David L. Martin
Judge Martin no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.
How Judge Martin decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Social Security appeals, when the Commissioner concedes error and moves for a sentence-four remand, he grants the claimant's own reversal motion 'to the extent' of remand rather than parsing the two motions separately, keeping the focus on getting the case back to an ALJ rather than on procedural framing.
“I order that Defendant's Motion for Remand be granted and that Plaintiff's Motion to Reverse be granted to the extent that the matter be remanded to the Commissioner for further administrative proceedings.”
On IDEA judicial-review motions he gives substantial deference to a due-process hearing officer who explained the basis for crediting particular evidence, rather than re-weighing the record himself.
“due weight must be given to the hearing officer's decision commensurate with the level of careful consideration demonstrated by the decision itself.”
Procedural preferences
On subpoenas to nonparty witnesses he balances the burden of travel and expense against relevance and need, and will condition compliance (choice of deposition location, reimbursed travel, a time limit) rather than simply granting or denying compliance outright.
“the burden on the Town Officials in appearing in Pawtucket weighs most heavily in favor of quashing the subpoenas. However, this burden can be substantially lessened by requiring that the depositions be conducted on the mainland ... at a suitable location which is reasonably convenient to where the ferry docks.”
Default judgment as a discovery sanction is reserved for repeated, willful noncompliance, and he extends it to closely related non-culpable parties only when necessary to make the sanctioned party's misconduct actually consequential.
“unless default judgment is entered against all three Defendants, Plaintiff will not obtain the relief it seeks and Mr. Lace will not be adequately sanctioned.”
Cautions
A pro se prisoner's motion for injunctive relief will be denied where it seeks relief unrelated to the claims actually pled in the operative complaint, no matter how serious the new allegation sounds.
“to the extent that Flores seeks any relief with respect to claims not alleged in the Amended Complaint, the Motions should be denied.”
He treats a defendant's untimely or improperly-joined notice of removal as a straightforward basis for remand, resolving any doubt in favor of sending the case back to state court rather than reaching the merits.
“A court should resolve any doubt in favor of remand, as the removal statute is to be narrowly interpreted.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“I recommend that the Motions to Dismiss be granted.”
“Defendant's motion to dismiss is GRANTED, and Plaintiff's requested judgment by default is DENIED.”
“I recommend that Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment be GRANTED and that Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment be DENIED.”
“I recommend that the Motion to Dismiss and Motion to Join be granted and that the Motion for Injunction and Amended Motion for Injunction be denied.”
“I further recommend that the unopposed Motion to Join be granted.”
“Having received the Amended Motion for Injunction, it is clear that it is completely unrelated to the allegations in the First Amended Complaint... I therefore recommend that it be denied.”
“I recommend that the D.O.C.'s Motion to Dismiss be granted.”
“I recommend that Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment be GRANTED and that Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment be DENIED.”
“For the reasons explained above, I recommend that the Motion to Dismiss be granted.”
“I recommend that the Motion to Remand be granted and that this action be remanded to the Circuit Court of the Third Judicial District in and for Taylor County, Florida.”
“I additionally recommend that Plaintiff's request for an award of attorneys' fees and costs pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1447(c) be denied.”
“I recommend that the Attorney General's Motion to Dismiss be granted and that Brown's Petition be denied and dismissed.”
“I recommend that Defendant's Motion to Dismiss or Stay be denied.”
“In summary, the Motions to Compel are granted to the extent that: 1) the Town Officials shall submit to being deposed... 2) the Town Officials shall produce the records described in the subpoena... In all other respects, the Motions to Compel ... are denied.”
“In all other respects, the Motions to Compel and the Motion for Protective Order are denied.”
“For the reasons stated above, I recommend that the Motion for Default Judgment be granted and that default judgment be entered against Mr. Lace, Mrs. Lace, and the Trust as stated above.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Case-level enumeration shows a Social Security consent-jurisdiction docket recurring across his full tenure (1997-2008 sampled here), alongside a large volume of referral-magistrate matters in other case types and, particularly in his earlier years, numerous body-attachment ('Order of Return') proceedings in criminal matters, which are administrative and not counted as motions.
A historical record
Judge Martin no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.