John A. Houston
How Judge Houston rules, drawn from 16 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Houston
John A. Houston is a judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. Appointed by President George W. Bush, Judge Houston received a commission on October 7, 2003. Judge Houston assumed senior status on February 6, 2018.
Judge Houston's practices and standing orders
The court's website lists no individual practices or standing orders of Judge Houston's own (checked October 8, 2026), so the court's local rules and general orders are the place to look (court page ↗).
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 Houston decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In In re Qualcomm Securities Litigation, he denied dismissal after finding the allegations supported a strong inference of scienter.
“the Court finds the allegations, which include actions by the individual defendants give rise to a strong inference that Defendants acted with the required state of mind. Accordingly, Defendant's motion to dismiss the section 10(b) claim is DENIED. ... Defendants' motion to dismiss is DENIED.”
In In re Portfolio Recovery Associates TCPA Litigation, he granted summary judgment after finding no automatic telephone dialing system had been used.
“the undisputed evidence demonstrates Defendant did not utilize an ATDS and, therefore, Defendant is entitled to judgment. ... Defendant's motion for summary judgment (Doc. No. 850) is GRANTED”
Procedural preferences
In John v. AM Retail Group, Inc., he dismissed the claim for injunctive relief without prejudice while denying the dismissal motion in all other respects.
“Defendant's Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's FAC is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part; a. Defendant's Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED as to Plaintiff's claims for injunctive relief without prejudice; b. Defendant's Motion to Dismiss is DENIED in all other respects”
In one criminal trial, the court reserved admissibility of proposed summary charts until prosecutors produced them and the defense had an opportunity to make specific objections.
“the Court RESERVES ruling on the motion until the Government”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Defendant's Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's FAC is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part; a. Defendant's Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED as to Plaintiff's claims for injunctive relief without prejudice; b. Defendant's Motion to Dismiss is DENIED in all other respects”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED, and this action is DISMISSED with prejudice.”
“Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction (Doc. No. 21) is DENIED as MOOT and the hearing set for June 3, 2019 is VACATED.”
“the undisputed evidence demonstrates Defendant did not utilize an ATDS and, therefore, Defendant is entitled to judgment. ... Defendant's motion for summary judgment (Doc. No. 850) is GRANTED”
“Defendant's motions to exclude (Doc. Nos. 673, 885) are DENIED as moot”
“the Court finds the allegations, which include actions by the individual defendants give rise to a strong inference that Defendants acted with the required state of mind. Accordingly, Defendant's motion to dismiss the section 10(b) claim is DENIED. ... Defendants' motion to dismiss is DENIED.”
“For the reasons described below, the Court GRANTS the Motion.”
“The Motion to Compel Arbitration is WITHDRAWN as moot.”
“Motion for judgment on the pleadings is GRANTED as to the cause of action for Breach of Written Non-Competition and Non-Disclosure Agreement. ... Motion for judgment on the pleadings is DENIED as to the cause of action for Conversion.”
“Accordingly, the Court DENIES Defendant Pena's motion for sanctions.”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED the motion for good faith settlement is DENIED.”
“Court GRANTS Plaintiff’s Motion to Proceed IFP.”
“The Government’s Motion to Admit Properly Noticed Expert Evidence from SSA Stewart is GRANTED.”
“The Government’s Motion to Admit Certified Business Records Under Rule 902(11) is GRANTED.”
“The Government’s Motion to Admit Intrinsic Evidence of Recorded Meeting with Defendant is GRANTED.”
“Consistent with the parties’ representations that such evidence will not be introduced at trial, the Court DENIES the motion as moot.”
“The Government’s Motion to Exclude Evidence or Argument Regarding Other Acts of Legitimate Provision of SUD Treatment or Claims to Insurers, or Other Good Acts is GRANTED.”
“The Government’s Motion to Exclude Evidence or Argument Regarding Others’ Culpability is GRANTED.”
“The Government’s Motion to Exclude the Use of Law Enforcement Summaries for Impeachment Purposes is GRANTED.”
“The Government’s Motion to Admit Evidence that Defendant Refused to Cooperate with a Court Order to Unlock His Phone is GRANTED.”
“The Government’s Motion to Admit Evidence of Body Broker Articles is GRANTED.”
“Defendant’s Motion to Limit Expert Testimony of FBI SA William Stewart is DENIED.”
“Defendant’s Motion to Exclude Use of the Term ‘Body Broker’ is DENIED.”
“Defendant’s Motion to Exclude Expert Legal Opinion Offered By Co-Conspirator is GRANTED.”
“Defendant’s Motion to Exclude Evidence of Other Acts By Co-Conspirators is GRANTED.”
“the Court DENIES Petitioner’s corrected motion to reinstate his petition”
“motion for adjudication as moot.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 153 days (N = 10).
Median motion-to-ruling time: 43 days (N = 5).
Judge Houston's sampled civil docket includes consumer-finance, employment, automotive-warranty, prisoner civil-rights, contract, tax, and public-records disputes. He has continued to receive new matters while serving as a senior judge.
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 | 0 |
| Civil cases pending more than three years | 7 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 3 | 7 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 6 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 6 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 9 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 17 |
| Sep 2023 | 12 | 149 |
| Mar 2023 | 14 | 154 |
| Sep 2022 | 19 | 26 |
| Mar 2022 | 33 | 156 |
| Sep 2021 | 32 | 161 |
| Mar 2021 | 37 | 33 |
| Sep 2020 | 28 | 167 |
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 Houston: 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 Houston with the record in hand
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