Bruce Gordon MacDonald
Judge MacDonald no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.
How Judge MacDonald decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Procedural preferences
On referred dispositive matters his R&R is not rubber-stamped: in a Sec.1983 ADCS child-removal case the district judge adopted his Report in part and rejected it in part, resolving the motion to dismiss as granted in part / denied in part (some claims dismissed with prejudice, others allowed to proceed).
“The Report and Recommendation is ADOPTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART as described in this Order. ... AZDCS Defendants' Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Magistrate Judge Macdonald's Report and Recommendation (Doc. 39) is ACCEPTED and ADOPTED as the findings of fact and conclusions of law by this Court. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Petitioner's Motion for Default Judgment (Doc. 33) is DENIED.”
“3) The Report and Recommendation is ADOPTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART as described in this Order. (Doc. 60.) 4) AZDCS Defendants' Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART as described in this Order. (Doc. 44.) 5) Defendant Kot must ANSWER Claims One and Three. 6) Claims One and Three against Defendants Nido and Jimenez are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
“IT IS ORDERED that Magistrate Judge Macdonald's Report and Recommendation (Doc. 202) is accepted and adopted in full, and Defendant's Objection (Doc. 204) is overruled. This Court finds that Defendant violated Special Condition No. 2 of his supervised release.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
MacDonald served in the Tucson Division from May 2012 through May 2026. His work included criminal-duty proceedings, particularly border and immigration matters, and civil cases handled with the parties' consent under 28 U.S.C. 636(c). The sampled civil docket is led by Social Security disability appeals and also includes disability-accommodation, public-records, insurance, and prisoner matters. Many consent civil cases settled, while Social Security appeals more often produced a written affirmance or remand. This describes the mix of sampled matters, not an overall outcome rate.
A historical record
Judge MacDonald no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.