Kevin J. Doyle
How Judge Doyle rules, drawn from 28 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Doyle
Kevin J. Doyle has served as a U.S. magistrate judge for the District of Vermont since August 2021. Before joining the court, he spent fourteen years in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Vermont, including service as First Assistant U.S. Attorney. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and his law degree from Seton Hall University School of Law.
Judge Doyle's practices and standing orders
The court's website lists no individual practices or standing orders of Judge Doyle's own (checked October 9, 2026), so the court's local rules and general orders are the place to look (court page ↗).
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 Doyle decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Carpenter's prisoner civil-rights case, Doyle recommended denying the plaintiff's early summary-judgment motion because it lacked admissible evidence and the required statement of undisputed facts.
“Plaintiff's Motion is not based on any admissible evidence demonstrating his entitlement to judgment as a matter of law. The Motion contains no statement of undisputed material facts as required under the Rules.”
In Lampman's prisoner religious-freedom case, Doyle recommended dismissal because the complaint did not allege any named defendant's personal involvement and official-capacity damages claims were barred.
“The Complaint does not allege the personal involvement of any named Defendants in the alleged First and Fourteenth Amendment violations.”
Procedural preferences
In Lampman v. Deml, Doyle recommended dismissing a self-represented prisoner’s complaint and denying his pending amendment motion, while also recommending that he receive a further opportunity to amend.
“In light of Plaintiff’s self-represented status, I recommend that he be afforded an opportunity to amend his Complaint.”
In a prisoner due process case, the magistrate judge recommended another chance to amend because the earlier amendment preceded judicial review and the new allegations could clarify a protected liberty interest.
“without the benefit of judicial review of his initial allegations.”
Cautions
In Velazquez's consent Social Security appeal, Doyle entered a final order granting the claimant's motion to reverse in part and remanding for further proceedings.
“OPINION and ORDER granting in part 10 MOTION for Order Reversing the Decision of the Commissioner; denying 12 MOTION for Order Affirming the Decision of the Commissioner. The matter is remanded for further proceedings ... Signed by Judge Kevin J. Doyle on 12/11/2023.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“For the reasons stated below, I recommend that Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 21) be DENIED.”
On in forma pauperis screening under 28 U.S.C. 1915 of a pro se FTCA and Eighth Amendment complaint over a deceased veteran's alleged toxic exposure at Fort Devens, Doyle recommended sua sponte dismissal without prejudice on sovereign-immunity, exhaustion, and Bivens grounds.
“Therefore, I recommend that Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 14) be GRANTED and that Plaintiff’s Motion to Amend (Doc. 17) be DENIED.”
Doyle issued a procedural order requiring a state habeas petitioner with two overlapping Section 2254 petitions to clarify which one he intended to pursue, avoiding a second-or-successive petition problem before issuance of a Report and Recommendation.
In a follow-up to screening under 28 U.S.C. 1915, an incarcerated pro se plaintiff did not cure in forma pauperis and complaint deficiencies identified in an earlier order, so Doyle recommended sua sponte dismissal.
“Accordingly, I recommend that Defendant VSP’s Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 24) and Defendants Ruprecht and Altenburg’s Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 25) be GRANTED, and the Complaint against these Defendants be dismissed.”
“For the reasons set forth above, I recommend that Centurion’s Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 13) be GRANTED and that Bedard’s Motion for a Continuance (Doc. 9) be DENIED as moot. I further recommend that, if this Report and Recommendation is adopted by the court, Bedard be allowed 30 days to file an amended complaint. Failure to file an amended complaint within that time frame should result in the dismissal of Bedard’s claims with prejudice.”
“For the reasons explained above, I recommend that Respondent’s Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 3) be GRANTED and the § 2254 Petition (Doc. 1) be DISMISSED with prejudice.”
“For these reasons, I recommend that Defendants Baker, Deml, and Titus’s Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 29) be GRANTED, and Allen’s Amended Complaint (Doc. 28) be DISMISSED with prejudice as to these Defendants.”
“For these reasons, I recommend that the Vermont State Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 63) be GRANTED. I further recommend that Plaintiff’s request for appointed counsel (Doc. 65) be DENIED without prejudice, and Plaintiff’s ‘Vortical Motion to Terminate the Defendants 360°’ (Doc. 69) be DENIED as an unauthorized surreply. Finally, I recommend that Plaintiff be granted leave to file a second amended complaint.”
“For these reasons, Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel (Doc. 44) is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part”
“For these reasons, Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel Compliance with Subpoena Duces Tecum to former DOC Commissioner Baker (Doc. 24) is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part”
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 | 1 |
| Civil cases pending more than three years | 0 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2025 | 1 | 1 |
| Mar 2025 | 5 | 0 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2024 | 6 | 0 |
| Sep 2023 | 2 | 0 |
| Mar 2023 | 2 | 1 |
| Sep 2022 | 5 | 0 |
| Mar 2022 | 5 | 0 |
| Sep 2021 | 8 | 0 |
| Mar 2021 | 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 District of Vermont, not for Judge Doyle: 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 | 1,324 | 2.5 months |
| Closed with no court action | 1,000 | 2.3 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 315 | 4.8 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 6 | not reported |
| Closed during trial | 3 | not reported |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 1,324 | 2.5 months |
| Sep 2024 | 1,321 | 2.4 months |
| Sep 2023 | 297 | 3.6 months |
| Sep 2022 | 261 | 8.6 months |
| Sep 2021 | 275 | 6.9 months |
| Sep 2020 | 214 | 9.6 months |
| Sep 2019 | 210 | 10.8 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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