Serena Raquel Murillo
How Judge Murillo rules, drawn from 20 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Murillo
Serena Raquel Murillo is a United States District Judge for the Central District of California. President Joe Biden appointed her, and she received her commission on January 9, 2025. Before joining the federal bench, she served on the Los Angeles County Superior Court and worked as a deputy district attorney. She earned degrees from the University of California, San Diego and Loyola Law School.
Judge Murillo's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Murillo, as published on the court's website (checked October 23, 2026). Judges revise these often, so confirm the current version on the court's site before you file.
- Judge procedures and schedules ↗
- Civil Standing Order SRM UPDATED JULY 2025 ↗
- Order Setting Scheduling Conference and Worksheet SRM UPDATED JULY 2025 ↗
- Scheduling Worksheet SRM - Class Action - UPDATED JULY 2025 ↗
- Scheduling Worksheet SRM - Patent - UPDATED JULY 2025 ↗
- Civil Trial Order UPDATED SEPTEMBER 2025.pdf ↗
- Standing Order for Motions for Summary Judgment SRM UPDATED JUN 2025 ↗
- Criminal Standing Order SRM - UPDATED JUN 2025 ↗
- Procedures for Filing Under Seal Documents in Criminal Cases ↗
- Guide to Electronically Filing Under Seal Documents in Civil Cases ↗
- TEMPLATE - Proposed Order - UPDATED MAR 2025 ↗
- TEMPLATE - Final Pretrial Conference Order - UPDATED APR 2025 ↗
- TEMPLATE - Witness List - UPDATED MAR 2025 ↗
- TEMPLATE - Joint Exhibit List - UPDATED MAR 2025 ↗
Key rules
Motions
Civil motions are heard Wednesdays at 1:30 p.m.
“CIVIL matters are heard on Wednesdays at 1:30 p.m.”
Motions
Parties must consult the standing summary-judgment order before filing a Rule 56 motion.
“Before filing summary judgment/Rule 56 motions, parties must review and comply with the Court's applicable standing orders”
Discovery
Discovery matters are referred to the assigned magistrate judge.
“All discovery matters are referred to the assigned magistrate judge.”
Conferences
Hearings are in person in Courtroom 5D unless the court orders otherwise.
“ALL hearings will be heard IN PERSON in Courtroom 5D 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).
- 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 Murillo decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In the Coleman franchise dispute, Murillo allowed joinder of a nondiverse party after evaluating the statutory factors and remanded the case.
“Because joinder of FERC destroys this Court’s jurisdiction over this action, Plaintiff’s Motion to Remand is GRANTED.”
In the Old Custom House property dispute, Murillo found the removal objectively unreasonable and awarded fees after remanding.
“The Court therefore awards Plaintiff Custom House attorneys’ fees in the amount of $2,800.”
Procedural preferences
In Pogosian, Murillo denied the first emergency application without prejudice because the petition was unverified and the supporting record did not supply reliable facts.
“For the above reasons, Petitioner’s Ex Parte Application is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.”
In A.G., Murillo denied a pseudonym request without prejudice after weighing the plaintiffs’ interest against the presumption of public access.
“Accordingly, Plaintiff’s Motion for Order to Proceed Under a Pseudonym [4] is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“ORDER ACCEPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS by Judge Serena R. Murillo for MOTION to Dismiss 9 , Report and Recommendation (Issued) 26 . IT IS ORDERED that the Respondent's Motion to Dismiss, Dkt. 9, is granted and that Judgment be entered denying the Petition and dismissing this action without prejudice. (hr)”
“JUDGMENT by Judge Serena R. Murillo, Related to: R&R - Accepting Report and Recommendations 29 . IT IS ADJUDGED that the petition is DENIED and this action is dismissed without prejudice. (MD JS-6, Case Terminated). (hr)”
“ORDER GRANTING IN PART PLAINTIFFS' MOTION TO REMAND TO SUPERIOR COURT AND FOR REASONABLE ATTORNEY'S FEES AND COSTS 12 19 by Judge Serena R. Murillo Granting in part and denying in part 12 MOTION to Remand Case to State Court Gr anting in part and Denying in part 19 MOTION to Remand Case to State Court: The Court, having considered Plaintiffs' Motion to Remand, Defendant's Opposition, and Plaintiffs' Reply, hereby GRANTS IN PART the Motion and ORDERS as fol lows: 1. The case is hereby REMANDED to the Riverside County Superior Court; and 2. Defendant Bristol Hospice is ORDERED to pay to counsel for Plaintiff the sum of $5,771.50. (see document for further details) MD JS-… [truncated]”
“JUDGMENT by Judge Serena R. Murillo. The Court, having granted Defendants Motion for Summary Judgment in favor of Defendants on all claims, Dkt. 42 , hereby ORDERS as follows: 1. Judgment is entered in favor of Defendants City of Azusa, Andrew Avalos, and Rocky Wenrick on all of Plaintiff Joseph Cruz Hernandez-Pereira's claims; and 2. This action is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE. The parties shall bear their own fees and costs. (MD JS-6, Case Terminated). (lom)”
