Louise A. LaMothe
How Judge LaMothe rules, drawn from 4 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge LaMothe no longer sits on this court. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge LaMothe
Louise A. LaMothe began serving as a part-time United States magistrate judge for the Central District of California in Santa Barbara in January 2014. Before joining the court, she practiced commercial arbitration, mediation, and litigation. She earned her undergraduate and law degrees from Stanford University.
How Judge LaMothe decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In the habeas recommendation, gaps in the chain of custody affected weight rather than admissibility where testimony supported a finding that the evidence had not been altered.
“defects in the chain of custody go to the weight the jury might afford the evidence rather than its admissibility”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“IT THEREFORE IS RECOMMENDED that the District Court issue an Order: (1) approving and accepting this Report and Recommendation; and (2) directing that Judgment be entered denying the Petition and dismissing this action with prejudice.”
“Granting NOTICE OF MOTION AND MOTION for Order for A FINDING OF LEGISLATIVE FACT 12”
“Granting in part and Denying in part MOTION in Limine to Admit EVIDENCE OF PRIOR ACTS 13”
“Denying MOTION in Limine to Exclude 17”
“Defendant's Motion to Dismiss the sole count in the Information is DENIED.”
After a two-day misdemeanor bench trial, the court entered a judgment of acquittal.
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Three of the four enumerated matters had terminated. They lasted 43, 63, and 238 days; the fourth remained pending in the available record.
Pending matters in the official report
Judge LaMothe was last listed in the Civil Justice Reform Act report as of September 30, 2023.
| Motions pending more than six months | 1 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2023 | 1 | 0 |
| Mar 2023 | 1 | 0 |
| Sep 2022 | 1 | 0 |
| Mar 2022 | 1 | 0 |
| Sep 2021 | 1 | 0 |
| Mar 2021 | 1 | 0 |
| Sep 2020 | 2 | 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.
A historical record
Judge LaMothe no longer sits on this court. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled here. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.