Kenneth J. Gonzales
How Judge Gonzales rules, drawn from 46 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Gonzales
Kenneth John Gonzales is a judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico. Appointed by President Barack Obama, Judge Gonzales received a commission on August 9, 2013.
Judge Gonzales's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Gonzales, 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 Rules ↗
- Pretrial Instructions for Civil Cases ↗
- Pretrial Instructions for Criminal Cases ↗
Key rules
Motions
Appear in person for hearings on dispositive motions.
“Counsel is required to appear in-person for dispositive motions.”
Trial
In civil cases, file a written motion for leave to extend any pretrial deadline.
“Counsel must seek leave of the Court in the form of a written motion to extend any pretrial deadline.”
Trial
File criminal trial continuance motions at least 48 hours before the Call of the Calendar.
“All motions to continue trial shall be filed no later than 48 hours prior to the Call of the Calendar”
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 Gonzales decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In several 2026 immigration-detention cases involving people who had previously lived in the United States outside custody, the court granted Section 2241 relief and ordered prompt individualized bond hearings under Section 1226(a); in multiple orders it required the government to justify continued detention by clear and convincing evidence.
“The Court directs the Government to provide Petitioner with a bond hearing under § 1226(a) before an immigration judge within seven (7) days of this Order. At that hearing, the Government has the burden of justifying Petitioner’s detention by clear and convincing evidence.”
Procedural preferences
The court distinguished the absence of any individualized bond hearing from disagreement with an immigration judge's completed discretionary bond decision. Where the petitioner had already received the hearing required by Section 1226(a), the court denied habeas relief and directed any challenge to the discretionary denial to the immigration appellate process.
“Petitioner received a bond hearing on March 5, 2026. Doc. 1 at 115. At that hearing, the IJ considered the record and found that Petitioner failed to carry her burden and denied bond. Id. That is all § 1226 requires.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“the Court grants Plaintiff's Motion to Modify, (Doc. 11)”
“denies as moot Defendants' Motion to Dismiss, (Doc. 3)”
“and Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment, (Doc. 9)”
“the Court grants Defendants' Motion for Partial Summary Judgment No. I, (Doc. 63), as it relates to Defendant Officers execution of the PIT maneuver and dismisses Count I only to the extent it alleges the PIT maneuver alone violated Plaintiff's constitutional rights”
“The Court also grants Defendants' Motion for Partial Summary Judgment No. II, (Doc. 65), and dismisses Count II”
“the State Defendants' Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's Fifth Amended Complaint, Doc. 115, filed February 17, 2025, is GRANTED as follows: (i) Plaintiff's claims pursuant to federal law are DISMISSED with prejudice; (ii) Plaintiff's claims pursuant to state law are DISMISSED without prejudice.”
“The Court denies the Pending Motions without prejudice. ... Furthermore, Plaintiff has not met her burden of showing the remaining Defendants were properly served. ... IT IS ORDERED that the following Motions are DENIED without prejudice: (i) Motion for Summary Judgment, Doc. 14, filed August 1, 2025. The Court denies Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment;”
“the Court grants, in part, Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss, (Doc. 2). The Court dismisses Plaintiff’s Equal Protection violation claim with prejudice.”
“grants Defendant Allstate’s Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings (Doc. 4);”
“grants the Motion for Sanctions (Doc. 9);”
“the Court grants Plaintiff’s Motion.”
“the Court denies, as moot: (1) Defendant’s Motion to Stay Proceeding’s and Compel Arbitration, (Doc. 4),”
“(2) Plaintiff’s Motion to Stay Pending a Decision on Plaintiff’s Motion to Remand, (Doc. 19).”
“Defendants‟ Motion to Dismiss on the Basis of Qualified Immunity and Other Grounds (Doc. 5) is granted and this case will be dismissed in its entirety”
“the Court hereby GRANTS the Motion for Default Judgment on Foreclosure as follows:”
“DENIES Ms. Graham’s Motion for Certification (Doc. 62).”
“the Court GRANTS in part BCBSNM’s Cross-Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings (Doc. 64)”
“Defendants’ Motion to Stay Proceedings Pending Resolution of Qualified Immunity Appeal (Doc. 147) is granted;”
“Plaintiffs’ Motion for District Court Certification of Defendants’ Interlocutory Appeals as Frivolous (Doc. 150) is denied;”
“the Court denies, without prejudice to later refiling upon the completion of full discovery, Plaintiff’s Motion, (Doc. 62).”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 259 days (N = 7).
Median motion-to-ruling time: 142 days (N = 9).
- Chief Judge Gonzales sits principally in Santa Fe and draws cases from the Albuquerque, Las Cruces, and Roswell divisions.
- The sampled caseload is predominantly criminal, especially illegal-reentry and drug prosecutions in Las Cruces and Roswell, with prisoner civil-rights cases, other civil-rights matters, and removed insurance and contract disputes on the civil side.
- 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 | 5 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 5 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 5 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 3 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 4 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 4 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 5 |
| Mar 2023 | 5 | 3 |
| Sep 2022 | 1 | 1 |
| Mar 2022 | 8 | 6 |
| Sep 2021 | 8 | 6 |
| Mar 2021 | 4 | 3 |
| Sep 2020 | 3 | 6 |
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 Gonzales: 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).
Draft for Judge Gonzales with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Gonzales, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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