Adrienne C. Nelson
How Judge Nelson rules, drawn from 22 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Nelson
Adrienne Camille Nelson is a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon. Appointed by President Joseph R. Biden, Judge Nelson received a commission on February 23, 2023.
Judge Nelson's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Nelson, 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.
Key rules
Filing
Do not send Judge Nelson paper copies except documents specified in the trial management order.
“PLEASE DO NOT SEND JUDGE NELSON PAPER COPIES OF YOUR FILINGS.”
Trial
Do not use recording devices in the courthouse or remote court proceedings.
“Recording devices may not be used at any time in the courthouse or in any court proceedings conducted remotely”
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 Nelson decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. v. Cedar Avenue, Nelson declined to adopt the magistrate judge’s recommendation and granted the insurer partial summary judgment on the duty to defend.
“the Court declines to adopt the F&R, ECF [29]. State Farm's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, ECF [18], is GRANTED.”
In a merger-injunction case, Nelson found that the defendants’ harms did not outweigh the public interest in antitrust enforcement, particularly given the difficulty of unwinding a premature merger.
“Any harms defendants experience as a result of the injunction do not overcome the strong public interest in the enforcement of antitrust law, especially given the difficulty in disentangling a premature merger.”
In B.R.F., she granted immigration habeas relief because the petitioner had been held without a hearing and Section 1225 did not authorize that detention; any renewed detention under Section 1226(a) required notice and an individualized hearing.
“petitioner is entitled to reasonable notice and a hearing”
Procedural preferences
In State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. v. Cedar Avenue, Nelson reviewed the parties’ objections to a magistrate judge’s recommendation and declined to adopt it. Reading the underlying complaint and insurance policies, she found no duty to defend and granted State Farm partial summary judgment.
“the Court declines to adopt the F&R, ECF [29]. State Farm's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, ECF [18], is GRANTED.”
In a self-represented litigant’s case, Nelson allowed thirty days to amend after the first dismissal motion because it was not clear that amendment could not cure the identified defects.
“Because this is the first motion to dismiss addressed in this case and it is not ‘absolutely clear that no amendment can cure the defect[s]’ identified herein ... the Court grants plaintiff thirty (30) days to file a second amended complaint.”
When no party objected to a magistrate judge’s arbitration recommendation, she reviewed it for clear error, adopted it, and treated a related discovery-stay motion as moot.
“Finding no such error, the Court ADOPTS the F&R, ECF 29.”
Cautions
In an Eighth Amendment suit, Nelson granted summary judgment for Roberts and Bugher but allowed the claims against Crites and Irving to continue.
“defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF [131], is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. Plaintiff's claims against defendants Roberts and Bugher are dismissed. Plaintiff's claims against defendants Crites and Irving continue as described in this opinion.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“the Court declines to adopt the F&R, ECF [29]. State Farm's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, ECF [18], is GRANTED.”
“Defendants' Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, ECF [16], is DENIED.”
“defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF [131], is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. Plaintiff's claims against defendants Roberts and Bugher are dismissed. Plaintiff's claims against defendants Crites and Irving continue as described in this opinion.”
“Motion for Stay of Plaintiff's Declaratory Claim With Regard to the Wolf Lawsuit, ECF [49], and Motion for Stay of Plaintiff's Declaratory Claim on Indemnity Coverage With Regard to the Nelson Lawsuit, ECF [51], are GRANTED.”
“Plaintiff Artisan and Truckers Casualty Company's Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF [46], is DENIED with regard to the duty to defend in the Nelson Lawsuit.”
“Defendants Matthew Cady, Jeffrey James, and TJ Lathrom's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, ECF [62], is GRANTED with regard to the duty to defend in the Nelson Lawsuit and DENIED with regard to attorney fees.”
“For the reasons stated herein, Savants' motion to dismiss, ECF 8, is DENIED.”
“Accordingly, plaintiffs' motion for preliminary injunction is GRANTED. The proposed merger between defendants Kroger Company and Albertsons Companies, Inc. is enjoined pending the outcome of the administrative proceedings before the Federal Trade Commission.”
“For the reasons stated herein, defendants’ request for judicial notice, ECF 67, is GRANTED and defendants’ motion to dismiss, ECF 66, is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.”
“For the reasons discussed herein, defendant’s motion to dismiss, ECF 19, is GRANTED.”
“Landmark’s motion for summary judgment, ECF 47, is DENIED.”
“Motion to Compel Arbitration, ECF 18, is GRANTED”
“Discovery Pending Resolution of the Motion to Compel Arbitration, ECF 25, is DENIED as moot.”
“Defendant’s motion to dismiss, ECF 11, is DENIED.”
“Plaintiff’s motion for default judgment, ECF 8, is GRANTED.”
“Plaintiffs’ motion for leave to amend the complaint, ECF 84, is DENIED.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
- The 2023-2024 case sample includes False Claims Act, consumer-credit, wage-and-hour, prisoner mandamus, public-records and immigration, insurance, employment, and criminal matters.
- Because Nelson joined the court in February 2023, many sampled cases remain pending; the completed matters in this slice generally ended quickly.
- Reported durations measure the life of the case, not the time taken to decide a motion.
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 | 2 |
| 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 | 10 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 2 | 10 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 7 |
| Mar 2025 | 9 | 6 |
| Sep 2024 | 6 | 4 |
| Mar 2024 | 4 | 3 |
| Sep 2023 | 13 | 5 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 3 |
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 Oregon, not for Judge Nelson: 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 | 1,647 | 9.8 months |
| Closed with no court action | 300 | 5.2 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 1,316 | 10.4 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 9 | not reported |
| Closed during trial | 22 | 33.6 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 1,647 | 9.8 months |
| Sep 2024 | 1,633 | 10.2 months |
| Sep 2023 | 1,472 | 11.6 months |
| Sep 2022 | 1,620 | 13.7 months |
| Sep 2021 | 1,501 | 11.8 months |
| Sep 2020 | 1,536 | 11.8 months |
| Sep 2019 | 1,596 | 11.6 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 Nelson with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Nelson, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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