Andrew George Schopler
How Judge Schopler rules, drawn from 28 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Schopler
Andrew George Schopler is a judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. Appointed by President Joseph R. Biden, Judge Schopler received a commission on March 10, 2023.
Judge Schopler's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Schopler, 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.
Key rules
Motions
Counsel generally must meet and confer before filing any motion.
“In general, before filing any motion counsel must meet and confer to resolve the disputed issues.”
Sealing
Meet and confer on the narrowest possible sealing order before filing a sealing motion.
“Before filing a sealing motion, the parties must meet and confer to agree on the narrowest possible sealing order”
Trial
At least seven days before using electronic or audiovisual equipment in court, lodge a proposed order seeking leave.
“At least seven days before the relevant court appearance, a party who wishes to use any electronic or audio/visual equipment in court must lodge a proposed order seeking leave to do so.”
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 514-E: Policy on Privacy and Public Access to Electronic Case Files ↗
- General Order 596: Pro Bono Plan ↗
- Chief Judge Order 144: Standard Procedures for Immigration Habeas Petitions ↗
- Chief Judge Order 134-A: Appointment of Counsel for Certain Immigration Detainees Seeking Habeas Relief ↗
How Judge Schopler decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Palomar Health v. 'N Health Network Partners, LLC, he denied a motion to compel arbitration because the clause in one agreement did not extend to a separate, fully integrated agreement without an arbitration clause.
“The motion to compel arbitration is DENIED, and the motion to stay this case pending arbitration is DENIED as moot.”
In Soryadvongsa's immigration-detention case, he granted habeas relief after finding that officials exceeded the bounds of their detention authority by failing to follow the governing promptness requirement.
“Thus, he must be set free.”
Procedural preferences
In Salemi, he accepted an unrepresented plaintiff's late amendment as a one-time exception, then expressly required compliance with court rules and deadlines going forward.
“Plaintiff will not be afforded a second exception to this Court’s orders or deadlines.”
He denied reconsideration that reargued an unsuccessful habeas claim without an applicable change in law.
“A reconsideration motion is not ‘a second bite at the apple,’”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“3D Systems’ motion for reconsideration is DENIED.”
“Its motion for leave to file supplemental authority in support of that motion is GRANTED, and those authorities are discussed above.”
“Given this Court’s summary-judgment ruling, however, there is no live controversy about 3D Systems’ trade-secret-misappropriation allegations. ... So its stay motion is DENIED as moot, and the July 11, 2025 hearing is now limited to arguments about 3D Systems’ dismissal motion.”
“The Court agrees that personally identifiable information is contained on the footage—including both witness statements but also license plates and other visual cues—which could be misused if it was on the public record. So the motions are GRANTED. The Clerk will seal the body-worn camera footage.”
“Defendants' motion to dismiss is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.”
“Accordingly, defendants’ motion for partial summary judgment is GRANTED. The Court grants summary judgment against Bender’s ’556 claim and ’274 claim in their entirety and grants summary judgment against the ’099 claim only as to ‘Part 6.’”
“Bender's motion to ‘bring’ additional caselaw ‘to the court's attention’ (see ECF 47) is GRANTED, but those authorities do not alter the above analysis.”
“The motion to compel arbitration is DENIED, and the motion to stay this case pending arbitration is DENIED as moot.”
“Batchelor's motion for summary judgment is GRANTED. The Clerk will enter judgment accordingly and terminate defendant Batchelor.”
“Batchelor's motions to seal the confidential settlement agreement and parts of the briefing that reference that agreement are GRANTED IN PART.”
“Medlink's motion to seal the deposition evidence is GRANTED IN PART.”
“Batchelor's request for judicial notice is DENIED.”
“Soryadvongsa's habeas application is GRANTED, his preliminary-injunction request is DENIED as moot, and the November 13, 2025 hearing is vacated.”
“his preliminary-injunction request is DENIED as moot”
“Plaintiff's motion for a temporary restraining order is DENIED.”
“Plaintiff's motion for electronic-filing privileges is GRANTED.”
“Plaintiffs' motion to remand is DENIED.”
“Defendants' motions to dismiss are GRANTED, based on Rules 12(b)(7) and 19.”
“Defendants' sanctions motions are GRANTED in part, as set forth above.”
“The motion to dismiss is GRANTED. Rajaee’s single-claim complaint is dismissed without leave to amend.”
“The Foundation’s motion is GRANTED IN PART. As set forth above, the Attorney General is preliminarily enjoined from enforcing the Firearm Act’s ‘abnormally dangerous’ restriction. ... Plaintiff’s request for preliminary relief is otherwise DENIED.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 140 days (N = 7).
Median motion-to-ruling time: 278 days (N = 4).
- Judge Schopler's 2021-2023 docket combines criminal matters with civil disputes involving trade secrets, patents, TCPA and CIPA claims, automotive warranty law, prisoner civil rights, Social Security, and wrongful death.
- Some cases reached him after another judge's recusal. Magistrate judges working on the sampled matters included David D.
- Leshner, Michael S. Berg, Barbara L.
- Major, Michelle M. Pettit, Bernard G.
- Skomal, Jill L. Burkhardt, and Lupe Rodriguez Jr.
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 | 5 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 5 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 5 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 5 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 4 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 4 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 3 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 1 |
| 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 Southern District of California, not for Judge Schopler: 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 | 2,204 | 5.3 months |
| Closed with no court action | 642 | 3.3 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 1,066 | 5.3 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 484 | 10.4 months |
| Closed during trial | 12 | 38.3 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 2,204 | 5.3 months |
| Sep 2024 | 2,146 | 6.6 months |
| Sep 2023 | 2,133 | 6 months |
| Sep 2022 | 1,974 | 9 months |
| Sep 2021 | 2,381 | 7.4 months |
| Sep 2020 | 1,885 | 6 months |
| Sep 2019 | 2,265 | 6.2 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 Schopler with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Schopler, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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