Emile A. Henderson III
How Judge Henderson decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Procedural preferences
The judge enforces service-of-process formalities strictly even against pro se litigants: he twice denied a pro se plaintiff's applications for entry of default because service by certified mail, or on a defendant's secretary or office support staff rather than the defendant personally, did not satisfy the applicable rules -- while nonetheless extending clearly time-limited additional chances to cure the defect before ordering any final consequence.
On a motion to compel, the judge will not order a party to produce documents it credibly represents it does not possess, particularly where the movant already has an independent means (such as an executed medical-records authorization) to obtain the same materials directly from a third party.
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“For the foregoing reasons, Mr. Velasquez's Amended Motion to Withdraw Plea of Guilty, Dkt. No. 60, is GRANTED.”
“the Court RECOMMENDS that the Government's Motion to Dismiss the Information Without Prejudice, Dkt. No. 9, be GRANTED.”
“ORDERED that Magistrate Judge Emile Henderson III's Competency Report and Recommendation (Dkt. No. 31) is ADOPTED”
“the Court will reject the Magistrate Judge's recommendation in the Dismissal R&R that the Court grant the Government's Motion to Dismiss (Dkt. No. 16) at this time, and will deny the Motion without prejudice.”
“the Court will adopt the R&R to the extent it recommends dismissal of Plaintiff's Complaint without prejudice for failure to pay the filing fees or submit an IFP application, and will dismiss Plaintiff's Complaint without prejudice.”
“Dahlberg's Motion to Compel, Dkt. No. 122, is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART.”
“The Government's oral Motion for a Detention Hearing is DENIED.”
“On August 15, 2022, Magistrate Judge Emile A. Henderson III denied Plaintiff's application for entry of default because Plaintiff's service of Defendants by certified mail did not constitute proper service under Virgin Islands Rule of Civil Procedure 4(i)(3) and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(e).”
“On December 9, 2022, Plaintiff, once again, moved for entry of default. (Dkt. No. 33). On February 2, 2023, Magistrate Judge Henderson again denied Plaintiff's motion for entry of default because, despite having served many of the Defendants individually, Plaintiff still had not effectuated service on the Government.”
“ORDERED that Cruzan Viril, Ltd., Beam Suntory, Inc., and Ayanda Daniel's "Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's Amended Complaint" (Dkt. No. 41) is GRANTED; and it is further ORDERED that Plaintiff's Amended Complaint (Dkt. No. 13) is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE”
“ORDERED that Magistrate Judge Emile A. Henderson III's Report and Recommendation (Dkt. No. 349) is ADOPTED; and it is further ORDERED that Defendant James Phillip is determined to be mentally incompetent to the extent that he is presently unable to be sentenced in this proceeding”
“the Court will adopt Magistrate Judge Henderson's R&R as modified herein and dismiss with prejudice Plaintiff's claims against Defendant for failure to prosecute.”
“The Court will therefore adopt the Magistrate Judge's R&R and deny Defendant's Motion for Partial Summary Judgement.”
“the Court will adopt Magistrate Judge Henderson's R&R as modified herein and deny Plaintiff's Amended Motion for a Preliminary Injunction (Dkt. No. 16).”
“The Court will also deny as moot Plaintiff's initial Motion for a Preliminary Injunction (Dkt. No. 7) and reject as moot Magistrate Judge Henderson's R&R dated December 5, 2022 (Dkt. No. 9).”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The sampled dockets referred to Henderson span three factually similar removed personal-injury suits against the same corporate defendant (Lockheed Martin Corporation) that followed a nearly identical case-management pattern -- initial-conference orders, pro hac vice admissions for out-of-territory counsel, and a plaintiff- or defendant-side motion to stay pending a related proceeding, each denied -- plus one very different pro se federal prisoner's civil-rights case, in which the judge repeatedly enforced filing-fee and in forma pauperis requirements before ultimately transferring the case to the district where the underlying conduct was alleged to have occurred. The mix illustrates both the routine procedural motion practice on a corporate personal-injury docket and the pro se gatekeeping work common to a small territorial bench.
Put Judge Henderson's record to work
Ezel drafts and answers grounded in this exact profile: how Judge Henderson actually rules, not a generic AI guess.
Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer is grounded in Judge Henderson's own signed orders and cites them.