Mark L. Hornsby
How Judge Hornsby rules, drawn from 11 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Hornsby
Mark L. Hornsby is a United States magistrate judge for the Western District of Louisiana. Appointed to the full-time position in 2005, the judge serves in the Shreveport Division.
Judge Hornsby's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Hornsby, 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
Filing
Deliver courtesy copies of contested motions and supporting papers to chambers.
“Magistrate Judge Hornsby requires courtesy copies of contested motions, supporting memorandum, responses, and attachments. Copies should be delivered to chambers at the address indicated above.”
Motions
Contested motions have no routine oral argument unless the court orders it.
“Magistrate Judge Hornsby does not maintain a motion date and does not have oral argument unless specifically ordered.”
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 Hornsby decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
On removal, he applies the strict 'unequivocally clear and certain' standard before an 'other paper' starts the 30-day clock: a defendant is not penalized for failing to remove on ambiguous early discovery, but the clock runs once a document makes >$75k unmistakable.
“Whatever the form of the other paper, it does not trigger the removal period ... unless 'the information supporting removal' in the paper is 'unequivocally clear and certain' that the facts now support removal.”
In Gillet v. Anderson, Hornsby recommended summary judgment for the defendants after finding the prisoner had not completed the Louisiana prison grievance process before filing suit. The district judge adopted the recommendation.
“Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 24) is granted and Plaintiffs complaint dismissed with prejudice to its refiling in forma pauperis.”
Procedural preferences
In Trotter's habeas case, Hornsby recommended setting aside the conviction and enhanced sentence, with release unless the state granted a new trial within 120 days. The district judge adopted that recommendation.
“It is recommended, for the reasons that follow, that the petition be granted.”
In Greenwood 950, L.L.C. v. Milam & Co. Construction, Hornsby allowed a late summary-judgment motion to be considered on its merits after finding the short delay caused no appreciable prejudice.
“The court exercises its discretion to allow Greenwood's motion for summary judgment to stand and be tested on the merits.”
In Holiday Lanes, he narrowed a subpoena to a party’s engineering expert to protect notes, protected communications, and draft reports while allowing the rest of the discovery. He treated modification as the preferred response to a partly objectionable subpoena.
“When a subpoena is challenged, modification of the subpoena, rather than quashing the subpoena, is the preferred approach.”
Cautions
In Blake v. Wal-Mart Stores, Hornsby recommended denying both remand and leave to add a nondiverse defendant after removal. The district judge adopted the recommendation.
“IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiff's Motion to Remand (Doc. 8) and Motion for Leave to File Amended Complaint (Doc. 9) are denied.”
A motion in limine is not a substitute for summary judgment when resolving it would require weighing evidence or deciding disputed facts.
“Motions in limine are meant to deal with evidentiary issues related to trial, and they should not be offered as a disguised motion for summary judgment.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“For the reasons that follow, it is recommended that both of Plaintiff's motions be denied.”
“IT IS ORDERED that the petition for writ of habeas corpus is granted as follows: Petitioner's conviction, and related enhanced sentence, for possession of Schedule II CDS (cocaine) is vacated and set aside. The State of Louisiana is ordered to release Petitioner from custody based on that conviction unless the State grants Petitioner a new trial within 120 days from the date this judgment is signed.”
“IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiffs Motion for Preliminary Injunction (Doc. 17) is denied.”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 24) is granted and Plaintiffs complaint dismissed with prejudice to its refiling in forma pauperis.”
“Penske's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Doc. 20) is granted. All claims asserted in this action against Penske Truck Leasing Co., LP are dismissed with prejudice.”
“Greenwood's Motion in Limine and to Strike Affirmative Defenses (Doc. 23) is denied.”
“Greenwood's Motion for Leave to Amend Complaint (Doc. 28) is granted.”
“Southern Pipe's Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 22) is granted, and a judgment in its favor will be entered in accordance with this ruling.”
“Defendants' Joint Motion to Strike Greenwood's Untimely Identification of its Expert Witness and Partial Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc 56) is (a) denied in part by declining to strike Greenwood's motion for partial summary judgment and (b) granted in part by excluding Mr. Chandler as an expert witness based on his untimely identification.”
“Milam and Merchants' Joint Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Doc 49), Milam's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Doc 50), and Greenwood's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Doc. 53) are all denied.”
“Except as expressly granted above, the motion to quash is denied.”
“The court finds that the Government’s motion to detain Ms. Rush must be granted.”
“Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus is GRANTED”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 435 days (N = 15).
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 | 2 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 2 | 2 |
| Sep 2025 | 2 | 1 |
| Mar 2025 | 4 | 0 |
| Sep 2024 | 4 | 0 |
| Mar 2024 | 4 | 0 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2021 | 7 | 0 |
| Mar 2021 | 8 | 0 |
| Sep 2020 | 7 | 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 Western District of Louisiana, not for Judge Hornsby: 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).
Draft for Judge Hornsby with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Hornsby, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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