Alexander C. Van Hook
How Judge Hook rules, drawn from 24 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Hook
Alexander C. Van Hook is a United States District Judge for the Western District of Louisiana. Appointed by President Donald J. Trump, he received his commission on January 12, 2026. He previously served as an assistant United States attorney in the district and earned degrees from Centenary College and Louisiana State University’s law center.
Judge Hook's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Hook, as published on the court's website (checked October 11, 2026). Judges revise these often, so confirm the current version on the court's site before you file.
Key rules
Motions
Email a Word courtesy copy of a contested motion, its supporting memorandum, responses, and attachments to chambers.
“Judge Van Hook requires courtesy copies of contested motions, supporting memorandum, responses, and attachments. Counsel must deliver an electronic copy in .docx format (Microsoft Word) to [email protected]”
Motions
If the motion and attachments exceed 25 pages, also deliver paper copies to chambers.
“If the motion and attachments exceed 25 pages, copies should also be manually delivered to chambers at the above address.”
Trial
Claims and defenses omitted from the pretrial order are treated as abandoned.
“Failure to include any claim or defense in this order will constitute abandonment of that claim or defense.”
Trial
Witness and exhibit objections must include pinpoint authority in the pretrial order or they may be waived.
“Each objection must include a pinpoint citation to supporting authority. Failure to include an objection in this order constitutes waiver of that objection absent a showing of manifest injustice.”
Trial
The pretrial order must identify each witness and summarize the expected testimony.
“Identify each witness, including the information as specified in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(3)(A) and a summary of the expected testimony for each witness.”
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).
- General Order 0001-2025: Procedures for Access and Management of Sealed or Restricted Documents ↗
- General Order 0001-2024: Procedures for Requesting, Filing, and Management of Highly Sensitive Documents ↗
- SO 1.74 Service and Scheduling of Immigration Habeas Cases ↗
- SO 1.75 Regarding Third-Party Litigation Funding ↗
How Judge Hook decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
A request for emergency release did not succeed where it duplicated the ultimate remedy sought in the habeas petition.
“because the preliminary relief sought, release or a bond hearing, mirrors the ultimate relief sought in the habeas petition, the motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction is DENIED.”
Cautions
The court assessed the statutory basis for detention before evaluating the likelihood of success on an emergency request.
“Because the Petitioner’s claim of credible fear of removal changes the statutory basis for his detention, the Court finds that his Zadvydas claim is unlikely to succeed on the merits.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Because the preliminary relief sought, release or a bond hearing, mirrors the ultimate relief sought in Rios-Quintero’s writ of habeas, R. Doc. 1., the motion is DENIED.”
“the motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction is DENIED.”
The court adopted the recommendation and dismissed the habeas petition without prejudice after the claim became moot. This petition judgment is retained for context and excluded from party-motion counts.
“Petitioner’s Motion to Expedite, Record Document 18, is DENIED as moot.”
The court adopted the recommendation and dismissed the habeas petition as moot. This petition judgment is retained for context and excluded from party-motion counts.
“For the following reasons, his motion is DENIED.”
“Petitioner’s motion for appointment of counsel, Record Document 2, is DENIED”
“IT IS ORDERED that the motion is GRANTED.”
“petitioner’s Motion for Leave to File Reply in Support of Petition, Record Document 20, is DENIED as moot as the Court has considered the proposed pleading in Attachment 2 of Record Document 20.”
“Accordingly, the Petitioner is not likely to succeed on the merits of his case, and his motion for a temporary restraining order is DENIED.”
“petitioner’s Motion to Terminate Mandatory ICE Detention and Motion for Appointed Counsel, Record Documents 2 and 4, are DENIED AS MOOT.”
“The motion to appear pro hac vice, Record Document 8, and motion to waive the requirement of local counsel, Record Document 9, are GRANTED.”
“the motion for temporary restraining order is DENIED.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The reviewed thirty cases include twenty-nine immigration habeas matters and one insurance dispute. The added cases were selected for signed motion orders, so this mix is not a caseload estimate.
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 | 7 |
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 Western District of Louisiana, not for Judge Hook: 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 | 1,541 | 13.4 months |
| Closed with no court action | 287 | 8.9 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 832 | 13.2 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 398 | 16.1 months |
| Closed during trial | 24 | 27.6 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 1,541 | 13.4 months |
| Sep 2024 | 3,194 | 16.5 months |
| Sep 2023 | 3,966 | 10.5 months |
| Sep 2022 | 3,186 | 8.8 months |
| Sep 2021 | 1,330 | 8.6 months |
| Sep 2020 | 1,064 | 11.3 months |
| Sep 2019 | 1,190 | 11.5 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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