Richard L. Bourgeois, Jr.
How Judge Bourgeois rules, drawn from 38 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Bourgeois
Richard L. Bourgeois Jr. has served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the Middle District of Louisiana since February 2013 and was reappointed in February 2021. He earned a law degree from Georgetown University in 2001. Before joining the bench, he practiced privately and worked for the United States Department of Justice.
Judge Bourgeois's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Bourgeois, 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.
Key rules
Contacting chambers
Email confidential position papers and status updates only when the court or chambers staff directs it.
“For submission of confidential position papers and status updates as directed by the Court or chambers staff only. Any document submitted shall be attached in PDF format and formatted in accordance with the Local Rules. All other requests or submissions not directed by the Court or chambers staff are not permitted.”
Conferences
For a settlement conference, obtain available dates from the courtroom deputy, then email chambers the selected date, case number, and format preference.
“Counsel should contact Courtroom Deputy to obtain available settlement conference dates to circulate. Once a date is selected, counsel should send an e-mail to chambers at [email protected] . The e-mail should include the date and time selected, case number and the parties preference of conducting the conference in-person or virtually.”
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 Bourgeois decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In a medical-indifference case, he recommended dismissal where the pleading showed only disagreement with the treatment provided rather than deliberate indifference.
“It is the recommendation of the magistrate judge that the defendant’s Motion to Dismiss (R. Doc. 13) be granted, dismissing the plaintiff’s claims against defendants Dr. Randy Lavespere, with prejudice.”
Procedural preferences
In a pro se prisoner's service dispute, he recommended denying a Rule 12(b)(5) dismissal and extending time where the plaintiff depended on the U.S. Marshals for service.
“It is recommended that the Motion to Dismiss (R. Doc. 18) be denied, that the time for service be extended so that service is deemed timely, and that this matter be referred back to the Magistrate Judge for further proceedings.”
In a removal dispute, he recommended remand where the removing party did not establish the amount in controversy under circuit precedent.
“the undersigned finds that this Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction and RECOMMENDS that the Motion (R. Doc. 2) be GRANTED and this action be REMANDED to the 19th Judicial District, East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana.”
In the Boyd subpoena dispute, an existing protective order did not justify wholesale disclosure of a competitor’s accounting database; the requesting party still had to establish relevance and need.
“Further, the information being subject to a protective order does not necessarily mean Plaintiff is entitled to the information; the information must still be within the scope of discovery.”
Cautions
In one civil-rights case, he recommended vacating his earlier report and the order adopting it after concluding that the prior analysis was issued in error.
“The Eleventh Amendment immunity analysis in the Court’s prior Report and Recommendation (R. Doc. 31) was issued in error.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“It is recommended that the Motion to Dismiss (R. Doc. 18) be denied, that the time for service be extended so that service is deemed timely, and that this matter be referred back to the Magistrate Judge for further proceedings.”
“It is the recommendation of the magistrate judge that the defendant’s Motion to Dismiss (R. Doc. 13) be granted, dismissing the plaintiff’s claims against defendants Dr. Randy Lavespere, with prejudice.”
“It is the recommendation of the Magistrate Judge that Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss (R. Doc. 32) be granted dismissing the plaintiff’s claims: (1) for deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs, (2) against State of Louisiana, Dixon Correctional Institute, and Dusty Bickham, with prejudice. It is further recommended that the plaintiff’s claims against defendant Sgt. Davis be dismissed, without prejudice, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m).”
“It is further recommended that the defendant’s Motion to Dismiss (R. Doc. 19) be granted, dismissing the plaintiff’s claims asserted against defendant Gautreaux, with prejudice for the reasons stated herein, and that this matter be referred back to the Magistrate Judge for further proceedings herein.”
“It is the recommendation of the Magistrate Judge that Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss (R. Doc. 32) be granted, in part, dismissing the plaintiff’s claims: (1) for monetary damages asserted against defendants in their official capacities, (2) for deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs, (3) pertaining to the handling of his grievances and informal complaints, (4) pertaining to verbal abuse and/or harassment, and (5) against the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections, with prejudice. It is further recommended that the plaintiff’s claims against defendants Trent Barton, Darrel Vannoy, Jeremy McKey, Medical Director at LSP, and all Jane and/or John Doe defendants be dismissed, without prejudice, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m).”
“It is recommended that defendant Sterling’s Motion to Dismiss (R. Doc. 16) be denied, and that this matter be referred back the Magistrate Judge for further proceedings herein.”
“It is the recommendation of the Magistrate Judge that the Motion to Dismiss filed on behalf of defendant Pinkney and Smith (R. Doc. 14) should be granted, dismissing the plaintiff’s claims against these defendants, with prejudice.”
“It is further recommended that the Motion to Dismiss filed on behalf of defendant Butler (R. Doc. 27) be granted, in part ... It is further recommended that the plaintiff be given 21 days to amend his Complaint to allege facts as to physical injuries sustained, if any, due to the alleged use of excessive force by defendant Butler.”
“the undersigned finds that this Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction and RECOMMENDS that the Motion (R. Doc. 2) be GRANTED and this action be REMANDED to the 19th Judicial District, East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana.”
“IT IS FURTHER RECOMMENDED that Defendant’s Motion for Partial Dismissal Pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) (R. Doc. 13), which is unopposed, be GRANTED, and Plaintiff’s claims for violation of UCC 9-210, debt bondage, and violations of the FCRA be DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
“IT IS FURTHER RECOMMENDED that Plaintiff’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction (R. Doc. 23-2) be DENIED.”
“IT IS FURTHER RECOMMENDED that Plaintiff’s Brief Motion to Amend the Request for Court Date of January 15, 2025 to February 21, 2025 Confirmed and Reason Lawsuit Filed (R. Doc. 14), Motion to Issue the Summons to Defendants to Have Them Deliver 6 Case 3:24-cv-00898-BAJ-RLB Document 18 03/10/25 Page 7 of 7 the Documents Needed to the Plaintiff Due to State and Federal Crime and Tampered Evidence and Spoliation and Missing Documents (R. Doc. 15), Motion to Compel Discovery Evidence of Employee Documents (R. Doc. 16), and Motion to Request to E-file (R. Doc. 17) be DENIED AS MOOT.”
“It is recommended defendant Kerr’s Motion to Quash (R. Doc. 16) be granted, and service of the subpoena be quashed.”
“It is further recommended that defendant Payne’s Motion to Dismiss (R. Doc. 17) be granted in part, and that the insufficient service on defendant Payne be quashed.”
“It is recommended that the Motion to Dismiss (R. Doc. 40) be granted, dismissing the plaintiff’s claims against Louisiana Department of Health, Eastern Louisiana Mental Health Systems, Tunsha Harris, Richard Bethley, Pamela Scott, Laura Lott, John Roberts III, and Rebekah Gee, with prejudice for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.”
“It is further recommended, that the plaintiff’s Motion to Transfer (R. Doc. 44) be 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 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| 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 Middle District of Louisiana, not for Judge Bourgeois: 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 | 1,130 | 13.9 months |
| Closed with no court action | 185 | 14.7 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 924 | 13.4 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 15 | 25.7 months |
| Closed during trial | 6 | not reported |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 1,130 | 13.9 months |
| Sep 2024 | 1,251 | 9.1 months |
| Sep 2023 | 801 | 10.2 months |
| Sep 2022 | 732 | 14.9 months |
| Sep 2021 | 843 | 18.1 months |
| Sep 2020 | 1,041 | 24 months |
| Sep 2019 | 1,007 | 13.3 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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