Elizabeth T. Hey
How Judge Hey decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
On Social Security appeals she recommends vacating the Commissioner's denial and remanding under sentence four of 42 U.S.C. 405(g) where the ALJ erred (for example at step one on substantial gainful activity).
“The Report and Recommendation is APPROVED and ADOPTED. The final decision of the Commissioner denying disability benefits to Roxanne DiLuigi is VACATED; and The matter is REMANDED to the Commissioner, pursuant to sentence four of 42 U.S.C. 405(g).”
Cautions
On referred 28 U.S.C. 2254 habeas petitions Hey recommends denial or dismissal, frequently on timeliness grounds as untimely under 2244(d) without reaching the merits, and district judges adopt her recommendation.
“On July 17, 2023, Judge Hey recommended that Dowdy's petition be denied as untimely under 28 U.S.C. 2244(d) ... The Report and Recommendation (ECF No. 16) is ADOPTED. The petition for a writ of habeas corpus (ECF No. 1) is DENIED.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“On July 17, 2023, Judge Hey recommended that Dowdy's petition be denied as untimely under 28 U.S.C. 2244(d) ... The Report and Recommendation (ECF No. 16) is ADOPTED. The petition for a writ of habeas corpus (ECF No. 1) is DENIED.”
“The Report and Recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge Elizabeth T. Hey dated July 29, 2019, is APPROVED and ADOPTED; ... objections ... are OVERRULED; ... The Petition Under 28 U.S.C. 2254 ... is DISMISSED.”
“The petitioner's objections are OVERRULED; The Report and Recommendation of Magistrate Judge Elizabeth T. Hey is APPROVED and ADOPTED; The Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus is DENIED.”
“The Report and Recommendation is APPROVED and ADOPTED. The final decision of the Commissioner denying disability benefits to Roxanne DiLuigi is VACATED; and The matter is REMANDED to the Commissioner, pursuant to sentence four of 42 U.S.C. 405(g).”
“Plaintiff's motion in limine to deem him full tort as a matter of law (Doc. 17) is DENIED.”
“Plaintiff's motion in limine to prevent Defendants from disputing causation (Doc. 19) is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.”
“Plaintiff's motion in limine (Doc. 20) is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.”
“Defendant's motion in limine to preclude any testimony or reference to Plaintiff's claims for future medical treatment (Doc. 22) is DENIED.”
“I conclude that the decision of the Administrative Law Judge (‘ALJ’) is supported by substantial evidence and affirm the Commissioner's decision.”
“The ALJ properly evaluated the opinion evidence, and his conclusion that Plaintiff was only disabled during a closed period from June 2017 through June 2019 is supported by substantial evidence. Therefore, I will affirm the Commissioner's decision.”
“the decision of the Administrative Law Judge (‘ALJ’) is reversed and the matter is remanded for further proceedings pursuant to sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g).”
“For the reasons that follow, I will grant Plaintiff's motion and dismiss Defendant's counterclaims for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.”
“In addition, I find that the allegations in and attachment to the SAC are sufficient to survive the motion to dismiss.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Judge Hey's consent docket is dominated by Social Security disability appeals and also includes employment discrimination, prisoner civil-rights, personal-injury, and insurance cases. She separately handles referred habeas and Social Security matters for district judges. The reviewed consent appeals show lengthy intervals between briefing and decision.
Put Judge Hey's record to work
Ezel drafts and answers grounded in this exact profile: how Judge Hey actually rules, not a generic AI guess.
Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer is grounded in Judge Hey's own signed orders and cites them.