Rozella A. Oliver
How Judge Oliver rules, drawn from 31 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Oliver
Rozella A. Oliver became a United States Magistrate Judge for the Central District of California in May 2015. Before her appointment, she served as an Assistant United States Attorney and worked in the Justice Department’s Tax Division. She earned degrees from Harvard College and Stanford Law School.
Judge Oliver's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Oliver, 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 ↗
- RAO Form Request for IDC ↗
- RAO Form Stipulated protective order ↗
- RAO Form Stipulated protective order.docx ↗
- RAO Initial Standing Order.docx ↗
- RAO Standing Jury Trial Order.docx ↗
Key rules
Filing
Chambers copies of all e-filed documents are not required unless requested by the Court.
“Chambers copies of all e-filed documents are not required unless requested by the Court.”
Discovery
After the parties’ joint email about a discovery dispute, the court may schedule an informal conference or ask for letter briefs.
“Based on the joint email, the Court may schedule an informal discovery conference (‘IDC’) or ask the parties to first letter brief their dispute.”
Conferences
Settlement conferences usually occur by video, except on Thursdays, and typically begin at 10 a.m.
“Settlement conferences generally are held by video on any day of the week except for Thursdays, and typically begin at 10:00 a.m. Settlement conference papers are generally due seven (7) days prior to the conference via email to [email protected], but the parties should comply with the settlement conference order issued in their specific case.”
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 Oliver decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Wright v. Commissioner of Social Security Administration, she held that a lack of supporting objective medical evidence alone could not justify discounting the claimant’s pain testimony.
“the lack of supporting objective medical evidence cannot form the sole basis for discounting pain testimony.”
In Nurinda v. Janecka, she granted the petition after considering the government’s non-opposition, the petitioner’s prior release, and the lack of justification or advance safeguards for re-detention.
“Given Respondent’s non-opposition (see C.D. Cal. L.R. 7-12), Petitioner’s prior release status and the lack of any justification for terminating that release, and the absence of procedural safeguards accorded to Petitioner in advance of his re-detention, the Court finds that it is appropriate to grant the Petition.”
In Romero-Gonzalez, Oliver ordered a prompt bond hearing after weighing the petitioner’s liberty interest, the risk of erroneous detention without an individualized custody hearing, and the government’s interest. She resolved the petition on due process grounds and left the disputed mandatory-detention statute question undecided.
“In light of the significant liberty interest at stake, the high risk of erroneous deprivation, and Respondents’ failure to show a significant interest in Petitioner’s detention without a bond hearing, Petitioner is entitled to more process than he received.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“the decision of the Commissioner is REVERSED and the action is REMANDED for further proceedings consistent with this Order.”
“IT IS ORDERED that Judgment shall be entered REVERSING the decision of the Commissioner denying benefits, and REMANDING the matter for further proceedings consistent with this Order.”
“IT IS ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the decision of the Commissioner of Social Security is reversed, and the matter is remanded to the Commissioner for further proceedings.”
“the decision of the Commissioner of Social Security is AFFIRMED.”
“IT IS ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the decision of the Commissioner is AFFIRMED.”
“It is ordered that (1) the Report and Recommendation of the Magistrate Judge is accepted and adopted; and (2) Judgment shall be entered denying the Petition with prejudice.”
“The Court accepts and adopts the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the Magistrate Judge. IT IS ORDERED that the Petition is denied, and Judgment shall be entered dismissing this action with prejudice.”
“action is remanded to the Commissioner of Social Security for further administrative”
“Social Security is REVERSED, and the matter is REMANDED for further”
“It is adjudged that the Petition is denied and this action is closed.”
“IT IS ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the Petition is Granted in Part and Judgment is Entered in Favor of Petitioner.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 491 days (N = 3).
Median motion-to-ruling time: 184 days (N = 3).
- Her consent docket is built on Social Security disability appeals (Title II DIWC/863 and Title XVI SSID/864) on which she is the deciding judge under 636(c); cases reach her after a district judge refers the matter and the parties consent, and she resolves the appeal on a Joint Stipulation taken under submission without oral argument.
- Her recent docket also carries a heavy duty-magistrate load of alien-detainee habeas petitions (28 U.S.C. 2241; Desert View, Golden State Annex, and Adelanto detention facilities), most filed and resolved or transferred within days or weeks, plus occasional consent civil and patent matters (e.g., a 2026 patent infringement case).
- She also serves as a referral magistrate on district judges' dockets.
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 | 1 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 1 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 1 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 1 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2020 | 0 | 1 |
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 Oliver: 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 Oliver with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Oliver, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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