There is no single answer to how long a judge can take a case under advisement, because no universal deadline forces a ruling by a specific date. Federal courts flag any motion or bench trial sitting more than six months in a public report that names the judge. Many states set firmer limits, often 30, 60, or 90 days. Beyond those benchmarks, what you actually wait depends on the complexity of the case, the judge’s caseload, and how your jurisdiction enforces its rules.
What Under Advisement Means
When a judge takes a case under advisement, the trial or hearing is over. Both sides have presented their evidence, made their arguments, and rested. The judge now needs time to review the record, research the law, and write a decision. This is different from a continuance, where proceedings are paused and resumed. Under advisement, nothing more happens in the courtroom. You’re waiting for the ruling.
The phrase applies to full trials and to individual motions. A judge might sit on a dispositive motion for a few weeks or hold an entire bench trial under submission for months. Thicker records and harder legal questions mean longer waits.
The Federal Six-Month Rule
Federal law does not set a hard deadline, but it creates a public accountability mechanism. Under the Civil Justice Reform Act of 1990, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts publishes a semiannual report listing, by name, every federal judge with motions pending more than six months, bench trials under submission more than six months, or civil cases lingering more than three years without termination.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 476 – Enhancement of Judicial Information Dissemination The reports are posted publicly.2United States Courts. Civil Justice Reform Act Report
No judge wants to appear on that list. There are no automatic consequences, but the report signals to judicial councils and litigants that a judge is falling behind. In practice, six months functions as the unofficial ceiling in federal court.
The Code of Conduct for United States Judges separately requires judges to “dispose promptly of the business of the court” and be “expeditious in determining matters under submission.”3United States Courts. Code of Conduct for United States Judges The language is deliberately open-ended, but it gives judicial councils something to work with when delays become extreme.
State Deadlines Are Often Firmer
Many states set specific time limits. Some require decisions within 30 days of submission for routine civil matters; others allow 60 or 90 days. Indiana uses a 90-day benchmark under its trial rules. Several state constitutions contain their own timing requirements.
Nearly every state also has a judicial code of conduct modeled on the ABA’s Model Code, which requires judges to perform their duties “competently and diligently.” These codes don’t set specific timelines, but they back up whatever statutory deadlines exist. If your state has a 60-day rule and the judge is at day 120, the delay potentially violates both the court rule and the ethics code.
Why Judges Take as Long as They Do
Formal limits are only half the picture. Several factors drive the actual timeline in any given case:
- Complexity of the legal issues. A straightforward contract dispute with clear precedent might take a few weeks. Cases involving novel constitutional questions or unsettled areas of law can take months of research and drafting.
- Volume of evidence. A two-day bench trial with a handful of exhibits is far easier to digest than a three-week trial with hundreds of documents and dueling expert testimony.
- Caseload pressure. A federal district judge may have 300 to 500 active cases. Criminal matters with speedy-trial deadlines take priority, which pushes civil cases under advisement further back.
- Written opinion requirements. Some rulings require detailed findings of fact and conclusions of law. Judges who want opinions that will hold up on appeal spend real time drafting them.
What You Can Do While Waiting
Call the Clerk’s Office
Start with the court clerk. Clerks can tell you whether a decision has been entered and confirm basic procedural status. They cannot predict when a ruling will come, describe what the judge is thinking, or give any legal advice. Those questions are off-limits for court staff.
File a Motion for a Ruling
If informal inquiries lead nowhere and months have passed, your attorney can file a motion asking the court to issue its decision, sometimes called a motion to compel a ruling. It’s a formal nudge that goes into the case record and directly to the judge. Most lawyers save this for genuine delay because it implicitly criticizes the judge who will decide the case. When the wait is truly unreasonable, it’s an appropriate step, and judges generally don’t hold it against the party who files.
Petition for a Writ of Mandamus
If the motion doesn’t produce a ruling, you can ask a higher court to order the judge to rule. This is a petition for a writ of mandamus, treated as an extraordinary remedy.4United States Department of Justice. Civil Resource Manual 215 – Mandamus You cannot succeed by showing the judge is merely slow. You have to demonstrate that the delay is unreasonable and that no other adequate remedy exists.
In federal court, the petition goes to the circuit court of appeals under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 21 and must lay out the relief sought, the relevant facts, and the reasons the writ should issue.5Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 21 – Writs of Mandamus and Prohibition, and Other Extraordinary Writs Courts have granted mandamus relief for delays as short as 16 months when the inaction was preventing a case from moving forward. A judge’s track record of delays across other cases strengthens the petition considerably.
File a Judicial Conduct Complaint
Anyone can file a complaint alleging that a judge’s delay is “prejudicial to the effective and expeditious administration of the business of the courts.”3United States Courts. Code of Conduct for United States Judges Federal complaints go to the clerk of the relevant circuit court of appeals. State complaints go to that state’s judicial conduct commission.
The chief judge reviews the complaint and can take corrective action informally, appoint a committee to investigate, or dismiss it. Undue decisional delay is a recognized category of judicial misconduct, and courts have upheld discipline for it. New York’s Court of Appeals has affirmed that lengthy, inexcusable delays can support formal disciplinary proceedings.6NYS Commission on Judicial Conduct. Delay in Rendering Decisions Outcomes range from a private admonishment to censure. Removal solely for delay is rare.
What the Delay Does and Doesn’t Affect
Your Appeal Clock
Appeal deadlines do not start running until the judge enters judgment. In federal civil cases, you have 30 days from the date judgment is entered to file a notice of appeal.7Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 4 – Appeal as of Right, When Taken A premature notice filed after a judge announces a decision but before formal entry is treated as filed on the entry date. A long advisement period does not shorten your window to appeal.
The Practical Costs
The real burden of extended advisement is limbo. A custody ruling on hold means living arrangements stay unsettled. A business dispute on hold can freeze deals, asset planning, and financing. Witnesses move, financial situations shift, and the uncertainty compounds.
Occasionally, facts change enough during the wait that the trial record no longer reflects reality. A judge technically can reopen the record for updated evidence, but this rarely happens. The more likely outcome is a decision based on the record as it stood at trial, even when circumstances have moved on.
Checking the Public Record
If your case is in federal court and you think the delay is unusual, look at the CJRA reports on the U.S. Courts website. They list every federal judge’s overdue motions and bench trials by name.2United States Courts. Civil Justice Reform Act Report If your judge is on the list, the delay is officially documented, which supports a motion for a ruling, a mandamus petition, or a conduct complaint. The reports also show whether the judge has a pattern across other cases, which is far more useful than knowing about yours alone.