David Sam
How Judge Sam rules, drawn from 26 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Sam
David Sam is a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Utah. Appointed by President Ronald Reagan, Judge Sam received a commission on October 16, 1985. Judge Sam assumed senior status on November 1, 1999.
Judge Sam's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Sam, 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
Email documents needed for hearing preparation to chambers by noon one week before the hearing.
“Judge Sam requests that all documents necessary for him to review in preparation for hearings be emailed to chambers at [email protected] no later than one week at noon prior to the matter being heard.”
Filing
Submit proposed orders when filing a motion, in Word format by email.
“Proposed orders should be submitted at the time a motion is filed and emailed to chambers in Word format.”
Trial
Under Judge Sam’s criminal trial order, file pretrial motions at least 14 days before trial unless the court orders otherwise.
“All pretrial motions are to be filed with the court at least FOURTEEN DAYS before trial begins, unless otherwise ordered by the court.”
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 Sam decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
Sam allowed an antitrust claim to proceed where the complaint identified the alleged conspiracy and affirmative acts of concealment.
“the plaintiffs have alleged specific, affirmative acts of concealment by the defendants”
He found a safety policy legitimate where the evidence showed repeated accommodations and a genuine need to protect elderly residents.
“the defendants presented a legitimate, non-pretextual reason for the guidelines: ensuring the safety of all Crosslands residents”
Procedural preferences
He enforced a negotiated forum-selection clause as a significant reason to transfer related claims together.
“the parties' agreed-upon forum for actions in which one of the parties seeks to enforce the terms of their agreements.”
He favored transfer when parallel litigation involving the same subject matter, parties, and witnesses was already proceeding elsewhere.
“the interest of justice is surely served if actions involving the same subject matter, parties and witnesses proceed in one court and/or jurisdiction.”
A sentence reduction request failed where the plea agreement waived the request and the defendant had not exhausted administrative remedies for compassionate release.
“she waived her right to make her current motions.”
Cautions
He rejected environmental standing based on injuries that were economic rather than within the statute’s protected interests.
“These harms are not environmental, and as such are not within the zone of interest NEPA was designed to protect.”
He enforced a plea agreement once the parties had agreed to material terms and manifested assent.
“The parties made an agreement and manifested assent, thus completing a contract.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Defendant’s Rule 12(b) motion to dismiss plaintiffs cause of action based on 42 U.S.C. § 2000a is GRANTED.”
“the defendant E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company’s motion to dismiss is denied.”
“the defendants’ motion for summary judgment is granted.”
“plaintiffs motion to remand is GRANTED”
“Plaintiff's request for oral argument is DENIED.”
“the defendant Iams' motion to change venue to the Southern District of Ohio, Western Division, is granted.”
“The bankruptcy court’s decision which disallowed CalFed’s Proof of Claim dated December 28, 1992, in the amount of $8,358,30 is reversed.”
“the court hereby GRANTS defendant’s motion.”
“the plaintiffs motion for attorney fees is granted in part and denied in part.”
“The defendant’s motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction is denied; defendant’s motion to change venue is granted; defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiffs third and fourth claims for injunctive relief is granted.”
“defendant’s motion to change venue is granted”
“The court has also considered the motions to strike portions of the affidavits of Ronald W. Kobler and Martin C. Gross. Those motions are denied”
“defendant’s motions for summary judgment as to the hostile work environment claim and the non-selection claim are denied. The defendant’s motion for summary judgment as to the constructive discharge claim is granted.”
“Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss Indictment is denied.”
“plaintiffs Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order is DENIED.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 1487.5 days (N = 20).
The 20 located assigned cases filed from 1985 through early 1987 were all terminated and are not a career-wide caseload measure.
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 | 1 |
| 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 Utah, not for Judge Sam: 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 | 1,120 | 8.5 months |
| Closed with no court action | 343 | 7 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 764 | 9 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 3 | not reported |
| Closed during trial | 10 | 59 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 1,120 | 8.5 months |
| Sep 2024 | 1,141 | 9.3 months |
| Sep 2023 | 1,035 | 10.6 months |
| Sep 2022 | 1,092 | 12.3 months |
| Sep 2021 | 1,128 | 12.7 months |
| Sep 2020 | 951 | 10.4 months |
| Sep 2019 | 1,085 | 9.7 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 Sam with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Sam, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
Opens in Ezel Pro.
- Grounded in Judge Sam's own signed orders
- Cites every source it relies on, so you can verify it
- Chat, drafting and research in one workspace