James O. Browning
How Judge Browning rules, drawn from 27 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Browning no longer sits on this court. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Browning
James O. Browning was a judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico. Appointed by President George W. Bush, Judge Browning received a commission on August 1, 2003. Judge Browning assumed senior status on February 1, 2026 and retired on August 28, 2026.
How Judge Browning decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
On a Sixth Amendment speedy-trial motion, works through all four Barker v. Wingo factors and denies relief where the government diligently pursued the defendant despite a long delay.
“IT IS ORDERED that Defendant Carlos Arturo Quintana's Motion to Dismiss Based on Violations of His Constitutional Right to a Speedy Trial, filed September 19, 2023 (Doc. 377), is denied.”
Procedural preferences
Performs granular, claim-by-claim and defendant-by-defendant qualified-immunity analysis, denying summary judgment where a fact dispute survives as to an individual officer while dismissing vicarious-liability and municipal theories.
“the Defendants' Motion and Supporting Memorandum for Qualified Immunity and Summary Judgment, filed January 5, 2016 (Doc. 25), is granted in part and denied in part; ... the MSJ is denied on Count I with respect to Thouvenell”
Cautions
Dismisses Section 1983 claims against a state department because it is not a 'person' subject to suit, granting leave to amend and directing habeas as the vehicle for restoration of credits.
“the Defendant's Motion to Dismiss, filed August 26, 2024 (Doc. 3), is granted in part, and denied in part; (ii) all federal claims in the Plaintiff's Complaint ... are dismissed without prejudice; (iii) if the Plaintiff wants to pursue civil claims, he must file a single amended complaint, within thirty days”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“the Defendant's Motion to Dismiss, filed August 26, 2024 (Doc. 3), is granted in part, and denied in part; (ii) all federal claims in the Plaintiff's Complaint ... are dismissed without prejudice; (iii) if the Plaintiff wants to pursue civil claims, he must file a single amended complaint, within thirty days”
“the Defendants' Motion and Supporting Memorandum for Qualified Immunity and Summary Judgment, filed January 5, 2016 (Doc. 25), is granted in part and denied in part; ... the MSJ is denied on Count I with respect to Thouvenell”
“the Amended Motion and Memorandum for Summary Judgment Based on Qualified Immunity, filed February 18, 2016 (Doc. 37), is granted in part and denied in part; (iv) all claims against the City of Las Cruces and the John Doe(s) ... are dismissed without prejudice”
“the requests in the Defendants' Motion and Memorandum of Law to Dismiss and/or for Summary Judgment Against Plaintiffs' Complaint and for Qualified Immunity, filed March 10, 2017 (Doc. 20), is granted; and (iii) this action is dismissed with prejudice.”
“IT IS ORDERED that Defendant Carlos Arturo Quintana's Motion to Dismiss Based on Violations of His Constitutional Right to a Speedy Trial, filed September 19, 2023 (Doc. 377), is denied.”
“the Plaintiffs Motion to Amend and Restate for Remand at 2, filed February 25, 2022 (Doc. 23), is granted in that (a) all of the Plaintiffs federal claims are dismissed with prejudice, and (b) the Plaintiffs remaining state law claims are remanded to the Seventh Judicial District Court, County of Sierra, State of New Mexico”
“MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER by District Judge James O. Browning denying 8 MOTION to Remand to State Court and Memorandum in Support Thereof.”
“MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER by District Judge James O. Browning denying 30 Opposed MOTION for Reconsideration re 29 Memorandum Opinion and Order or in the Alternative Motion and Application to Amend the Opinion and Certify the Orde”
“MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER by District Judge James O. Browning denying Defendant's Motion to Suppress 18.”
“MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER by District Judge James O. Browning granting in part and denying in part Defendant Paul Jessen's Motion for Bill of Particulars 39 and denying Defendant Paul Jessen's Motion to Dismiss Indictment for Outrageous Government Conduct and Violation of Defendant's Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment Rights of Due Process 40.”
“granting in part and denying in part Defendant Paul Jessen's Motion for Bill of Particulars 39 and denying Defendant Paul Jessen's Motion to Dismiss Indictment for Outrageous Government Conduct and Violation of Defendant's Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment Rights of Due Process 40.”
“MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER by District Judge James O. Browning denying 70 MOTION to Dismiss Counts 1, 2 & 3 of the Indictment.”
“IT IS ORDERED that: (i) the Respondents' Motion to Alter or Amend Judgment, filed January 14, 2025 (Dolan v. FEMA, No. CIV 23-0908 Doc. 62)(‘Dolan Motion’), is denied; and (ii) the Respondents' Motion to Alter or Amend Judgment, filed January 14, 2025 (Lands v. FEMA, No. CIV23-0869 Doc. 63)(‘Lands Motion’), is denied.”
“IT IS ORDERED that Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Suggestion of Recusal and Motion to Vacate Judgment, filed July 16, 2026 (Doc. 106)(‘Motion to Recuse’), is denied.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 301 days (N = 8).
Median motion-to-ruling time: 188.5 days (N = 8).
- Senior Judge Browning has served in Albuquerque since 2003.
- Recent assignments are dominated by an increase in alien-detainee habeas petitions, so the sampled civil caseload also looks to cases filed from 2019 through 2021.
- His work includes other habeas petitions, prisoner and other civil-rights actions, diversity insurance and tort cases, Social Security appeals, and drug, firearms, and illegal-reentry prosecutions.
- This describes caseload composition, not motion outcomes.
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 | 26 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 26 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 25 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 27 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 28 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 29 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 27 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 29 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 24 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 26 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 27 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 24 |
| Sep 2020 | 0 | 22 |
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 Browning 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.