Damian L. Martínez
How Judge Martínez rules, drawn from 30 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Martínez
Damian L. Martínez serves as a U.S. magistrate judge for the District of New Mexico, with chambers in Las Cruces. He earned a bachelor's degree in social work from New Mexico Highlands University and a law degree from St. Mary's University School of Law. Before joining the bench, he served as an assistant staff judge advocate in the U.S. Air Force.
Judge Martínez's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Martínez, 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.
- Courtroom Decorum ↗
- Procedures for Civil Discovery and Settlement Matters ↗
- Guidelines for Proposed Protective Orders ↗
- Pretrial Matters and Trial Instructions ↗
Key rules
Filing
Even with a stipulation, seek Martínez’s approval by motion for a filing extension longer than ten days.
“Even if stipulated, parties seeking an extension in excess of ten days for any filing deadline must file a Motion to Extend with the Court by the day of the original deadline.”
Motions
In an opposed motion before Martínez, state whether you request a hearing.
“For any opposed motion, counsel should indicate in their briefing whether they request a hearing on the motion.”
Discovery
For a stipulated protective order, attach the proposed order to the motion and email a copy to Martínez’s proposed-text address.
“their counsel should file a stipulated motion for protective order with the proposed protective order attached as an exhibit to the motion. The parties must also e-mail a copy of their proposed protective order to [email protected].”
Conferences
Seek an extension of Martínez’s pretrial deadlines by written motion.
“Counsel must seek leave of the Court in the form of a written motion to extend any pretrial deadline.”
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 Martínez decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Asebedo’s Social Security fee application, he reduced compensable time by two hours because the claimed work included form documents and client letters.
“The Court will exercise its discretion to reduce the claimed time by 2.0 hours, as Asebedo’s attorneys cannot be compensated for preparing form documents or client letters.”
Procedural preferences
In a prisoner civil-rights case, Martínez recommended separate dispositions for claims affected by exhaustion and other threshold defects rather than one blanket dismissal.
“Defendants' Motion to Dismiss in Part and Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Doc. 73) is GRANTED; ... DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE as to ... halal meals ... DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE as to ... compensatory damages except as to the March 2021 Incident”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Plaintiff Valerie Ann Pohl's Motion to Reverse and Remand (Doc. 20) is GRANTED IN PART, as outlined in the Proposed Findings and Recommended Disposition”
“Defendant's Motion to Remand for Further Administrative Proceedings Pursuant to Sentence Four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) (Doc. 22) is GRANTED ... this matter is REMANDED to the Commissioner pursuant to sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g)”
“Defendants' Motion to Dismiss in Part and Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Doc. 73) is GRANTED; ... DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE as to ... his religious discrimination claim as it relates to halal meals and all claims against Defendants Hatch, Frazier, Jackson, and Jones; ... DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE as to Plaintiff's request for compensatory damages except as to the March 2021 Incident; claims for injunctive relief against individual-capacity Defendants; claims for money damages against official-capacity Defendants”
“Summary judgment is GRANTED in Defendant's favor and DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE as to Plaintiff's claims related to the March 2021 Incident and 2022 rape disciplinary convictions and DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE as to Plaintiff's religious discrimination claim related to Muslim pastoral visits”
“the Chapter 7 Trustee's Motion to Dismiss Appeal as Moot and in the Alternative, Dismiss Improper Parties (Doc. 27) is GRANTED; ... this appeal is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE”
“Plaintiff's Motion to Close Duplicate Case and Refund Request, ECF No. 3, is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART ... Plaintiff's request for a refund of the filing fee is DENIED; and ... This case is DISMISSED as duplicative”
“Defendant's Opposed Motion to Remand for Further Proceedings Pursuant to Sentence Four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) (Doc. 37) is denied to the extent the Commissioner seeks an order requiring further proceedings.”
“Plaintiff's Motion to Reverse and Remand for Rehearing with Supporting Memorandum (Doc. 21) is granted to the extent Plaintiff seeks remand for the immediate award of benefits under Title II for the period from May 14, 2013, to December 31, 2015.”
“Defendant's Opposed Motion to Remand for Further Proceedings Pursuant to Sentence Four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) (Doc. 19) is DENIED to the extent the Commissioner sought an order requiring further proceedings.”
“Plaintiff's Motion to Reverse and Remand (Doc. 14) is GRANTED and this matter is remanded to the agency for the immediate award of benefits for the period from January 15, 2014, to July 26, 2016”
“The Court concludes that Garcia's Motion to Reverse and Remand (Doc. 16) is DENIED as outlined in this Order ... the Commissioner's final decision will be affirmed.”
“IT IS THEFORE ORDERED that Defendant Dennis Ekstrom's Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 22) is GRANTED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Trust's claims against Defendant Dennis Ekstrom are DISMISSED without prejudice.”
“the Court denies the Motion to Compel because Imming has failed to articulate how the information requested in RFP No. 9 is relevant and proportional to the need of the case under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(1) ... IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Imming's Motion to Compel (Doc. 64) is DENIED”
“IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the Motion for Reconsideration (Doc. 32) is GRANTED. The Court FINDS that Ortega-Lopez poses a flight risk and a danger to the community, and no conditions can reasonably assure his future appearance in Court or the safety of the community. The Court will, therefore, DETAIN Ortega-Lopez pending resolution of this case.”
“IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that CWNG's Motion for Reconsideration of Order on Third Motion to Compel and for Sanctions (renewed) (Doc. 136) is DENIED”
“Travelers' Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings (Doc. 3) is GRANTED”
“Defendants/Counter-Plaintiffs' Counter-Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings (Doc. 25) is DENIED”
“Defendants' Motion to Strike (Doc. 21) is DENIED”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
- The sampled decisions cover 28 classified motions across 20 published orders from 2023 through 2026.
- Social Security matters include further-proceedings remands, immediate-benefits awards, and affirmances.
- The sample also includes civil-rights, insurance, employment, discovery, detention, and fee disputes.
- The available docket records do not reliably enumerate this judge's referral or consent caseload.
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 | 1 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2023 | 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 District of New Mexico, not for Judge Martínez: 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 | 908 | 8.2 months |
| Closed with no court action | 150 | 4.1 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 511 | 7 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 242 | 13.8 months |
| Closed during trial | 5 | not reported |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 908 | 8.2 months |
| Sep 2024 | 918 | 8 months |
| Sep 2023 | 835 | 10.6 months |
| Sep 2022 | 973 | 11.7 months |
| Sep 2021 | 909 | 9.6 months |
| Sep 2020 | 957 | 9 months |
| Sep 2019 | 965 | 9.6 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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Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Martínez, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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