“MINUTE ORDER (IN CHAMBERS) ORDER ENTERING PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION AS TO RESPONDENTS TONYA ANDREWS, MOISES BECERRA, KRISTI NOEM, PAM BONDI by Judge Serena R. Murillo. Accordingly, the Court ORDERS as follows: 1. Respondents, their officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys, and other persons who are in active concert or participation with Respondents shall not remove Petitioner to a third country, i.e., a country other than the countries designated as the countries of removal in Petitioner's final order of removal, without written notice to both Petitioner and Petitioner's counsel in a language the Petitioner can understand. Following notice, Petitioner must be given a meaningful opp… [truncated]”
“ORDER GRANTING, IN PART, MOTION FOR A TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER 2 by Judge Serena R. Murillo. For the above reasons, the Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order is GRANTED, IN PART. The Court ORDERS as follows:1. Respondents, their officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys, and other persons who are in active concert or participation with Respondents are ORDERED to provide Petitioner with an informal interview by December 10, 2025, as required under 8 C.F.R. § 241.13(i)(3). Respondents are further ORDERED to submit a declaration from the ICE official who conducted the interview by December 12, 2025. 2. This order will remain in effect until December 17, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. This … [truncated]”
“ORDER DENYING WITHOUT PREJUDICE PETITIONER'S EX PARTE APPLICATION FOR TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER 2 by Judge Serena R. Murillo. Accordingly, Petitioner has not met his burden of showing he is entitled to temporary injunctive relief. For the above reasons, the Ex Parte Application is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. (lom)”
“ORDER DENYING WITHOUT PREJUDICE PETIONER'S EX PARTE APPLICATION FOR TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER 2 by Judge Serena R. Murillo. For the above reasons, Petitioner's Ex Parte Application 2 is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. Respondents' untimely Response to the Ex Parte Application 9 is STRICKEN. *See Order for details* (gga)”
“ORDER DENYING SECOND EX PARTE APPLICATION FOR A TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER 18 by Judge Serena R. Murillo. For the reasons stated above, Petitioner has not made a clear showing that she is likely to succeed, or has a fair chance of success, on the merits of her claim that her supervised release order was improperly revoked. Accordingly, the Second Application for TRO is DENIED. The court orders petitioners to show cause in writing as to why the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus should not be dismissed as moot. Petitioner must file her response on or before March 20, 2026. Respondents shall thereafter respond on or before March 27, 2026. Petitioners may reply on or before March 31, 2026. The… [truncated]”
“ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION TO REMAND 30 by Judge Serena R. Murillo. Accordingly, the Court finds eight of the nine factors weigh in favor of joinder. Coupled with the strong presumption against removal, the Court exercises its di scretion to permit joinder of FERC. See 28 U.S.C. § 1447(e). Because joinder of FERC destroys this Court's jurisdiction over this action, Plaintiff's Motion to Remand is GRANTED. This case is REMANDED to Orange County Superior Court, Case No. 30-20-25-01471848-CU-PN-CJC. FERC's Motion to Dismiss, Dkt. 32, is DENIED AS MOOT. MD JS-6. Case Terminated. (lom)”
“JUDGMENT by Judge Serena R. Murillo, Related to: R&R - Accepting Report and Recommendations 15 . The Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus is GRANTED. (MD JS-6, Case Terminated). (hr)”
“ORDER REGARDING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION TO REMAND AND DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR CONSOLIDATION 11 19 by Judge Serena R. Murillo. Accordingly, the Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction over this action and must remand this removed action. Thus, Plaintiff Alvarez's Motion to Remand is GRANTED. Dkt. 19. This action is REMANDED to the Superior Court of California, County of Orange, Case No. 30-2025-01486816-CU-OE-CXC. Defendant Albertsons' Motion for Consolidation is DENIED AS MOOT. Dkt. 11. MD JS-6. Case Terminated. (lom)”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
A seeded sample of 15 among the 20 earliest assigned January 2025 filings included both pending and terminated matters, spanning civil rights, contract, consumer, and habeas cases. Separate decision review added remand and immigration-detention matters. Cases filed before commission are excluded from duration analysis.
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 | 66 |
| Bench trials submitted more than six months | 0 |
| Bankruptcy appeals pending more than six months | 1 |
| Social Security appeals pending more than six months | 0 |
| Civil cases pending more than three years | 4 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 66 | 4 |
| Sep 2025 | 4 | 4 |
| Mar 2025 | 2 | 5 |
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 Murillo: 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 Murillo with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Murillo, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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