William Martin Conley

United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin district Appointed by Barack Obama (Democratic) 24 signed orders read

How Judge Conley decides

Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

What persuades

Grants a defendant's motion for summary judgment where the plaintiff comes forward with no evidence -- speculation and argument in briefs are not enough to defeat the motion.

“IT IS ORDERED that: 1) Defendants' motion for summary judgment (dkt. #33) is GRANTED;”

Procedural preferences

Denies a preliminary injunction where the movant has not carried the burden on the injunction factors.

“IT IS ORDERED that plaintiffs' motion for preliminary injunction (dkt. #2) is DENIED.”

Cautions

Denies a defendant's summary judgment where a genuine fact dispute (e.g., the reasonableness of force during an arrest) requires trial.

“IT IS ORDERED that defendant Christopher Allen's motion for summary judgment (dkt. #14) is DENIED.”

Signed rulings

A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.

Moffett v. Haag
3:20-cv-00016 · 2024-02-15
Summary judgment (defendant) Granted

“IT IS ORDERED that: 1) Defendants' motion for summary judgment (dkt. #33) is GRANTED;”

Davis v. Allen
3:21-cv-00565 · 2023-04-12
Summary judgment (defendant) Denied

“IT IS ORDERED that defendant Christopher Allen's motion for summary judgment (dkt. #14) is DENIED.”

Bemke v. Pechacek
3:21-cv-00560 · 2021-10-25
Preliminary injunction (plaintiff) Denied

“IT IS ORDERED that plaintiffs' motion for preliminary injunction (dkt. #2) is DENIED.”

Banks v. Johnson
3:19-cv-00793 · 2021-11-02
Motions to dismiss (defendant) Denied

“2) Defendant Johnson's motion to dismiss or transfer (dkt. #14) is DENIED.”

Isaac v. Roen
3:20-cv-00784 · 2023-02-03

Pro se prisoner Eighth Amendment failure-to-protect suit. A defense summary-judgment motion was pending, but the court dismissed the case sua sponte under Rule 41(b) after the plaintiff missed the response deadline and a court-set extension, deeming the case abandoned. Grounding quote: 'IT IS ORDERED that this lawsuit is DISMISSED with prejudice under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) for plaintiff's failure to prosecute it.' The dismissal was with prejudice, and the pending summary-judgment motion was never reached on the merits.

United States of America v. Town of Lac Du Flambeau
3:23-cv-00355 · 2024-09-26
Preliminary injunction (defendant) Granted in part

“The Homeowners' motion for a preliminary injunction (dkt. #88) is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.”

Distefano v. Nordic Consulting Partners, Inc.
3:23-cv-00657 · 2025-01-02
Motions to dismiss (defendant) Denied

“Defendant's motion to compel arbitration or dismiss for failure to state a claim (dkt. #50) is DENIED.”

Buchanan v. Miller
3:24-cv-00681 · 2025-06-23
Habeas petition (petitioner) Denied

“The amended federal habeas corpus petition filed by Terrence Buchanan (dkt. #7) is DENIED, and this action is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE for failure to exhaust state court remedies.”

Mix v. Carr
3:23-cv-00826 · 2025-07-11
Motions to dismiss (defendant) Granted

“Defendant's motion to dismiss (dkt. #16) is GRANTED, and this case is DISMISSED with prejudice.”

Coleman v. Sperry
3:21-cv-00065 · 2026-03-12
Motion for judgment as a matter of law (defendant) Denied

“Defendant Sam Sperry's renewed motion for directed verdict and entry of judgment as a matter of law pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 50(b) (dkt. #161) and motion for a new trial pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 59 (dkt. #162) are DENIED.”

Brownell v. Rivers
3:22-cv-00117 · 2026-03-13
Summary judgment (defendant) Granted

“defendants' motion for summary judgment (dkt. #102) is GRANTED”

Faison v. Wagas
3:25-cv-00002-wmc · 2026-04-17
Summary judgment (defendant) Denied

“Defendant’s motion for summary judgment (dkt. #18) is DENIED.”

Summary judgment (plaintiff) Granted

“Plaintiff’s motion for partial summary judgment on liability (dkt. #25) is GRANTED.”

Caseload & timing

From public federal docket records for this judge.

The reviewed assignments include prisoner and other civil-rights cases, employment, benefits, Social Security, consumer, contract, foreclosure, wage, bankruptcy, and public-law disputes. They illustrate the docket's breadth but do not form a complete census.

Put Judge Conley's record to work

Ezel drafts and answers grounded in this exact profile: how Judge Conley actually rules, not a generic AI guess.

Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer is grounded in Judge Conley's own signed orders and cites them.