Steve B. Chu
How Judge Chu rules, drawn from 7 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Chu
Steve B. Chu was appointed a United States Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of California on June 30, 2023, and is based in San Diego. Before joining the bench, he practiced law privately and served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the district’s Civil Division. He graduated from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco.
Judge Chu's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Chu, 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
Filing
Deliver courtesy copies to the clerk within 24 hours when lodged documents exceed 50 pages including exhibits.
“Where the documents to be lodged exceed fifty (50) pages, inclusive of exhibits, courtesy copies must be delivered to the Clerk’s Office within 24 hours of filing.”
Discovery
Meet and confer orally on discovery disputes; written correspondence alone does not satisfy the requirement.
“Under no circumstance will written correspondence regarding a discovery dispute satisfy the meet and confer requirement.”
Conferences
All parties and party representatives attending an ENE or settlement conference must have full authority to negotiate and bind a settlement.
“all parties and party representatives other than counsel must have complete authority to negotiate and enter into a binding settlement agreement at the time of the ENE or MSC.”
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 Chu decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Morales’s Social Security appeal, he granted the claimant’s summary-judgment motion, denied the Commissioner’s cross-motion, and remanded for further administrative proceedings.
“the Court GRANTS Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment and DENIES Defendant's Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment. (Doc. Nos. 15, 18.) The Action shall be REMANDED for further administrative proceedings consistent with the findings of this Order.”
Procedural preferences
In Dora R.S.’s Social Security appeal, he recommended vacating the Commissioner’s decision and remanding the case; the district judge adopted the recommendation after no objections were filed.
“Magistrate Judge Steve B. Chu filed a Report and Recommendation ('R&R') on July 22, 2024, recommending that the Commissioner's decision be vacated, and the action be remanded for further administrative proceedings. ... Upon review of the R&R and receiving no objections from the parties, the Court adopted Magistrate Judge Chu's R&R in its entirety.”
In Scollard’s case, he granted a motion to continue the early neutral evaluation and case management conference, setting the evaluation for May 29, 2026.
“Accordingly, the Court GRANTS Plaintiff’s Motion to Continue Early Neutral Evaluation Conference and Case Management Conference. The Court continues the ENE until May 29, 2026, at 02:00 PM.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“the Court GRANTS Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment and DENIES Defendant's Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment. (Doc. Nos. 15, 18.) The Action shall be REMANDED for further administrative proceedings consistent with the findings of this Order.”
“the Court GRANTS Plaintiff's Motion ... and DENIES Defendant's Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment. (Doc. Nos. 15, 18.)”
“Magistrate Judge Steve B. Chu filed a Report and Recommendation ('R&R') on July 22, 2024, recommending that the Commissioner's decision be vacated, and the action be remanded for further administrative proceedings. ... Upon review of the R&R and receiving no objections from the parties, the Court adopted Magistrate Judge Chu's R&R in its entirety.”
“Accordingly, the Court GRANTS IN PART and DENIES IN PART Defendant’s Motion to Continue the ENE and Stay Proceedings. The Court continues the ENE until February 26, 2026, at 02:00 PM.”
“For the reasons set forth above, Plaintiff’s Amended Unopposed Ex Parte Application for Approval of Compromise of a Minor’s Claim filed by Plaintiff A.R., a minor, by and through her guardian ad litem, Petitioner Monica Miner (Dkt. No. 37) is GRANTED.”
“In light of this order, Plaintiff’s initial Unopposed Ex Parte Application for Approval of Compromise of a Minor’s Claim (Dkt. No. 34) is DENIED AS MOOT.”
“Accordingly, the Court GRANTS Plaintiff’s Motion to Continue Early Neutral Evaluation Conference and Case Management Conference. The Court continues the ENE until May 29, 2026, at 02:00 PM.”
“Based on the foregoing, the Court hereby GRANTS the Joint Motion and ORDERS as follows: 1. The Settlement Agreement and Mutual General Release (Joint Mot. Ex. 1, Dkt. No. 4-1 at 7-20), incorporated herein by reference, is adopted and approved in its entirety;”
“the request to stay proceedings is DENIED.”
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 | 0 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2024 | 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 Chu: 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 Chu with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Chu, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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