Henry M. Herlong Jr.
How Judge Herlong rules, drawn from 22 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Herlong
Henry Michael Herlong, Jr. is a judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina. Appointed by President George H.W. Bush, Judge Herlong received a commission on May 14, 1991. Judge Herlong assumed senior status on June 1, 2009.
Judge Herlong's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Herlong, as published on the court's website (checked October 9, 2026). Judges revise these often, so confirm the current version on the court's site before you file.
Key rules
Filing
Submit courtesy copies when filing in CM/ECF; bind and tab any copy longer than 25 pages.
“submit all courtesy copies contemporaneously with the filing of the document in CM/ECF. Submit all courtesy copies exceeding 25 total pages in bound form or notebook with exhibits indexed and tabbed.”
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).
How Judge Herlong decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Procedural preferences
Requires specific objections to a magistrate judge's recommendation to trigger de novo review; otherwise reviews the recommendation for clear error.
“To trigger de novo review, an objecting party ‘must object to the finding or recommendation on that issue with sufficient specificity so as reasonably to alert the district court of the true ground for the objection.’”
Cautions
In Section 1983 screening, treats private attorneys as outside state action and recognizes absolute immunity for a guardian ad litem acting in that role.
“An attorney, whether retained, court-appointed, or a public defender, does not act under color of state law, which is a jurisdictional prerequisite for any civil action brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“After review, the court grants CFS's motion for summary judgment.”
“However, because Sauls is unable to demonstrate that Defendants' failure to warn was the proximate cause of her injuries, the court grants summary judgment in favor of Defendants.”
“After review and for the reasons stated below, the court adopts the Report and Recommendation and grants the Defendants' motion for summary judgment.”
“The Defendants have moved to dismiss for failure to state a claim for relief pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) and for lack of subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1) ... After review, the court grants the Defendants' motion to dismiss.”
“ORDERED that Federal's motion for summary judgment, docket number 13, is denied.”
“ORDERED that MNA's motion for summary judgment, docket number 16, is granted.”
“ORDERED that Mazda motion for judgment on the pleadings, docket number 22, is granted in part and denied in part.”
“OPINION AND ORDER granting [17] Motion to Remand to State Court.”
“ORDERED that Respondent’s motion for summary judgment, docket number 11, is granted and Witherspoon’s § 2254 petition, docket number 1, is denied.”
“ORDERED that Respondent's motion for summary judgment, docket number 12, is granted, and the habeas petition, docket number 1, is denied.”
“ORDERED that Petitioner's motion for default judgment, docket number 15, is denied, and Petitioner's motion for summary judgment, docket number 16, is denied.”
“ORDERED that the United States' Motion for Default Judgment is GRANTED.”
“ORDERED that Liberty Mutual is temporarily enjoined from distributing any insurance proceeds to the Borrower in this matter.”
“ORDERED that Vann's motion to alter or amend, docket number 30, is denied.”
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 | 0 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2020 | 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 United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, not for Judge Herlong: 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 | 2,805 | 7.8 months |
| Closed with no court action | 724 | 5.1 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 2,005 | 8.6 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 64 | 17.9 months |
| Closed during trial | 12 | 36 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 2,805 | 7.8 months |
| Sep 2024 | 5,800 | 12.2 months |
| Sep 2023 | 2,296 | 8.5 months |
| Sep 2022 | 2,364 | 9.8 months |
| Sep 2021 | 2,599 | 10 months |
| Sep 2020 | 2,190 | 10.1 months |
| Sep 2019 | 2,402 | 9.8 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 Herlong with the record in hand
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