Valerie E. Torres
How Judge Torres decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Procedural preferences
Deciding nondispositive discovery directly under 28 U.S.C. 636(b)(1)(A), she denies a motion to compel served months late and after the fact-discovery cutoff where granting it would reopen major portions of discovery and cause significant delay.
“For the reasons set forth above, the City's Motion to Compel is DENIED. ... because the City failed to timely propounded and seek the requested sampling, the Court denies the Motion.”
Cautions
In the sampled Section 2254 habeas matter, Torres recommended granting the respondent's motion to dismiss with prejudice, and the district judge denied a certificate of appealability.
“Considering the foregoing, the Court ADOPTS Magistrate Judge Torres's R&R, (ECF No. 22), and GRANTS Respondents' Motion to Dismiss, (ECF No. 10), with prejudice. ... the Court DENIES Petitioner a certificate of appealability. The case is hereby closed.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Considering the foregoing, the Court ADOPTS Magistrate Judge Torres's R&R, (ECF No. 22), and GRANTS Respondents' Motion to Dismiss, (ECF No. 10), with prejudice. ... the Court DENIES Petitioner a certificate of appealability. The case is hereby closed.”
“On December 18, 2024, the Honorable Valerie E. Torres, United States Magistrate Judge, issued a Report & Recommendation ('R&R'), which recommended that the Court deny Plaintiff's Motion. ... the Court (1) OVERRULES the Objections and CONFIRMS the adoption of the R&R in its entirety”
“For the reasons set forth above, the City's Motion to Compel is DENIED. ... because the City failed to timely propounded and seek the requested sampling, the Court denies the Motion.”
“the Court GRANTS the Motion (ECF No. 19) and awards the Law Offices of Lawrence D. Rohlfing, Inc., CPC attorney’s fees in the amount of $11,500.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Beyond the directly-assigned duty docket (criminal initial appearances, device-seizure matters) and referred R&R work, Torres sits on a recurring consent Social Security docket: parties consent under 28 U.S.C. 636(c) and she enters the final memorandum order and judgment. Many of these appeals reach her by reassignment from predecessor magistrate judges, so their long pendency is not attributable to her alone.
Put Judge Torres's record to work
Ezel drafts and answers grounded in this exact profile: how Judge Torres actually rules, not a generic AI guess.
Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer is grounded in Judge Torres's own signed orders and cites them.