Michael T. Morrissey
How Judge Morrissey rules, drawn from 24 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Morrissey
Michael T. Morrissey began serving as a United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Arizona in Phoenix on January 23, 2020. Before joining the bench, he worked as an Assistant United States Attorney and in private practice.
Judge Morrissey's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Morrissey, as published on the court's website (checked October 8, 2026). Judges revise these often, so confirm the current version on the court's site before you file.
Key rules
Motions
Get the court’s permission by joint telephone call before filing more than one summary-judgment motion.
“No party may file more than one motion for summary judgment under 21 Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure without first obtaining permission, by joint 22 telephone call, from the Court.”
Discovery
In consent civil cases governed by this case management order, parties may serve up to 40 document requests and 40 admission requests, counting subparts.
“Each party 5 may also propound up to 40 requests for production of documents, including subparts, and 6 up to 40 requests for admissions, including subparts.”
Discovery
Seek leave before filing a written discovery motion; promptly request a telephone conference if a dispute arises.
“The parties may not file written discovery motions without leave of 5 Court.2 If a discovery dispute arises, the parties must promptly contact the Court to request 6 a telephonic conference concerning the dispute.”
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).
How Judge Morrissey decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In an immigration detention habeas proceeding, he recommended a bond hearing after finding that the petitioner’s detention fell under section 1226(a).
“1226(a) and thus Petitioner is entitled to a hearing.”
Procedural preferences
In the same immigration case, he allowed amendment of the equal protection claim because further factual allegations could potentially establish that the compared visa applicants were similarly situated.
“the Court dismisses the equal protection claim with leave to amend.”
Cautions
In a challenge to a denied national interest waiver, he dismissed the due process claim with prejudice because the discretionary I-140 decision did not create a protected property interest.
“no constitutionally protected property interest can exist in an I-140 visa.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED granting Plaintiff’s Motions for Default Judgment. (Docs. 16, 26). IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff is awarded $1,350.00 plus post-judgment interest ...”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendant S. McQueen is dismissed without prejudice. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Motion for Service by Publication (Doc. 37) is denied.”
“IT IS ORDERED adopting the Report and Recommendation by Magistrate Judge Michael T. Morrissey. (Doc. 10.) ... Ronald Le Lawrence Brown’s 28 U.S.C. § 2554 Petition (Doc. 1) is dismissed with prejudice. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED denying a certificate of appealability.”
“IT IS ORDERED that Magistrate Judge Morrissey’s R&R (Doc. 55) is accepted and adopted as the order of this Court. As stated in the R&R, Defendants’ Motion for Attorneys’ Fees (Doc. 50) is denied.”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED adopting in whole the R&R submitted by Judge Morrissey (Doc. 11). IT IS FURTHER ORDERED denying and dismissing with prejudice the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (Doc. 1).”
“IT IS ORDERED that the final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security is vacated, and this case is remanded for an award of benefits.”
“IT IS ORDERED that the final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security is affirmed. The Clerk shall enter judgment accordingly and terminate this case.”
“IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED, affirming the decision of the Commissioner.”
“IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED affirming the November 5, 2018 decision of the Administrative Law Judge (R. at 16-35), as upheld by the Appeals Council (R. at 1-6). IT IS FURTHER ORDERED directing the Clerk to enter final judgment consistent with this Order and close this case.”
“After analyzing the Etiel factors, the Court concludes that all seven factors favor a default judgment. Accordingly, the Court grants Plaintiff's motion and enters a default judgment on behalf of Plaintiff.”
“IT IS ORDERED: (1) Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss (doc. 19) is granted. (2) Count One of the First Amended Complaint (doc. 12) is dismissed with prejudice. (3) Count Two of the First Amended Complaint (doc. 12) is dismissed without prejudice. Plaintiffs may file, within twenty-one (21) days of the issuance of this Order, a Second Amended Complaint that cures the deficiencies identified herein.”
“Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant's Motion to Dismiss (doc. 34) is denied without prejudice.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
- The sampled Phoenix assignments are dominated by criminal-duty matters involving illegal reentry and other border prosecutions, alongside civil matters handled with the parties' consent.
- Because the recent cases come from Morrissey's current duty rotation, they do not provide a sound basis for case-duration figures.
- Filing-to-ruling timing is available for seven matters, including three recent consent immigration-habeas petitions.
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 | 0 |
| Civil cases pending more than three years | 0 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2020 | 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 United States District Court for the District of Arizona, not for Judge Morrissey: 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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