Sunshine Suzanne Sykes
How Judge Sykes rules, drawn from 15 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Sykes
Sunshine Suzanne Sykes is a judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Appointed by President Joseph R. Biden, Judge Sykes received a commission on June 14, 2022.
Judge Sykes's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Sykes, 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 ↗
- Civil Standing Order (2026-9-11).pdf ↗
- Civil Trial Order (7.21.26).pdf ↗
- Criminal Standing and Trial Order (11-1-24) ↗
- Final Pretrial Conference Order Template 5.10.22 ↗
- Joint Exhibit List Template (12-20-2022) ↗
- Order Setting Scheduling Conference (11-7-2024) ↗
- Proposed Order Template (Final) ↗
- Proposed Order to Amend Schedule of Pretrial and Trial Date Template (9.24.26).docx ↗
- Scheduling Worksheet_Attachment to Order Setting Sched Conf.docx ↗
- Witness List Template 5.10.22 ↗
Key rules
Contacting chambers
Counsel must not contact the CRD regarding the status of any matter before the Court.
“Counsel must not contact the CRD regarding the status of any matter before the Court.”
Filing
The court requires one chambers copy only for the specified filings listed on the judge’s procedures page.
“The Court requires one (1) Mandatory Chambers Copy of ONLY the following documents:”
Motions
Civil motions are heard on Fridays beginning at 2:00 p.m.
“Civil motions are heard on Fridays beginning at 2:00 p.m.”
Conferences
Requests for a remote Zoom appearance must be e-filed one (1) week before the hearing and must indicate that counsel has met and conferred with opposing counsel consistent with Local Rule 7-3.
“Requests for a remote Zoom appearance must be e-filed one (1) week before the hearing and must indicate that counsel has met and conferred with opposing counsel consistent with Local Rule 7-3.”
Conferences
Hearings generally proceed by Zoom; motions in limine, final pretrial conferences, and trials are exceptions.
“By default, all hearings, with the exception of hearings on motions in limine, Final Pretrial Conferences, and trials, must proceed remotely by video appearance on Zoom, unless a request is made by the parties to appear in person and this request is granted 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 Sykes decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
On a default judgment in an ADA access case, awards damages and orders the defendant to bring the premises into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“JUDGMENT AGAINST DEFENDANT by Judge Sunshine Suzanne Sykes: It is hereby ordered and adjudged that Plaintiff KORTTNEY ELLIOT shall have JUDGMENT in her favor in the amount of $1,852.00 against Defendant SAUL S. FLORES. Additionally, Defendant SAUL S. FLORES is ORDERED to bring the parking lot of their business located at 1017 E. 4th St. in Ontario, California into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.”
In one diversity dispute, the judge credited corporate officers’ sworn declarations about where strategic decisions and records were kept over unrelated or outdated public records offered to show California citizenship.
“Defendants have submitted sworn declarations from corporate officers in the best position to identify the precise location at which Defendants’ strategic and operational decisions are made and at which Defendants’ books and records are maintained.”
In Ruiz Rojas’s immigration detention case, Sykes granted habeas relief after the respondents conceded he belonged to a class entitled to a bond hearing. She ordered an individualized hearing within seven days.
“the Court grants the petition for the reasons stated in the orders in that case.”
Procedural preferences
The judge denied an initial remand motion without prejudice for failing to meet and confer, and warned that later motions must satisfy the same conference rule.
“The Court will not grant any subsequent motion if the parties fail to satisfy the meet and confer requirements.”
In a suit against Amazon, Sykes struck the plaintiffs’ remand motion because it lacked the statement showing compliance with the required prefiling conference. The order did not resolve whether the case belonged in federal court.
“The Motion does not contain a statement of compliance with either rule.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“MINUTES (IN CHAMBERS) by Judge Sunshine Suzanne Sykes: ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO STAY THE CASE (Dkt. [29]). ... (MD JS-6. Case Terminated)”
“JUDGMENT AGAINST DEFENDANT by Judge Sunshine Suzanne Sykes: It is hereby ordered and adjudged that Plaintiff KORTTNEY ELLIOT shall have JUDGMENT in her favor in the amount of $1,852.00 against Defendant SAUL S. FLORES. Additionally, Defendant SAUL S. FLORES is ORDERED to bring the parking lot of their business located at 1017 E. 4th St. in Ontario, California into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.”
“Order Granting 5 Petitioners' EX PARTE APPLICATION for Temporary Restraining Order (DKT. No. 5).”
“As such, the Court finds the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus MOOT. The Clerk is directed to close the case.”
“For the reasons discussed below, the Court GRANTS Petitioner’s Application for a TRO.”
“The Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus (ECF 1) is granted as Count Three, Petitioners’ claim under Maldonado Bautista; ... The remaining claim(s) are dismissed as moot in light of the relief granted on Count Three”
“Accordingly, Plaintiff’s Motion to Remand is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE”
“In conclusion, the Court GRANTS Plaintiff’s Motion to Remand. The Court DENIES Plaintiff’s request for attorneys’ fees and costs”
“the parties failed to properly meet and confer under Local Rule 7-3 and the Civil Standing Order, both Motions are DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE”
“the Court finds removal was improper under 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a) and GRANTS Plaintiff’s Motion”
“the Court finds removal was proper under 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a) and DENIES Plaintiff’s Motion”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
- The sampled docket includes civil-rights, disability-access, product-liability, insurance, habeas, Social Security, and landlord-tenant matters.
- The reviewed 2026 intake is dominated by pending immigration-detention petitions.
- In the terminated refresh cohort, two petitioners obtained temporary bond-hearing relief, one petition became moot after release, one petition was granted in part with individualized bond hearings required, and one case ended without retrievable disposition text.
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 | 3 |
| Bench trials submitted more than six months | 0 |
| Bankruptcy appeals pending more than six months | 0 |
| Social Security appeals pending more than six months | 2 |
| Civil cases pending more than three years | 7 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 3 | 7 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 14 |
| Mar 2025 | 1 | 14 |
| Sep 2024 | 3 | 11 |
| Mar 2024 | 10 | 8 |
| Sep 2023 | 6 | 6 |
| Mar 2023 | 7 | 6 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 4 |
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 Sykes: 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 Sykes with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Sykes, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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