendershot is a judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. Appointed by President Donald J. Trump, he received his commission on July 9, 2026, and began service on September 8, 2026. Before his appointment, he was Ohio's chief deputy solicitor general.
Judge Hendershot's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Hendershot, as published on the court's website (checked October 16, 2026). Judges revise these often, so confirm the current version on the court's site before you file.
Key rules
Filing
Attach a tracked changes version of the original pleading to any amended pleading or motion for leave to amend.
“Any motion for leave to amend or an amended pleading filed as of right shall attach as an exhibit a track-changes document”
Filing
Cite an ECF record number and PageID when citing depositions, exhibits, or similar materials.
“Whenever a brief cites a deposition, exhibit, or similar material, it must cite an ECF record number and PageID number.”
Filing
Verify factual information, cases, and citations generated by artificial intelligence before submitting a filing.
“Litigants, including pro-se parties, who rely on AI-generated material must verify the accuracy of the factual information, cases, and case citations that it generates.”
Motions
Briefs other than letter briefs must include a table of contents and authorities.
“All briefs other than letter briefs must have a table of contents and a table of authorities.”
Motions
Parties on the same side of a case must file jointly.
“In cases with multiple parties on the same side of the case, the Court requires a joint filing.”
Motions
Use Rule 21 to seek dismissal of fewer than all claims or parties; a Rule 41 request for that relief will be stricken.
“a dismissal of a party or claim must be brought as a motion under Rule 21. A motion that should be brought under Rule 21, but is filed under Rule 41, will be stricken.”
Discovery
Before filing a discovery motion, counsel must confer by voice, video, or in person and certify the effort.
“Counsel for the filer must first attempt to resolve disputes by conferring in person or by voice or video conference. Any motion must certify that counsel have made this effort.”
Discovery
If counsel cannot resolve a discovery dispute, they must contact chambers for a conference before filing a motion.
“If counsel cannot resolve the dispute, they must contact chambers at [email protected] to schedule a conference.”
Discovery
Raise discovery disputes at least 21 days before the discovery cutoff.
“Any discovery dispute must be raised at least twenty-one days before the discovery cut-off.”
Discovery
Specific objections are required; boilerplate or general discovery objections are treated as no objection.
“The Court detests boilerplate and general objections, and the Court will treat such objections as if the objector raised no objection at all.”
Sealing
Seek leave to redact a document seven days before it is due, explaining each proposed redaction.
“A motion for leave must be filed seven days before the filing is otherwise due.”
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).
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Commissioner of Social Security is AFFIRMED. This case is DISMISSED.”
“The City’s Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings is GRANTED.”
“Habeas Corpus is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.”
“the Court grants the Department’s motion and dismisses it from this action.”
“application to proceed in forma pauperis [R.2], which the Court grants”
“application to proceed in forma pauperis. [R.2]. The Court grants”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The five reviewed cases filed after Hendershot began service include civil rights, employment, fraud, and Social Security matters. All five remain pending in the available docket data. Seven older cases with signed orders were reviewed separately and do not describe the incoming caseload.
How long civil cases take in this court
For the whole of United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, not for Judge Hendershot: 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 | 2,048 | 7.1 months |
| Closed with no court action | 394 | 3.3 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 1,035 | 5.9 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 607 | 11.4 months |
| Closed during trial | 12 | 18 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 2,048 | 7.1 months |
| Sep 2024 | 2,008 | 7.4 months |
| Sep 2023 | 2,137 | 8.5 months |
| Sep 2022 | 2,330 | 9.8 months |
| Sep 2021 | 2,432 | 9.3 months |
| Sep 2020 | 2,788 | 10.3 months |
| Sep 2019 | 3,158 | 9.9 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 Hendershot with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Hendershot, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
Opens in Ezel Pro.
- Grounded in Judge Hendershot's own signed orders
- Cites every source it relies on, so you can verify it
- Chat, drafting and research in one workspace