John F. Murphy
How Judge Murphy rules, drawn from 26 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Murphy
John F. Murphy is a judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. President Joseph R. Biden Jr. appointed him, and he received his commission on December 23, 2022.
Judge Murphy's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Murphy, as published on the court's website (checked October 8, 2026). Judges revise these often, so confirm the current version on the court's site before you file.
Key rules
Filing
Make requests for relief through an electronic filing, usually a motion; use email only when directed or for a scheduling emergency.
“All requests and written communication with chambers should be made through an appropriate ECF filing. Requests for relief should almost always be made by motion. E-mail”
Filing
Make all electronic filings, including exhibits, text searchable.
“All ECF filings must be text-searchable, including exhibits.”
Filing
Attach copies of any web pages relied on as exhibits.
“You must attach as exhibits copies of any web pages relied upon.”
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 Murphy decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In one employment case, the court certified a class after addressing the Rule 23 requirements.
“plaintiffs motion for class certification (DI 27) is GRANTED”
Procedural preferences
In one dismissal order, the court allowed an amended complaint after dismissing the initial pleading without prejudice.
“We grant plaintiff leave to file an amended complaint no later than May 12, 2026”
Cautions
The court denied four separate new trial motions in one criminal case.
“Defendant Mikal McCracken’s motion for a new trial (DI 577) is DENIED”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Defendant’s motion to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence (DI 64) is DENIED”
“Defendant’s motion for collateral relief (DI 65) is DENIED”
“Defendant’s motion for appointment of new counsel (DI 68) is DENIED”
“Defendant Mikal McCracken’s motion for a new trial (DI 577) is DENIED”
“Defendant Amin Muse’s motion for a new trial (DI 578) is DENIED”
“Defendant Kavon Coleman’s motion for judgment of acquittal (DI 579) is DENIED”
“Defendant Dean Fosque’s motion for a new trial (DI 580) is DENIED”
“Defendant Aleem Abdul-Hakim’s motion for a new trial (DI 631) is DENIED”
“Defendants’ motion to dismiss (DI 20) is GRANTED in that Assurant Specialty is dismissed as a party, but otherwise DENIED”
“Defendant’s motion to dismiss (DI 21) is GRANTED in that the bad faith claim against Rocket Mortgage is dismissed, but otherwise DENIED”
“defendants’ motion for summary judgment (DI 30) is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part”
“defendant’s motion to dismiss (DI 31) is GRANTED”
“defendant’s motion for summary judgment (DI 26) is GRANTED”
“Defendant’s motion to dismiss (DI 23) is DENIED”
“The Motion to Stay (DI 16) is DENIED as moot”
“The Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (DI 1) is DISMISSED”
“The petition for a writ of habeas corpus (DI 24) is DENIED with prejudice”
“Respondents’ motion for an extension (DI 42) is DENIED as moot”
“defendant’s motion for summary judgment (DI 24) is GRANTED”
“Defendants’ motion to dismiss (DI 20) is DENIED”
“plaintiff’s motion to dismiss defendant’s counterclaim and motion for judgment on the pleadings (DI 9) is DENIED”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median motion-to-ruling time: 147.5 days (N = 8).
The selected cases include civil rights, employment, insurance, personal injury, and recent pending matters. One long class action supplied most usable motion text, so the selection is not representative of the judge’s caseload.
Pending matters in the official report
Reported by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts under the Civil Justice Reform Act, as of March 31, 2026.
| 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 | 0 |
| Civil cases pending more than three years | 9 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 9 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 8 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 4 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2024 | 3 | 0 |
| Sep 2023 | 5 | 0 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 0 |
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 Murphy: 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 Murphy with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Murphy, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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