Chris M. Stephens
How Judge Stephens rules, drawn from 20 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Stephens
Chris M. Stephens has served as a United States magistrate judge for the Western District of Oklahoma since August 2024. His chambers are in Oklahoma City.
Judge Stephens's practices and standing orders
The court's website lists no individual practices or standing orders of Judge Stephens's own (checked October 9, 2026), so the court's local rules and general orders are the place to look (court page ↗).
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 Stephens decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In an immigration-detention petition, Stephens recommended treating a longtime resident arrested away from the border as subject to § 1226(a), rather than mandatory detention under § 1225(b)(2)(A).
“The undersigned best understands mandatory detention under Section 1225(b)(2)(A) to apply to arriving noncitizens actively seeking admission at or near the border or port of entry -- not those like Petitioner who have resided in the United States for years and were not arrested when trying to cross the border.”
In Rhoton v. O'Malley, Stephens affirmed the Commissioner's denial of disability benefits because Rhoton did not connect the cited diagnoses and function reports to work-related limitations. He explained that an RFC addresses resulting functional limitations, not a diagnosis alone.
“It is not the diagnosis, but resultant functional limitations, that the ALJ uses to formulate a claimant's RFC.”
Procedural preferences
In a habeas case, Stephens treated the respondent’s dismissal motion as one for summary judgment and recommended granting it.
“Respondent filed a motion to dismiss, and on review, Judge Stephens treated the motion as one for summary judgment and recommended that it be granted.”
In an immigration-detention habeas case, Stephens recommended relief under the INA and advised leaving the separate due-process claim undecided.
“Given the undersigned's recommendation as to the disposition of Petitioner's claim for relief under the INA, the undersigned recommends the Court refrain from addressing the merits of Petitioner's Due Process claim.”
Cautions
In Downey v. Grady County Medical, Stephens recommended dismissal without prejudice after the plaintiff missed an order to amend his complaint and failed to update his address, leaving the court’s mail undeliverable.
“Plaintiff’s failure to comply with the Court’s order and rules, combined with the Court’s inherent power to manage judicial resources, warrants dismissal of this action without prejudice.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“For the foregoing reasons, the undersigned recommends that the Court GRANT Respondent’s Motion to Dismiss. Doc. 10.”
“For the foregoing reasons, the undersigned recommends that the Court DISMISS the Petition without prejudice as moot.”
“For the foregoing reasons, the undersigned recommends that the Court GRANT Respondent’s Motion to Dismiss, which has been converted to a Motion for Summary Judgment. Doc. 13.”
“the Court ADOPTS the Report and Recommendation [Doc. No. 15] on de novo review and GRANTS Petitioner's Petition to the extent it alleges Petitioner's lack of bond hearing violates federal law. Accordingly, the Court ORDERS Respondents to provide Petitioner with a bond hearing under 8 U.S.C. Section 1226(a) within five business days or otherwise release Petitioner.”
“the undersigned recommends that the Court GRANT in part the Petition for habeas relief by ordering Respondents to provide Petitioner within five business day a bond hearing under 8 U.S.C. Section 1226(a) at which the government bears the burden of proof or otherwise release Petitioner if he has not received a lawful bond hearing within that period.”
“the Court should DENY as moot Petitioner's Motion for Temporary Restraining Order, Doc. 2.”
“the undersigned recommends that the Court GRANT in part the Petition for habeas relief by ordering Respondents to provide Petitioner with a bond hearing under 8 U.S.C. Section 1226(a) within five business days or otherwise release Petitioner if he has not received a lawful bond hearing within that period.”
“For the reasons set forth below, the Court affirms the Commissioner's decision.”
“For the foregoing reasons, the Court AFFIRMS the Commissioner's decision.”
“the undersigned recommends that the Court DISMISS the Complaint without prejudice.”
“For the foregoing reasons, the undersigned recommends that the Court GRANT in part the Petition for habeas relief”
“For the foregoing reasons, the undersigned recommends that the Court DISMISS the action without prejudice.”
“Petitioner's release from BOP custody renders his Petition moot, as there is no longer an actual case or controversy for the Court to decide. The undersigned therefore recommends that the Court DISMISS the Petition, Doc. 1, without prejudice as moot.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median motion-to-ruling time: 14 days (N = 11).
- The caseload sample is dominated by Social Security disability appeals under the district's consent-jurisdiction assignment: 14 agreed remands and two merits decisions affirming the Commissioner.
- The remainder includes fee disputes, a dismissal ruling, search-warrant and criminal-duty work, consent insurance and employment cases, and a 2026 group of alien-detainee habeas referrals addressed through written recommendations.
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 | 0 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2024 | 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 Western District of Oklahoma, not for Judge Stephens: 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 | 1,011 | 6.8 months |
| Closed with no court action | 361 | 5 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 461 | 6.6 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 185 | 12.3 months |
| Closed during trial | 4 | not reported |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 1,011 | 6.8 months |
| Sep 2024 | 1,062 | 7.3 months |
| Sep 2023 | 863 | 9 months |
| Sep 2022 | 932 | 10.1 months |
| Sep 2021 | 958 | 9.6 months |
| Sep 2020 | 944 | 8.3 months |
| Sep 2019 | 1,040 | 8.5 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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