Scott H. Rash
How Judge Rash rules, drawn from 28 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Rash
Scott Hugh Rash is a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona. Appointed by President Donald J. Trump, Judge Rash received a commission on May 27, 2020.
Judge Rash's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Rash, 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.
- Character Letters in Support of Sentencing ↗
- Criminal Order of Referral ↗
- Standard Civil Voir Dire Questions ↗
- Trial Decorum ↗
Key rules
Filing
Defense counsel must submit original character letters to probation and email copies to chambers at least five business days before sentencing.
“Original character letters must be submitted by defense counsel to the U. S. Probation Office, with a copy to opposing counsel and an emailed copy to Chambers at least five (5) business days prior to the sentencing date.”
Filing
Defense counsel may submit no more than 10 character letters.
“No more than ten (10) character letters shall be submitted by defense counsel.”
Filing
Do not file character letters electronically unless the court orders otherwise.
“Character letters or any notice of such shall not be filed electronically unless otherwise ordered by the court.”
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 Rash decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Center for Biological Diversity v. Haaland, he upheld the Fish and Wildlife Service's 2022 Mexican gray wolf rule because the challengers did not show that the agency acted arbitrarily or overlooked the relevant science and environmental review.
“Because Plaintiffs have not met their burden of demonstrating FWS's ultimate conclusions are unreasonable or were arrived at in an arbitrary manner, the Court will uphold FWS's 2022 10(j) Rule.”
Procedural preferences
In the reviewed dismissal and summary-judgment orders, he addressed each claim or contractual theory separately, allowing supported theories to proceed while dismissing or entering judgment on the others.
“Defendant's Motion to dismiss (Doc. 31) is GRANTED in-part as to parts of Count One relating to breach of contract ... Defendant's Motion to dismiss (Doc. 31) is DENIED in-part as to parts of Count One relating to breach of contract for: failure to provide artwork ...”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“The Campbell Defendants' Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 64) is GRANTED. Counts One through Eighteen are dismissed with prejudice and Monica Campbell and Brian Campbell are terminated from this action.”
“The County Defendants' Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 60) is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. Plaintiffs' failure-to-train theory in Count Twenty-Two is dismissed with prejudice because leave to amend would be futile. Counts Twenty and Twenty-One are dismissed without prejudice.”
“The Campbell Defendants' Motion for Reconsideration (Doc. 77) is DENIED.”
“Defendant's Motion to Dismiss as Moot or in the alternative Motion for Summary Judgment based on the failure to exhaust administrative remedies (Doc. 90) is denied.”
“Summary judgment on the issue of exhaustion is granted in favor of Plaintiff as to her Section 1331 claim for injunctive relief against Defendant.”
“Plaintiff's Second Motion for Preliminary Injunction (Doc. 85) is denied.”
“Plaintiff's Motion for Leave to File Amended Complaint (Doc. 120) is denied.”
“Plaintiff's Request for Entry of Default (Doc. 89) is denied.”
“Plaintiff's Motion to Reinstate Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) Claim (Doc. 83) is denied.”
“Plaintiff's Motions for Preliminary Injunction (Docs. 6 and 7) are DENIED without prejudice.”
“In lead case No. CV-22-00303-TUC-SHR, Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 55) is DENIED.”
“Defendants' Cross-Motions for Summary Judgment (Docs. 63, 67) are GRANTED.”
“Defendant's Motion to dismiss (Doc. 31) is GRANTED in-part as to parts of Count One relating to breach of contract for: failing to timely review samples under 2017 Agreement ... These claims are dismissed. Defendant's Motion to dismiss (Doc. 31) is DENIED in-part as to ... Counts Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, and Nine.”
“IT IS ORDERED Lilly's Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 236) is GRANTED in-part as to Counts I, V, and VI, and is DENIED in-part as to Counts II, III, IV, V, and VI.”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED RCT's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Docs. 238, 248) is GRANTED in-part on Counts II and III, with damages to be proven at trial. ... IT IS FURTHER ORDERED RCT is entitled to summary judgment on Count IV pursuant to Rule 56(f), with damages to be determined at trial.”
“IT IS ORDERED Defendants' Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's First Amended Complaint (Doc. 27) is GRANTED, and Plaintiff's First Amended Complaint (Doc. 26) is DISMISSED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED Plaintiff is granted to leave to file a second amended complaint on or before Thursday, January 26, 2023.”
“IT IS ORDERED Plaintiff's TRO Motion (Doc. 2) is GRANTED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED Plaintiff shall be reinstated in the Program without probationary status effective immediately.”
“IT IS ORDERED the R&R is ADOPTED (Doc. 15) and Steven Cafaro's amended Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (Doc. 5) is DENIED and DISMISSED. ... IT IS FURTHER ORDERED a Certificate of Appealability is DENIED and shall not issue.”
“IT IS ORDERED Defendant's Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 23) is GRANTED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED Plaintiff's claims for injunctive relief as set forth in the First Amended Complaint (Doc. 26) are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED Plaintiff's application for preliminary injunction is DENIED, and the related hearing scheduled for Thursday, February 13, 2025, is VACATED.”
“IT IS ORDERED Plaintiff's Motion for Reconsideration (Docs. 63, 64) is 3 DENIED.”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED the Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 19) is DENIED.”
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 | 3 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 3 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 4 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 2 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 2 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 3 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 1 |
| Mar 2023 | 13 | 3 |
| Sep 2022 | 7 | 2 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 2 |
| Sep 2021 | 1 | 2 |
| Mar 2021 | 2 | 4 |
| Sep 2020 | 0 | 3 |
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 Rash: 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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