Debra C. Poplin
How Judge Poplin rules, drawn from 11 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Poplin
Debra Crowder Poplin has served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Tennessee since February 2018. Before joining the bench, she was clerk of court for the district and served as Knoxville’s city law director.
Judge Poplin's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Poplin, 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
Motions
If the parties intend to present evidence at the hearing, they must notify the Court in advance so that arrangements can be made to have an official court reporter present.
“If the parties intend to present evidence at the hearing, they must notify the Court in advance so that arrangements can be made to have an official court reporter present.”
Discovery
After conferring, send chambers a joint email listing any remaining discovery disputes.
“For any issues that remain after their meet and confer, counsel shall send a joint email to [email protected] with a bullet point list of the remaining discovery disputes, and the Court will thereafter provide the parties with guidance about how to proceed.”
Sealing
The parties are required to meet and confer prior to filing a motion to seal documents.
“The parties are required to meet and confer prior to filing a motion to seal documents.”
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 Poplin decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
On a motion to set aside a default, the judge treated a defendant's prompt action after learning of the default (contacting counsel immediately) as weighing in its favor even after finding its earlier inaction reckless, rather than treating recklessness alone as disqualifying.
“The undersigned has also considered that once Mr. Choksi received the Clerk's entry of default, he 'immediately contacted counsel to seek to file for [Defendant] Card Holdings to have this default . . . set aside' ... This action weighs in favor of his request.”
Procedural preferences
On an uncontested motion to compel, the judge granted the substantive relief immediately but declined to also award sanctions on the same motion when the movant had not specified which sanctions she sought, preferring a specific request before imposing sanctions.
“The Court declines to award sanctions at this juncture because Plaintiff does not specify the sanctions she seeks.”
Cautions
In City of Harriman, Poplin found the motion unopposed but also reviewed its merits before recommending that the entry of default be set aside.
“The undersigned therefore could recommend granting the motion on this basis alone. See id. Nevertheless, the undersigned has reviewed the merits and finds that Defendant Card Holdings has established good cause to set aside the entry of default against it.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“the Motion to Compel Discovery [Doc. 34] is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART. The Court ORDERS Defendants to respond to their respective Discovery Requests within fourteen (14) days of entry of the instant Order. The Court declines to award sanctions at this juncture because Plaintiff does not specify the sanctions she seeks.”
“the undersigned RECOMMENDS that the District Judge GRANT Defendant Card Holdings, LLC's Motion to Set Aside and for Relief from Entry of Judgment [Doc. 326] and that the Clerk's entry of default [Doc. 310] be SET ASIDE.”
“Judge Poplin recommends that the Court grant plaintiff's motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis [Doc. 7] but for the Court to assess plaintiff the civil filing fee of $350.00 ... Judge Poplin recommends that the Court dismiss all of plaintiff's claims except those against Officer Thornton in his individual capacity.”
“For the reasons explained above, the undersigned GRANTS Plaintiff’s Application to Proceed in Forma Pauperis with Supporting Documentation [Doc. 5]. The Clerk is DIRECTED to file the Complaint in this case without prepayment of costs or fees.”
“the undersigned RECOMMENDS that the District Judge dismiss these claims and allow the other claims to proceed beyond the screening stage.”
“For the reasons set forth above, the Court GRANTS Plaintiff’s Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis [Doc. 6]. The Court DIRECTS the Clerk to file the Complaint in this case without prepayment of costs or fees.”
“The Court RECOMMENDS, however, that the District Judge DISMISS the Complaint [Doc. 1] in its entirety.”
“For the reasons set forth above, the Court GRANTS Plaintiff’s Application to Proceed in District Court without Prepaying Fees or Costs [Doc. 1].”
“The Court, however, RECOMMENDS that the District Judge dismiss Plaintiff’s Complaint [Doc. 2].”
“Accordingly, Defendants’ motion for summary judgment [Doc. 41] will be GRANTED, and this action will be DISMISSED without prejudice.”
“the undersigned respectfully RECOMMENDS that the District Judge DENY Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction [Doc. 73],”
“District Judge DENY Defendant’s motions [Docs. 73, 114, 115, 118, & 119] as untimely and/or meritless.”
“the undersigned respectfully RECOMMENDS that Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss Counts 1–15 of the Indictment [Doc. 62] be denied.”
“For the reasons discussed above, the Court DENIES Defendant’s motion [Doc. 228].”
“The Court therefore GRANTS Defendant Roy Hines’ Motion to Compel Production of Evidence [Doc. 68]”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The sampled consent-jurisdiction caseload is dominated by Social Security disability appeals, with occasional diversity contract, personal-injury, and civil-rights matters.
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 | 3 | 1 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 1 |
| 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 U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, not for Judge Poplin: 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 | 933 | 9.3 months |
| Closed with no court action | 139 | 7.3 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 724 | 9.1 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 59 | 20.2 months |
| Closed during trial | 11 | 32.4 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 933 | 9.3 months |
| Sep 2024 | 845 | 10.4 months |
| Sep 2023 | 762 | 10.9 months |
| Sep 2022 | 921 | 12.5 months |
| Sep 2021 | 949 | 11.6 months |
| Sep 2020 | 803 | 10 months |
| Sep 2019 | 859 | 12.1 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).
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Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Poplin, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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