Amanda K. Brailsford
How Judge Brailsford rules, drawn from 25 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Brailsford
Amanda Kathleen Brailsford is a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Idaho. Appointed by President Joseph R. Biden, Judge Brailsford received a commission on May 17, 2023.
Judge Brailsford's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Brailsford, 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.
- Scheduling Conferences ↗
- Discovery Disputes ↗
- Motion Practice ↗
- Trial Procedures ↗
- Criminal Procedures ↗
Key rules
Motions
Contact opposing counsel about perceived pleading deficiencies before filing an Iqbal-Twombly motion to dismiss.
“Judge Brailsford expects that counsel, prior to filing a motion to dismiss based upon Iqbal-Twombly, will contact opposing counsel, advise them of the perceived shortcomings in the allegations of the complaint, and attempt to reach agreement for the filing of an amended complaint.”
Motions
Present only one summary judgment motion per side when possible.
“Judge Brailsford prefers only one (1) summary judgment motion per side.”
Discovery
Give the court an opportunity to informally mediate the discovery dispute before filing a written discovery motion.
“Judge Brailsford will not entertain any written discovery motions until the Court has been provided with an opportunity to informally mediate the parties’ dispute.”
Conferences
File a litigation plan and discovery plan at least one week before the scheduling conference.
“Each party must complete a litigation plan and a discovery plan and file it with the Court at least one week prior to the scheduling conference.”
Sealing
In criminal matters, a sealing request requires a motion, supporting briefing, and a proposed order.
“A request to seal must be made by motion and accompanied by supporting briefing and a proposed order.”
Trial
Plaintiff’s counsel must contact the courtroom deputy within one week of the dispositive-motion decision to arrange a trial-setting conference.
“Plaintiff’s counsel shall contact the Courtroom Deputy within one week following the entry of a decision on all pending dispositive motions to make arrangements for the telephonic trial setting conference”
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 Brailsford decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In a consumer-protection pleading dispute, allegations that a clinic promised to waive a repeat blood-draw charge but billed and pursued collection anyway sufficed to state an Idaho Consumer Protection Act claim at the dismissal stage.
“Taking these allegations as true, Plaintiff has plausibly alleged conduct that could be found deceptive or unfair under the ICPA.”
Procedural preferences
In a trade-secret preliminary-injunction dispute, the plaintiff’s long delay in suing and then seeking relief weighed against a showing of irreparable harm.
“PromoShop’s delay in filing this lawsuit until more than a year after the alleged wrongful conduct and delay in seeking a preliminary injunction for another two months thereafter seriously undercuts its argument that it will suffer irreparable harm absent injunctive relief.”
On the preliminary Medicaid-services record, she required evidence that replacement services were not comparable and that the named plaintiffs faced irreparable harm before ordering statewide relief.
“Based on the current record, Plaintiffs have not clearly shown that unbundled ACT services are not a comparable alternative for their care and that they will be irreparably injured because IDHW unbundled ACT services.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Defendant City of Boise’s Motion to Dismiss Amended Complaint (Dkt. 26) is DENIED.”
“Defendant Bureau of Land Management’s Motion to Dismiss (Dkt. 12) is GRANTED as to the BLM, but that motion, in which the United States joined (Dkt. 21) is DENIED as to the United States.”
“The Motion for Protective Order (Dkt. 85) is DENIED.”
“Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss (Dkt. 6) is GRANTED, and Plaintiffs’ Amended Complaint (Dkt. 2) is DISMISSED with prejudice as to Count I regarding IDOC and Tewalt and Derrick in their official capacities as state officials and as to Count IV for prospective relief.”
“Plaintiffs’ Motion to Amend the Complaint (Dkt. 12) is DENIED.”
“Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment (Dkt. 9) is DENIED.”
A 28 U.S.C. 1915/1915A prisoner-complaint screening order, not a ruling on a party motion. A pro se plaintiff's amended civil-rights complaint again challenged an ongoing state criminal proceeding; because the amendment still did not address Younger v. Harris abstention, the court dismissed the entire case without prejudice on its own screening authority.
“The Motion to Dismiss (Dkt. 17) is GRANTED. Plaintiff's Amended Complaint (Dkt. 16) is dismissed with prejudice.”
“Plaintiff's individual capacity claims against Defendants John Blanchard, Lori Woodrum, Mariah Meyer, Monique Minas, Jennifer Mix, Sara Maurer, Jessica Melvin, Millissa Prillaman, and Julia Smith are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
“Plaintiff's official capacity claims against Defendants John Blanchard, Lori Woodrum, Mariah Meyer, Monique Minas, Jennifer Mix, Sara Maurer, Jessica Melvin, Millissa Prillaman, and Julia Smith are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
“Defendants' Motion to Dismiss (Dkt. 14) is GRANTED with leave to amend.”
“The Court DENIES the Highway District's Motion to Dismiss (Dkt. 4) as to the Amarals' claims under § 1983.”
“The Court GRANTS the Highway District's Motion to Dismiss (Dkt. 4) as to the Amarals' state common law claims for defamation, slander, and mental anguish. Those claims are dismissed with prejudice.”
“The Court GRANTS the Highway District's Motion to Dismiss (Dkt. 4) as to the Amarals' claims for statutory violations. Those claims are dismissed without prejudice, and the Amarals may amend their complaint to reallege the claims within fourteen (14) days of this decision's issuance.”
“Defendant Chelsi Michelle Mason's motion requesting credit for time served in custody before her sentencing in this case (Dkt. 34) is DENIED.”
“Defendant Kootenai Hospital District's Motion to Dismiss (Dkt. 21) is GRANTED.”
“Plaintiff Claudia Sanders' Motion in Limine (Dkt. 24) and Motion to Amend/Correct the Motion in Limine (Dkt. 25) are DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.”
“Plaintiff Claudia Sanders' Motion for Sanctions (Dkt. 31) is DENIED.”
“Plaintiff Claudia Sanders' Motion to Disqualify Counsel (Dkt. 33) is DENIED.”
“Defendant Ziply's Motion for Summary Judgment (Dkt. 93) is GRANTED.”
“Avista's Motion for Summary Judgment (Dkt. 94) is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.”
“HHS Construction's Motion for Summary Judgment against PG Engineering (Dkt. 95) is GRANTED.”
“Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment (Dkt. 96) is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.”
“Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment (Dkt. 24) is GRANTED as against the Estate of Richard Leeds.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The reviewed matters from Brailsford's early tenure include a collective wage-and-hour action and a self-represented prisoner's civil-rights case. Older cases inherited after her May 2023 appointment are excluded from the motion counts unless she personally issued the ruling.
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 | 8 |
| Bench trials submitted more than six months | 0 |
| Bankruptcy appeals pending more than six months | 0 |
| Social Security appeals pending more than six months | 6 |
| Civil cases pending more than three years | 7 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 8 | 7 |
| Sep 2025 | 8 | 4 |
| Mar 2025 | 8 | 2 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 2 |
| Mar 2024 | 4 | 5 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 4 |
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 District of Idaho, not for Judge Brailsford: 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 | 405 | 10.3 months |
| Closed with no court action | 53 | 3.8 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 322 | 10.4 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 27 | 23.5 months |
| Closed during trial | 3 | not reported |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 405 | 10.3 months |
| Sep 2024 | 389 | 10.4 months |
| Sep 2023 | 363 | 11.5 months |
| Sep 2022 | 381 | 12.5 months |
| Sep 2021 | 352 | 14.3 months |
| Sep 2020 | 348 | 11.3 months |
| Sep 2019 | 365 | 10.4 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).
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