David R. Strawbridge
How Judge Strawbridge rules, drawn from 1 signed order. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Strawbridge
David R. Strawbridge joined the United States magistrate bench for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in April 2005. Before his appointment, he was a federal prosecutor and practiced at Cozen O’Connor.
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 8, 2026).
- Standing Order on Procedure for Case Opening ↗
- Standing Order on Highly Sensitive Documents ↗
- Standing Order on Access and Management of Sealed Documents ↗
- Standing Order on Filing Procedures in Alien Detainee Cases ↗
- Second Amended Standing Order on Guilty Pleas and Sentencing ↗
- Standing Order on Electronic Document Submission for Unrepresented Litigants ↗
- Standing Procedural Order for Cases Seeking Social Security Review ↗
- Superseding Standing Order on Procedural Matters in Pro Se Civil and Habeas Cases ↗
- Standing Order on Electronic Access to Civil and Criminal Transcripts ↗
How Judge Strawbridge decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
On a Social Security appeal raising an Appointments Clause (Lucia) challenge to the ALJ, Strawbridge (sitting by consent) applies the Third Circuit's Cirko decision to hold the challenge is not forfeited by failing to raise it administratively, and vacates and remands for a new hearing before a properly appointed ALJ.
“For the reasons set out below, we grant Plaintiff's request for review, vacate the administrative decision, and remand the matter to the Commissioner for further proceedings. ... The precedential opinion in Cirko v. Commissioner of Social Security requires that the ALJ's opinion be vacated, and that J.D.K.'s case be remanded for a new hearing before a different, constitutionally appointed ALJ.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Magistrate Judge David R. Strawbridge issued a Report and Recommendation ('R&R') recommending that the habeas corpus claims be denied and dismissed. ... the R&R is adopted, and the objections are overruled. ... the habeas claims are denied and dismissed.”
“after review of the Report and Recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge David R. Strawbridge, and the Objections filed by the Petitioner ... 1. Petitioner's Objections ... are OVERRULED; 2. The Report and Recommendation is APPROVED and ADOPTED; 3. The petition for writ of habeas corpus is DENIED;”
“Judge Strawbridge recommended summary dismissal of Petitioner's 2254 Petition ... as untimely ... The Court strikes Section II(C) of Judge Strawbridge's Report and Recommendation and approves and adopts all sections that remain thereof. ... Petitioner's 28 U.S.C. 2254 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus is denied.”
“For the reasons set out below, we grant Plaintiff's request for review, vacate the administrative decision, and remand the matter to the Commissioner for further proceedings. ... The precedential opinion in Cirko v. Commissioner of Social Security requires that the ALJ's opinion be vacated, and that J.D.K.'s case be remanded for a new hearing before a different, constitutionally appointed ALJ.”
“we deny the request for review and affirm the ALJ's decision”
“Plaintiff's request for review is DENIED and the final decision of the Commissioner denying disability benefits is AFFIRMED”
“Plaintiff's motion for fees (Doc. 30) is DENIED”
“‘Motion in Limine To Preclude Reference to Plaintiff, Franklin B. Hester's 2014 Guilty Plea to Driving Under the Influence’ (Doc. 48) is GRANTED; ‘Motion in Limine To Preclude Reference to Plaintiff, Franklin B. Hester's 2021 Guilty Plea of Retail Theft-Taking Merchandise’ (Doc. 49) is DENIED; and ‘Motion in Limine To Preclude Reference to Plaintiff, Franklin B. Hester's 2012 Guilty Plea of Retail Theft-Taking Merchandise’ (Doc. 50) is DENIED”
“the parties' expert witnesses are largely ‘qualified’ and that their opinions are ‘reliable’ and ‘fit’ the facts of this case”
“it is respectfully RECOMMENDED that the withdrawal of lien dispute be REJECTED and the matter be REMANDED to the Claims Administrator for further proceedings consistent with the Rules Governing Attorney Lien Disputes”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
- Judge Strawbridge's consent docket includes Social Security disability appeals, insurance and personal-injury cases, and an Equal Credit Opportunity Act claim.
- He also handles referred habeas matters for district judges.
- Among the reviewed 2018–2022 Social Security cases, about a quarter ended in an agreed remand; among the contested decisions, roughly six in ten resulted in remand and the remainder affirmed the Commissioner.
- The reviewed diversity cases generally settled.
Pending matters in the official report
Judge Strawbridge was last listed in the Civil Justice Reform Act report as of March 31, 2023.
| Motions pending more than six months | 0 |
| Bench trials submitted more than six months | 0 |
| Bankruptcy appeals pending more than six months | 0 |
| Social Security appeals pending more than six months | 23 |
| Civil cases pending more than three years | 1 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 3 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 3 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 5 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 2 |
| Sep 2020 | 0 | 2 |
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 Eastern District of Pennsylvania, not for Judge Strawbridge: 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 | 5,730 | 5.1 months |
| Closed with no court action | 1,952 | 3.2 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 2,834 | 4.7 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 898 | 10 months |
| Closed during trial | 46 | 17.8 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 5,730 | 5.1 months |
| Sep 2024 | 6,200 | 4.6 months |
| Sep 2023 | 6,595 | 7 months |
| Sep 2022 | 5,221 | 6.6 months |
| Sep 2021 | 5,245 | 6.5 months |
| Sep 2020 | 4,686 | 5.7 months |
| Sep 2019 | 5,374 | 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 Strawbridge with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Strawbridge, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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