Sandra L. Ammann
How Judge Ammann rules, drawn from 16 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Ammann
Sandra L. Ammann is a senior United States District Judge for the Southern District of Ohio. Appointed by President George H. W. Bush, she received her commission on February 10, 1992, and took senior status on January 1, 2009. She previously served on two Hamilton County courts and the county board of commissioners.
Judge Ammann's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Ammann, as published on the court's website (checked October 11, 2026). Judges revise these often, so confirm the current version on the court's site before you file.
Key rules
Trial
Counsel must deliver three exhibit sets to the courtroom deputy three days before trial.
“Each counsel will deposit three complete sets of his exhibits with the Courtroom Deputy, not later than THREE DAYS prior to trial.1”
Trial
Counsel must exchange proposed jury instructions fourteen days before the final pretrial conference.
“Counsel shall exchange proposed jury instructions no later than fourteen (14) days prior to the final pretrial conference.”
Trial
Counsel must show demonstrative materials to opposing counsel at least five days before the final pretrial conference.
“If any sketches, models, diagrams, etc., of any kind will be used during trial or in argument, they must be exhibited to opposing counsel not later than five days before the final pretrial conference.”
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).
- General Order 24-02 In Re: Procedures for Requesting, Filing, and Management of Highly Sensitive Documents ↗
- U.S. District Court General Order No. 24-05 ↗
- General Order 23-03 In Re: Automatic Sealing and Procedures for Unsealing of Applications for Search Warrants, Pen Registers, Trap and Trace Devices, or Court Orders Under 18 U.S.C. § 2703(d). ↗
How Judge Ammann decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
The court required a municipal liability pleading to connect the alleged harm to an official policy or custom.
“A municipality is liable for constitutional violations committed by its employees only if the deprivation was pursuant to an official custom or policy of the municipality.”
Procedural preferences
The court applied Rule 15 futility review to proposed amendments that could not survive dismissal.
“an amendment is futile if it would not withstand a motion to dismiss under Rule”
Cautions
In Mayfield, Ammann observed that the plaintiff’s objection did not address the magistrate judge’s analysis or the absence of evidence of pretext.
“Plaintiff did not address the substance of the Magistrate Judge’s analysis of his claims or his failure to produce evidence that Kaiser’s 2 Case: 1:12-cv-00229-SSB-SKB Doc #: 41 Filed: 04/23/13 Page: 3 of 4 PAGEID #: <pageID> reason for discharging him was a pretext for illegal discrimination.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“motions for leave to amend the complaint (Doc. Nos. 27 & 30) are not well-taken and are DENIED.”
“motion for summary judgment is well-taken and is GRANTED.”
“The motion to dismiss filed by defendants Yurick, Graeber, and City of Lebanon Employees is GRANTED”
“Defendant’s motion for summary judgment is well-taken and is GRANTED.”
“Plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment (Doc. 54) is DENIED. Defendant’s motion for summary judgment (Doc. 65) is GRANTED. Plaintiff’s motion for an extension of time to file objections (Doc. 88) is denied as moot.”
“Defendant’s motion to dismiss is well-taken and is GRANTED. The complaint is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
“Plaintiff’s motion for leave to appeal in forma pauperis is not well-taken and is DENIED.”
“the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment are not well-taken and are DENIED”
“Plaintiffs’ motion to file a supplemental brief is well-taken and is GRANTED”
“Defendant’s motion to strike is MOOT”
“Defendant’s motion to file a corrected table of contents is well-taken and is GRANTED”
“motion to disregard Plaintiffs’ notice of additional authority is MOOT”
“Defendants’ motion for summary judgment is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART”
“The Federal Reserve Board’s Motion to Intervene (Doc. 146) is GRANTED”
“Motion of the Ohio Superintendent of Financial Institutions to Intervene for Limited Purposes (Doc. 147) is GRANTED”
“Michigan Office of Financial Insurance Regulation’s Motion to Intervene (Doc. 156) is GRANTED”
“Plaintiffs’ Motion to Compel (Doc. 143) is DENIED without prejudice to renewal”
“Defendant’s motion for entry of judgment as a matter of law under Rule 50(b) is hereby denied”
“Defendants’ motion for summary judgment is hereby GRANTED in its entirety.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The selected older matters include civil rights, contract, consumer credit, patent, labor, tax, and health care disputes. The narrow screen does not establish a representative caseload mix.
How long civil cases take in this court
For the whole of United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, not for Judge Ammann: 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 | 2,199 | 9 months |
| Closed with no court action | 1,037 | 7.5 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 810 | 7.2 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 343 | 15.2 months |
| Closed during trial | 9 | not reported |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 2,199 | 9 months |
| Sep 2024 | 2,137 | 8.2 months |
| Sep 2023 | 2,153 | 9.7 months |
| Sep 2022 | 2,311 | 12.6 months |
| Sep 2021 | 2,287 | 10.4 months |
| Sep 2020 | 2,012 | 9.7 months |
| Sep 2019 | 5,561 | 41.6 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 Ammann with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Ammann, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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