Patricia A. Donahue
How Judge Donahue rules, drawn from 35 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Donahue
Patricia A. Donahue joined the United States magistrate bench for the Central District of California in May 2020. She earned her undergraduate degree at Stanford University and her law degree at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Judge Donahue's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Donahue, 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.
- Judge's Procedures and Schedules ↗
- PD FORM STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER.docx ↗
- Schedule of Pretrial and Trial Dates Fillable Form.pdf ↗
- Civil Trial Order ↗
Key rules
Contacting chambers
Counsel may not contact the Judge's law clerks.
“Counsel may not contact the Judge's law clerks.”
Filing
In civil cases, courtesy copies are required for summary judgment motions and oppositions; other electronic filings do not require them.
“Judge Donahue does not require courtesy copies of electronically filed documents. The only exception is for summary judgment motions and oppositions in civil cases.”
Discovery
No discovery motion may be filed until the Court has conducted an informal discovery conference, unless the movant has obtained leave of Court sought by an ex parte application.
“No discovery motion may be filed until the Court has conducted an informal discovery conference, unless the movant has obtained leave of Court sought by an ex parte application.”
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).
- General Order 11-10: Alternative Dispute Resolution Program ↗
- General Order 19-01: Criminal Duty Matters Electronic Filing Pilot Project ↗
- General Order 20-13: Criminal Duty Matters Electronic Filing Pilot Project ↗
- General Order 18-02: Submission of Certain Prisoner Filings Through Electronic Mail ↗
- General Order 24-07: Criminal Justice Act Plan ↗
How Judge Donahue decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Hall v. O’Malley, she reversed the ALJ’s decision and remanded the benefits appeal on an open record.
“The ALJ's decision is reversed, and the case is remanded on an open record. A separate judgment will issue.”
In Xiang v. Janecha, she held that detention without adequate advance process violated the petitioner’s due process rights.
“The Court therefore concludes that the Government’s detention of Petitioner without adequate pre-deprivation process violated due process.”
Procedural preferences
In Aleman Medina v. O’Malley, she affirmed the Commissioner’s decision and dismissed the action with prejudice.
“IT IS ORDERED that judgment be entered AFFIRMING the Acting Commissioner's decision, DENYING Plaintiff's request for remand, and DISMISSING this action with prejudice.”
In Xiang v. Janecha, she declined to bar possible future detention because the petition lacked a legal and factual basis for that prospective relief.
“However, the Petition fails to provide a legal and factual basis for ordering such prospective relief at this time.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER REVERSING AGENCY DECISION AND REMANDING by Magistrate Judge Patricia Donahue. The ALJ's decision is reversed, and the case is remanded on an open record. A separate judgment will issue.”
“MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER AFFIRMING COMMISSIONER by Magistrate Judge Patricia Donahue. IT IS ORDERED that judgment be entered AFFIRMING the Acting Commissioner's decision, DENYING Plaintiff's request for remand, and DISMISSING this action with prejudice.”
“MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER REVERSING AGENCY DECISION AND REMANDING by Magistrate Judge Patricia Donahue. The ALJ's decision is reversed [and the matter remanded].”
“MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER REVERSING AGENCY DECISION AND REMANDING by Magistrate Judge Patricia Donahue.”
“MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER by Magistrate Judge Patricia Donahue. IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Judgment be entered reversing the [Commissioner's] decision [and remanding].”
“ORDER GRANTING IN PART PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS AND ORDERING RELEASE by Magistrate Judge Patricia Donahue: re Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus, 1 . The Petition is GRANTED as to Claim Two, and the remaining claims are dismissed without prejudice. Petitioner Axell Espinoza Espinoza (A# 233-223-132) is ordered released on his prior conditions of release within 24 hours of this Order.”
“ORDER GRANTING IN PARTPETITION FOR WRIT OFHABEAS CORPUS ANDORDERING RELEASE by Magistrate Judge Patricia Donahue: re Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus 1 . The Petition is GRANTED as to Count One, and the remaining count is dismissed without prejudice. Petitioner Bing Zou (A# 241-678-010) is ordered released on his prior conditions of release within 24 hours of this Order.”
“JUDGMENT by Magistrate Judge Patricia Donahue, IT IS ADJUDGED that the Amended Petition is granted as to Claim One under procedural due process. The remaining three claims are dismissed without prejudice.”
“The Petition is granted in part. Count Two of the Petition is granted and the Court orders forthwith release. ... the Court dismisses Counts One and Three without prejudice. ... For the foregoing reasons, Count Two of the Petition is granted, and Counts One and Three are dismissed without prejudice. The Court ORDERS Respondents to release Petitioner forthwith.”
“MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER by Magistrate Judge Patricia Donahue. IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Judgment be entered reversing the decision of the Commissioner of Social Security and remanding this matter for further administrative proceedings consistent with this opinion.”
“JUDGMENT by Magistrate Judge Patricia Donahue: It is the judgment of this Court that the decision of the Administrative Law Judge is VACATED, and the matter is REMANDED to the Social Security Administration on an open record for further proceedings consistent with the Court's Order.”
“JUDGMENT by Magistrate Judge Patricia Donahue. IT IS HEREBY ADJUDGED that the decision of the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration is affirmed and this action is dismissed with prejudice.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 393 days (N = 5).
Median motion-to-ruling time: 302 days (N = 3).
The reviewed recent assignments include many pending alien-detainee habeas petitions. The sampled decisions also include Social Security disability appeals decided with the parties’ consent, along with civil-discovery referrals and criminal-duty matters.
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 | 1 |
| Sep 2024 | 1 | 1 |
| 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 Central District of California, not for Judge Donahue: 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 | 15,190 | 3.9 months |
| Closed with no court action | 4,414 | 3.1 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 10,538 | 4.3 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 103 | 17.9 months |
| Closed during trial | 135 | 25.7 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 15,190 | 3.9 months |
| Sep 2024 | 15,348 | 3.9 months |
| Sep 2023 | 13,583 | 4.4 months |
| Sep 2022 | 12,887 | 4.7 months |
| Sep 2021 | 14,213 | 4.7 months |
| Sep 2020 | 14,205 | 5 months |
| Sep 2019 | 13,478 | 4.9 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).
Draft for Judge Donahue with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Donahue, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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