William P. Johnson
How Judge Johnson rules, drawn from 17 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Johnson no longer sits on this court. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Johnson
William P. Johnson served on the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico after receiving his commission on December 21, 2001. He assumed senior status on January 10, 2025, and retired on September 30, 2026.
How Judge Johnson decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Booker v. P.A.M. Transport, Inc., he granted partial summary judgment against punitive damages arising from a truck driver forgetting to set a parking brake; the record did not support the required culpable mental state under New Mexico law.
“Defendants' Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Doc. 263) is GRANTED.”
Procedural preferences
In the Gold King Mine litigation, Johnson denied the United States’ partial summary judgment motion without prejudice because it was filed eight days after discovery opened, before the plaintiffs had an opportunity to obtain evidence for their opposition.
“The United States' Motion for Partial Summary Judgment is premature because Plaintiffs have not had an opportunity for discovery.”
Cautions
In Estate of Burns v. Murphy Veterans’ Affairs Medical Center, Johnson dismissed an NMTCA claim without prejudice because the complaint did not allege that the defendants had received the required notice of possible litigation.
“Plaintiff’s Complaint wholly omits pleading that the notice of litigation requirement was satisfied.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“the United States' Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, Doc. 268, filed August 13, 2019, is DENIED without prejudice”
“Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 2) is DENIED in part and GRANTED in part.”
“Defendants' Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Doc. 263) is GRANTED.”
“the UNM Defendants' Partial Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 17) is GRANTED. The NMTCA claim is DISMISSED without prejudice on jurisdictional grounds.”
“the Cumbres Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 15) is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.”
“The Individual Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 16) is also GRANTED, and Count V is DISMISSED with prejudice.”
“the Court hereby GRANTS Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 17) on Plaintiff Crandall’s only claim against Defendants.”
“Defendants Motion to Strike Plaintiff’s Jury Demand (Doc. 31) is DENIED as MOOT”
“the Court hereby GRANTS IN PART and DENIES IN PART Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment based on Qualified Immunity.”
“The Tarsin Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 188) is DENIED for the reasons stated in this Memorandum Opinion and Order.”
“Petitioner Martin Perea’s Motion to Vacate, Set Aside, or Correct Sentence Under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (CR Doc. 168; CV Doc. 1) is DENIED with prejudice.”
“which is construed as a successive 28 U.S.C. § 2255 filing, is DISMISSED without prejudice for lack of jurisdiction”
“DW Partners’ ‘Corrected Motion for Summary Judgment’ (Doc. 148) is GRANTED.”
“Because it is dismissing this case, the Court denies Plaintiff’s Motion for Violation of Civil Rights, Doc. 5, filed February 4, 2025.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 203 days (N = 16).
Median motion-to-ruling time: 65 days (N = 1).
- Senior Judge Johnson served as Chief Judge from 2018 through 2025 and continues to issue orders in Albuquerque.
- The sampled caseload combines illegal-reentry and firearms prosecutions with prisoner civil-rights suits, employment, contract, diversity, Social Security, and removed personal-injury cases; his recent docket also includes a substantial cohort of immigration-detention habeas petitions.
- 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 | 31 |
| 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 | 31 | 5 |
| Sep 2025 | 8 | 3 |
| Mar 2025 | 8 | 1 |
| Sep 2024 | 8 | 5 |
| Mar 2024 | 6 | 6 |
| Sep 2023 | 3 | 9 |
| Mar 2023 | 3 | 7 |
| Sep 2022 | 3 | 10 |
| Mar 2022 | 3 | 9 |
| Sep 2021 | 6 | 10 |
| Mar 2021 | 3 | 8 |
| Sep 2020 | 0 | 7 |
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 Johnson 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.