George W. Cannon, Jr.
How Judge Cannon rules, drawn from 15 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Cannon
George W. Cannon Jr. served as a United States Magistrate Judge in the St. Croix Division of the District Court of the Virgin Islands from April 2004 until April 2022. Before joining the court, he worked for Legal Services of the Virgin Islands and the Virgin Islands Attorney General's office, then practiced privately on St. Croix.
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 Cannon decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Luna Music v. Executive Insurance Services, Cannon granted a motion to compel international arbitration. On review, the district court affirmed and held that the territorial insurance regulator’s approval requirement did not make the arbitration clause null and void under the Convention.
“The Court finds that the approval or disapproval of an agreement to arbitrate by the Virgin Islands Commissioner of Insurance is not the type of defense that would render an arbitration clause null and void pursuant to the Convention.”
In United States v. Potter, Cannon denied the detainee’s motions to amend and vacate no-contact orders, holding that the orders constrained Potter’s own conduct and that the court had authority to protect alleged victims regardless of his custodian.
“The Court finds that the August 28th no-contact order and the September 24th interim order constrain Potter's conduct, but do not impose an order on the Bureau of Corrections ... the Court's jurisdiction to impose no-contact orders to protect the victims alleged in the criminal complaint stems from the 'indisputably... broad powers (of the trial judge) to ensure the orderly and expeditious progress of a trial.'”
Procedural preferences
In Clarke v. Marriott International, Cannon denied a motion to compel discovery as untimely because the plaintiff filed it nearly four months after the limited discovery period closed.
“The Court finds that Plaintiff's motion to compel, filed almost four (4) months after the close of limited discovery, is untimely.”
In Luna Music v. Executive Insurance Services, Cannon denied a successive motion for reconsideration of an appraisal-umpire order because the issue had already been fully briefed and dissatisfaction with the ruling did not justify reconsideration.
“Dissatisfaction with the Court's ruling is not a proper basis for reconsideration ... the number of times a party may move to reconsider is limited.”
Cautions
In Harvey v. Sav-U-Car Rental, Cannon sanctioned a plaintiff who failed to attend a deposition arranged through counsel without seeking a protective order or moving to quash; he ordered her to pay the defendant’s related costs and fees.
“The Court refuses to condone such contumacious conduct. ... Plaintiff shall pay said Defendant's reasonable costs and attorney's fees related to and associated with the deposition and the motion at issue.”
In United States v. Xavier, Cannon denied the defendant’s request to reconsider pretrial detention after hearing his parents’ offer to serve as custodians and his brother’s job offer. He relied on the prior record, including the firearm charge, felony history, and supervised-release status, and found no new evidence warranting release.
“there currently are no conditions of release which would reasonably assure the safety of other persons and the community.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Plaintiff's Motion For Reconsideration (Docket No. 83) is DENIED.”
“Plaintiff's Motion to Compel Defendant Jamal Misbeh to Respond to Discovery (Docket No. 120) is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART. ... DENIED AS MOOT with respect to the Interrogatories. ... GRANTED with respect to the Demand for Production of Documents.”
“reconsideration of the detention of said Defendant is DENIED.”
“Plaintiff's Motion to Compel Defendant to Supplement Responses to Discovery (Docket No. 30) is DENIED.”
“Defendant's, TMC, Motion For Sanctions Against Plaintiff Pursuant to Rule 37(d)(1)(A)(i); Plaintiff Failed to Attend Her Own Deposition (Docket No. 113) is GRANTED. ... Plaintiff shall pay said Defendant's reasonable costs and attorney's fees related to and associated with the deposition and the motion at issue.”
“the Court finds that the Government has made the requisite showing to support the Magistrate's finding that Defendants should be detained pending trial ... Accordingly, the Court will deny Defendants' appeals and affirm the March 1, 2013 Order of Detention.”
“the Court will adopt the Magistrate Judge's R&R, as modified herein ... Defendants' Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings is granted with regard to all of his claims brought against Defendants under Section 1983, Bivens, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.”
“the Court adopts the Magistrate Judge's R&R and finds that Plaintiff's Motion for Preliminary Injunction (Dkt. No. 14) ... will be denied as moot.”
“Defendant's Motion to Amend September 24th Order (ECF No. 31) is DENIED.”
“Defendant's Motion to Vacate August 28th Order (ECF No. 33) is DENIED.”
“Luna Music's Motion for Reconsideration of Order Denying as Moot Motion for Reconsideration of Order Granting Motion to Appoint Umpire (ECF No. 32) is DENIED.”
“Defendant Bluesource, LLC's, Motion to Compel Plaintiffs to Answer Written Discovery (ECF No. 183) is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.”
A statutory pre-service screening of a pro se prisoner's civil-rights complaint under 28 U.S.C. 1915(e)(2) and 1915A. The magistrate judge's Report and Recommendation to dismiss most claims (several with leave to amend) and let a handful proceed was substantially adopted, with the district judge separately dismissing one claim as time-barred and granting leave to amend the complaint by a set deadline.
“the Court will deny Plaintiff's Motion to Remand, affirm Magistrate Judge Cannon's Memorandum Opinion and Order granting Defendant Underwriters' Motion to Compel Arbitration as modified by the analysis and reasons stated herein, and deny as moot Defendant Underwriters' Motion to Dismiss.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median motion-to-ruling time: 45 days (N = 7).
The consent-jurisdiction civil docket sampled here (a commercial lease dispute, a federal mortgage foreclosure, and a quiet-title/tax dispute removed from territorial court) reflects the general civil caseload of the St. Croix magistrate's chambers, contract, foreclosure, and property disputes referred or consented to him for full case management, rather than a random cross-section of the whole district's docket.
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 |
| Mar 2022 | 23 | 0 |
| Sep 2021 | 18 | 0 |
| Mar 2021 | 19 | 0 |
| Sep 2020 | 29 | 1 |
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 District of the Virgin Islands, not for Judge Cannon: 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 | 105 | 10.3 months |
| Closed with no court action | 62 | 5.5 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 15 | 10.8 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 27 | 25.7 months |
| Closed during trial | 1 | not reported |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 105 | 10.3 months |
| Sep 2024 | 138 | 16 months |
| Sep 2023 | 145 | 20.4 months |
| Sep 2022 | 308 | 6.4 months |
| Sep 2021 | 280 | 6.2 months |
| Sep 2020 | 210 | 14.2 months |
| Sep 2019 | 131 | 14.8 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).
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