Christopher D. Baker
How Judge Baker rules, drawn from 10 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Baker
Christopher D. Baker has served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of California since October 2022. Based in Bakersfield, he previously served as a Marine Corps officer, practiced civil litigation, and worked as a federal prosecutor.
Judge Baker's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Baker, as published on the court's website (checked October 9, 2026). Judges revise these often, so confirm the current version on the court's site before you file.
Key rules
Motions
Judge Baker lists civil motions Monday through Friday in Bakersfield at 10:30 a.m.
“Motion Type: Civil Day: Monday - Friday in Bakersfield Time: 10:30 a.m.”
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 9, 2026).
How Judge Baker decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Hackworth v. Arevalos, he recommended granting two defendants' exhaustion-based summary-judgment motion and dismissing the claims against them without prejudice; he recommended denying another defendant's summary-judgment motion.
“Defendants Brainard and Stohl's motion for summary judgment based on failure to exhaust administrative remedies (Doc. 63) be GRANTED and claims against these defendants be dismissed without prejudice”
In Misak v. Commissioner, Baker remanded the disability decision because the claimant’s evidence showed mental impairments with more than a minimal effect on work and the ALJ had found them nonsevere at step two.
“Because Plaintiff’s evidence establishes her mental impairments have more than a minimal effect on her ability to work, the Court cannot find that it is clearly established by the medical evidence that Plaintiff’s mental impairments are non-severe.”
Procedural preferences
In Hearn v. City of Bakersfield, he granted partial summary judgment on several counts with prejudice but denied it on the vehicle-search claim.
“City Defendants' motion for partial summary judgment (Doc. 53) is GRANTED IN PART to the following extent: i. The motion is GRANTED to the extent of dismissing counts two, seven, eight, and ten with prejudice, and count six with prejudice as to Defendants Anderberg and the City of Bakersfield; ii. The motion is DENIED as to count nine (Fourth Amendment - search and seizure of vehicle).”
Cautions
In Potts's Social Security appeal, he denied the claimant's summary-judgment motion and affirmed the Commissioner's disability-benefits decision.
“Plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment (Doc. 20) is DENIED;”
In Blose v. Commissioner, Baker found that the ALJ erred about whether Blose had reported a need to lie down, but held the mistake harmless because other valid reasons supported the symptom assessment.
“The ALJ erred in finding that Plaintiff had failed to mention her need to lie down to her medical providers in the period under review. However, the error is harmless as the ALJ provided valid reasons to discount Plaintiff’s credibility as to her symptom testimony”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Defendants Brainard and Stohl's motion for summary judgment based on failure to exhaust administrative remedies (Doc. 63) be GRANTED and claims against these defendants be dismissed without prejudice”
“Defendant Arevalos's motion for summary judgment (Doc. 77) be DENIED”
“Plaintiff's motion for default judgment (Doc. 79) be DENIED”
“Defendants' motion for summary judgment for a failure to exhaust administrative remedies (Doc. 37) be DENIED, subject to an evidentiary hearing.”
“Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment (Doc. 20) is DENIED; 2. The decision of the Commissioner of Social Security is AFFIRMED.”
“City Defendants' motion for partial summary judgment (Doc. 53) is GRANTED IN PART to the following extent: i. The motion is GRANTED to the extent of dismissing counts two, seven, eight, and ten with prejudice, and count six with prejudice as to Defendants Anderberg and the City of Bakersfield; ii. The motion is DENIED as to count nine (Fourth Amendment - search and seizure of vehicle).”
“Plaintiffs' motion for default judgment (Doc. 15) is recommended GRANTED.”
“Plaintiff's motion for award of attorney's fees (Doc. 49) is GRANTED.”
“Plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment (Doc. 16) is GRANTED; The ALJ’s decision (Doc. 11) is REVERSED; This matter is REMANDED pursuant to sentence four of 42 U.S.C. §405(g) for further proceedings consistent with this decision;”
“Plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment (Doc. 18) is DENIED; The ALJ’s decision is affirmed;”
“Defendants’ motion to dismiss (Doc. 30) is GRANTED;”
“Plaintiff’s motion for leave to file supplemental authority (Doc. 35) is DENIED;”
“Non-party Edward Santillan’s motion for leave to file amicus curiae brief (Doc. 36) is DENIED;”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
- Baker presides over a Bakersfield-division consent Social Security docket in which the parties proceed under 28 U.S.C. 636(c) and he enters the final merits judgment himself.
- His broader referral docket carries prisoner civil-rights (42 U.S.C. 1983) matters, habeas corpus petitions (28 U.S.C. 2254 and 2241), civil motions in diversity and federal-question cases, and criminal matters arising on federal lands.
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 | 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 | 13 |
| Civil cases pending more than three years | 8 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 1 | 8 |
| Sep 2025 | 6 | 6 |
| Mar 2025 | 6 | 11 |
| Sep 2024 | 3 | 12 |
| Mar 2024 | 10 | 14 |
| Sep 2023 | 7 | 4 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2022 | 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 Eastern District of California, not for Judge Baker: 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 | 2,984 | 8.1 months |
| Closed with no court action | 1,029 | 5.5 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 1,899 | 9.1 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 36 | 29.9 months |
| Closed during trial | 20 | 50.5 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 2,984 | 8.1 months |
| Sep 2024 | 2,575 | 9.2 months |
| Sep 2023 | 2,528 | 10.5 months |
| Sep 2022 | 2,624 | 11.2 months |
| Sep 2021 | 2,316 | 9.9 months |
| Sep 2020 | 2,319 | 9.2 months |
| Sep 2019 | 2,562 | 10.3 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 Baker with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Baker, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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