Kent J. Dawson
How Judge Dawson rules, drawn from 26 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Dawson
Kent J. Dawson is a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nevada. Appointed by President William J. Clinton, Judge Dawson received a commission on May 31, 2000. Judge Dawson assumed senior status on July 9, 2012.
How Judge Dawson decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Buck v. United States, Dawson denied the § 2255 motion as untimely. Assuming without deciding that Dubin recognized a new right, he found that decision had not been made retroactive on collateral review, so it did not supply the later limitations trigger Buck invoked.
“Moreover, assuming, without deciding, that Dubin did recognize a new right, Buck’s argument would still fail because nothing in that opinion was made retroactive to cases on collateral review.”
Procedural preferences
In Buck v. United States, Dawson denied a Section 2255 motion as untimely after Buck filed it 57 days past the ordinary one-year deadline and failed to establish a later limitations trigger, even though the government had not responded.
“Before addressing the merits of Buck’s argument, the Court must first determine whether her motion is timely, and upon review, the Court finds it untimely.”
Cautions
Liberal construction of a pro se filing does not excuse compliance with procedural deadlines.
“Although the Court must construe pro se pleadings liberally, ‘pro se litigants are bound by the rules of procedure.’”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“ORDER Granting 21 Motion for Summary Judgment. Clerk to enter Judgment for Defendant. Signed by Judge Kent J. Dawson on 4/17/07.”
“ORDER Granting 29 Motion for Summary Judgment. Signed by Judge Kent J. Dawson on 4/25/12.”
“ORDER granting in part and denying in part 134 Motion for Summary Judgment. Signed by Judge Kent J. Dawson on 09/30/2007.”
“ORDER denying 135 Motion for Summary Judgment. Signed by Judge Kent J. Dawson on 09/30/2007.”
“ORDER Granting in part and Denying in part 18 Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction. Signed by Judge Kent J. Dawson on 6/27/07.”
“ORDER denying 4 Motion for Preliminary Injunction. Signed by Judge Kent J. Dawson on 6/9/08.”
“ORDER that Defendants' 28 Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED in part, as to Plaintiff's claim brought under 42 USC 1983. Plaintiff's remaining claims are remanded to state court pursuant to 28 USC 1447(c). Case terminated. Signed by Judge Kent J. Dawson on 11/19/09.”
“Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment and Injunctive Relief (# 54) is DENIED.”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendant BLM's Motion for Summary Judgment (# 56) is GRANTED.”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendant LVMPD's Counter-Motion for Summary Judgment (# 58) is GRANTED.”
“Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant's Motion to Suppress Involuntary Statements (# 18), Defendant's Supplemental Motion to Suppress (#28), and Defendant's Motion to Dismiss Count Two of the Indictment (# 13) are DENIED.”
“IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the Magistrate Judge's Findings and Recommendations (# 25) entered April 23, 2009, are ADOPTED and AFFIRMED, and Defendant's Motion to Suppress in Violation of the Fifth and Fourth Amendments (# 16) is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part, and that Defendant's Motion to Suppress Identification Evidence (# 17) is DENIED.”
“For the reasons stated herein, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment (#28) is GRANTED.”
“Accordingly, it is HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment (# 2) is GRANTED;”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
As a senior judge, Dawson's sampled recent assignments skew heavily toward prisoner motions to vacate under 28 U.S.C. 2255 and Social Security appeals, with an occasional consumer-credit case. The case-duration figure below comes from an older terminated civil matter.
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 | 3 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 3 |
| Sep 2025 | 1 | 4 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 5 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 4 |
| Mar 2024 | 3 | 15 |
| Sep 2023 | 2 | 19 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 14 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 14 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 9 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 7 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 6 |
| Sep 2020 | 0 | 5 |
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 Nevada, not for Judge Dawson: 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 | 2,100 | 8 months |
| Closed with no court action | 290 | 5.4 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 1,769 | 8.4 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 28 | 8 months |
| Closed during trial | 13 | 62 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 2,100 | 8 months |
| Sep 2024 | 2,177 | 8.5 months |
| Sep 2023 | 2,000 | 8.4 months |
| Sep 2022 | 2,030 | 8.8 months |
| Sep 2021 | 2,291 | 8.6 months |
| Sep 2020 | 2,392 | 10.4 months |
| Sep 2019 | 2,679 | 11.5 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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