Douglas L. Rayes
How Judge Rayes rules, drawn from 25 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Rayes
Douglas L. Rayes is a senior judge of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona. President Barack Obama appointed him, and he received his commission on May 28, 2014. He previously served on the Maricopa County Superior Court and took senior status on June 1, 2024.
Judge Rayes's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Rayes, as published on the court's website (checked October 9, 2026). Judges revise these often, so confirm the current version on the court's site before you file.
- Case Management Order ↗
- Case Management Order - ERISA Case ↗
- Case Management Order - Patent Infringement Case ↗
- Courtroom Protocol ↗
- Criminal Order of Referral ↗
- Exhibit Procedures ↗
- Guidelines for Jury Instructions in Civil Cases ↗
- Internet Research on Jurors ↗
- Proposed Final Pretrial Order ↗
- Proposed Final Pretrial Order - Bench Trial ↗
- Trial Conduct and Decorum ↗
- Voir Dire Questions - Civil ↗
- Voir Dire Questions - Criminal ↗
Key rules
Filing
Mail or hand-deliver paper courtesy copies of dispositive motion filings and documents over 10 pages by the next business day.
“a paper courtesy copy of dispositive motions and responses and replies thereto and any document exceeding 10 pages in length shall be either post-marked and mailed directly to the judge or hand-delivered to the judge's mail box located in the courthouse the next business day after the electronic filing.”
Discovery
Obtain the court’s authorization after discussing a discovery dispute before filing a discovery motion.
“A discovery motion may be filed only after the parties have discussed the discovery dispute with the Court and the Court has authorized the filing of a discovery dispute motion.”
Discovery
Serve written discovery at least 45 days before the discovery deadline.
“All interrogatories, requests for production of documents, and requests for admissions shall be served at least 45 days before the discovery deadline.”
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 8, 2026).
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“the United States’ motion to intervene (Doc. 8) is GRANTED.”
“Plaintiff’s motions for reconsideration (Docs. 29-31) are DENIED.”
The court remanded after federal claims were resolved, leaving state claims. No motion was decided in this order.
“Plaintiff’s application for a fee waiver (Doc. 2) is GRANTED.”
“Petitioner’s Motion to Vacate, Set Aside, or Correct Sentence (Doc. 10) is DENIED.”
“Respondent’s Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 4) is GRANTED.”
“Plaintiff’s motion for attorney’s fees (Doc. 43) is GRANTED.”
“Rivera’s petition for writ of habeas corpus, (Doc. 1), is DENIED.”
The court accepted a recommendation to dismiss for failure to prosecute; no motion was decided in this order.
“IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED reversing the May 25, 2016 decision of the Administrative Law Judge”
The court remanded because the complaint did not raise a federal claim. No motion was decided in this order.
“Defendants’ Rule 50 motion is GRANTED as to Mr. Sullivan and Ms. Ferrell and DENIED as to Ms. Chrisman.”
“Plaintiff’s application to proceed without prepaying fees and costs (Doc. 2) is GRANTED.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The inspected matters include labor, prisoner, Social Security, and insurance disputes. Ten selected dockets cannot establish the overall caseload mix.
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 | 11 |
| 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 | 9 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 11 | 9 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 10 |
| Mar 2025 | 1 | 15 |
| Sep 2024 | 10 | 13 |
| Mar 2024 | 9 | 13 |
| Sep 2023 | 9 | 11 |
| Mar 2023 | 3 | 8 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 10 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 11 |
| Sep 2021 | 31 | 12 |
| Mar 2021 | 20 | 12 |
| Sep 2020 | 1 | 8 |
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 United States District Court for the District of Arizona, not for Judge Rayes: 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 | 2,485 | 6 months |
| Closed with no court action | 135 | 2.2 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 2,001 | 5.2 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 335 | 15.2 months |
| Closed during trial | 14 | 32.4 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 2,485 | 6 months |
| Sep 2024 | 2,278 | 6.7 months |
| Sep 2023 | 2,126 | 8.3 months |
| Sep 2022 | 2,181 | 9.4 months |
| Sep 2021 | 3,857 | 20.9 months |
| Sep 2020 | 8,128 | 12.2 months |
| Sep 2019 | 2,842 | 9.6 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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