Raymond L. Finch
How Judge Finch rules, drawn from 25 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Finch no longer sits on this court. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Finch
Raymond L. Finch joined the District Court of the Virgin Islands in September 1994, served as chief judge from 1999, and retired from judicial service in August 2018. A Howard University and Howard University School of Law graduate, he previously served in the Army, practiced law on St. Croix, and held territorial judicial posts. He died in 2023.
How Judge Finch decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
An arbitration agreement remained enforceable when the employee accepted benefits under it and could not show both procedural and substantive unconscionability.
“Because Wilhelm ratified the contract by accepting the ACP Bonuses, she has foregone her fraudulent inducement defense.”
Fourth Amendment suppression arguments failed where the challenged area qualified as an open field and officers observed evidence in plain view.
“Because the open fields doctrine applied, the officer's presence and search of the overgrown area ... did not violate Defendants' Fourth Amendment rights.”
Procedural preferences
Late evidence required a concrete showing of excusable neglect; affidavits based on information available during the original briefing period were not accepted.
“Plaintiffs could have obtained further details from Vargas at any time.”
A prisoner was not required to plead exhaustion because failure to exhaust is an affirmative defense that the defendant must prove.
“failure to exhaust administrative remedies must be pled and proved by the defendant.”
Cautions
Rule 11 sanctions were reserved for exceptional cases, and replacement counsel was not held responsible for pleadings that counsel did not sign or file.
“substituted counsel cannot be held accountable for pleadings or motions which they themselves did not sign or file.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Plaintiffs have failed to present a claim against HUD or FmHA for which relief can be granted.”
“the motion for judgment on the pleadings is GRANTED as to HOVIC on all counts.”
“Plaintiffs' Motion for Leave Pursuant to Rule 6(d) to File Sworn Testimony of Dimetrio Felix Ortiz is granted”
“Plaintiffs' Motions for Leave Pursuant to Rule 6(d) to File Sworn Testimony of Sr., Rene Vargas, and Charles Weaver are denied.”
“Defendant's motion for summary judgment is DENIED as to Plaintiff's claim for Defendant's failure to maintain the stairs in a safe condition, DENIED as to Plaintiff's claim for Defendant's failure to assist, and GRANTED as to Plaintiff's claim for Defendant's failure to warn Plaintiff of the wet steps.”
“It grants summary judgment in Hovensa's favor on Plaintiffs' claim for intentional spoliation of evidence or fraudulent concealment. The Court denies summary judgment on all of Plaintiffs' other claims”
“Defendant's Motion to Dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction is GRANTED”
“the Court dismisses Counts III against Bell with prejudice.”
Before an evidentiary hearing on a joined motion to suppress wiretap evidence, the government was ordered to submit the interception applications and supporting affidavits. The order did not decide the suppression motion.
“For the reasons stated herein, Defendants' Motion to Suppress is DENIED.”
“the Court grants Defendants' Renewed Joint Motion to Stay Proceedings Pending Arbitration and Motion to Compel Arbitration.”
“ORDERED that, with respect to Plaintiff’s Title VII claims for hostile work environment and retaliation as alleged in Count 2, Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment is DENIED; it is further ORDERED that, with respect to Plaintiff’s claim for violation of the Virgin Islands civil rights statute 10 V.I.C. § 64 as alleged in Count 3, Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED;”
“Because the requirements for a valid search warrant were satisfied, Defendant's Motion to Suppress is DENIED.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The returned historical cases include civil-rights, prisoner, employment, personal-injury, federal-agency, property, and miscellaneous matters. The ten-case randomized cohort is too sparse for a representative caseload distribution.
Pending matters in the official report
Judge Finch was last listed in the Civil Justice Reform Act report as of March 31, 2022.
| 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 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.
A historical record
Judge Finch no longer sits on this court. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled here. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.