John W. Holcomb
How Judge Holcomb decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Procedural preferences
Accepts the magistrate's report and recommendation denying habeas relief and declines to issue a certificate of appealability.
“ORDER ACCEPTING FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE AND DENYING CERTIFICATE OF APPEALABILITY by Judge John W. Holcomb. ... 1. The findings and conclusions of the Magistrate Judge in the Report and Recommendation are ACCEPTED. 2. Judgment shall be entered DENYING the petition and DISMISSING this action with prejudice. 3. ... a certificate of appealability will not issue in this action.”
Cautions
Denies a habeas petition and dismisses the action with prejudice, entering judgment on the magistrate's report and recommendation.
“JUDGMENT by Judge John W. Holcomb, Related to: R&R - Accepting Report and Recommendations, 28 It is hereby ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED as follows: 1. The Petition in this matter is DENIED. 2. The action is DISMISSED with prejudice. (MD JS-6, Case Terminated).”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“JUDGMENT by Judge John W. Holcomb, Related to: R&R - Accepting Report and Recommendations, 28 It is hereby ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED as follows: 1. The Petition in this matter is DENIED. 2. The action is DISMISSED with prejudice. (MD JS-6, Case Terminated).”
“ORDER ACCEPTING FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE AND DENYING CERTIFICATE OF APPEALABILITY by Judge John W. Holcomb. ... 1. The findings and conclusions of the Magistrate Judge in the Report and Recommendation are ACCEPTED. 2. Judgment shall be entered DENYING the petition and DISMISSING this action with prejudice. 3. ... a certificate of appealability will not issue in this action.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
A sample of his assigned cases drawn from the docket record across several filing windows. His current intake (May-June 2026) is overwhelmingly the alien-detainee Section 2241 habeas surge (Adelanto/Desert View ICE; nature of suit 463), almost all still pending. Older terminated dockets span copyright (the high-profile Starz v. MGM, settled), trade secrets (DTSA), False Claims Act qui tam, consumer credit/FCRA, motor-vehicle PI, immigration mandamus, Sec.2254 habeas, ADA/Title III, and a federal-criminal calendar. Durations below are filed-minus-terminated for terminated dockets in the sample.
Put Judge Holcomb's record to work
Ezel drafts and answers grounded in this exact profile: how Judge Holcomb actually rules, not a generic AI guess.
Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer is grounded in Judge Holcomb's own signed orders and cites them.