Carmen E. Garza
How Judge Garza rules, drawn from 6 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Garza no longer sits on this court. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Garza
Carmen E. Garza served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the District of New Mexico from 2006 to 2022. She became chief magistrate judge in February 2018. Before joining the federal bench, she worked as an assistant public defender and practiced criminal defense in New Mexico.
How Judge Garza decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Pass v. Kijakazi, Garza denied the claimant’s motion to reverse and remand after finding that ALJ Barnett had made specific findings about her past work and could rely on vocational testimony to support those findings.
“It is thus clear from the record that ALJ Barnett made the requisite findings with regard to the demands of Ms. Pass’s past work, and properly referred to VE Marnan’s testimony in support of his own findings.”
Procedural preferences
In Armijo v. Hayes, she recommended denying leave to amend because the proposed complaint was unverified and would not supply evidence to defeat the pending summary judgment motions.
“Plaintiff’s Proposed Amended Complaint, on the other hand, is not verified. As a result, Plaintiff’s Proposed Amended Complaint would not be treated as evidence, and all claims against Defendants would be subject to dismissal for a complete lack of evidence in the face of Defendants’ Motions for Summary Judgment.”
In Waterhouse v. Hatch, Garza recommended denying a habeas petition after finding that the petitioner had not shown his counsel’s errors would have changed his decision to accept a plea rather than go to trial. The district judge later adopted the recommendation.
“The Court is required to defer to Judge Townsend’s determination that a more thorough investigation would not have changed Mr. Waterhouse’s decision to plead guilty.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Plaintiff's Motion to Reverse and Remand for a Rehearing with Supporting Memorandum, (the ‘Motion’), (Doc. 17), is GRANTED and this case is REMANDED to the Commissioner for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.”
“Ms. Pass's Motion to Reverse and Remand, with Supporting Memorandum, (Doc. 21), is DENIED and the case is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
“IT IS THEREFORE RECOMMENDED that Mr. Waterhouse’s Petition Under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 for Writ of Habeas Corpus by a Person in State Custody, (Doc. 1), be DENIED.”
“For the reasons discussed above, the Court RECOMMENDS that the Petition be denied, and that: a. Ground Two of the Petition be dismissed with prejudice; b. Grounds One, Three, and Four of the Petition be dismissed without prejudice; and c. A Certificate of Appealability be denied.”
“the Honorable Carmen E. Garza ... found that Petitioner Marco Antonio Castro-Solano failed to show that his sentencing guideline range was incorrectly calculated or that he was denied effective assistance of counsel. ... Judge Garza recommended that the Court dismiss with prejudice Castro-Solano's Motion Under 28 U.S.C. Sec 2255 ... is dismissed with prejudice.”
“Because granting Plaintiff leave to amend would be futile, the Court RECOMMENDS that the Motion be DENIED. ... IT IS THEREFORE RECOMMENDED that Plaintiff's Motion to Amend Complaint, (Doc. 37), be DENIED.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 137 days (N = 9).
- By party consent, Judge Garza entered final decisions in a steady stream of Social Security disability appeals and other civil cases involving consumer protection, employment, insurance, and contracts.
- She also wrote recommendations in prisoner, habeas, and civil-rights cases and carried substantial criminal and immigration duty in Las Cruces.
- This describes the composition of her work, not a grant rate.
Pending matters in the official report
Judge Garza was last listed in the Civil Justice Reform Act report as of March 31, 2022.
| 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 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.
A historical record
Judge Garza no longer sits on this court. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled here. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.