Jeffrey Armistead
How Judge Armistead rules, drawn from 24 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Armistead
Jeffrey Armistead became a United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Oregon in 2022. He earned his law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law and previously worked for the United States Department of Agriculture and the Oregon Court of Appeals.
Judge Armistead's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Armistead, 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
Discovery
Request a conference with Judge Armistead before moving for a discovery order.
“they must request a conference with Judge Armistead before moving for an order relating to discovery.”
Conferences
Submit a joint Rule 26(f) report and discovery plan before the Rule 16 conference.
“Before the conference, the parties must submit their formal joint Rule 26(f) Report and Discovery Plan.”
Other
Direct case questions to Judge Armistead’s courtroom deputy.
“For any questions regarding a case before Judge Armistead, contact his Courtroom Deputy”
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 Armistead decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In one Social Security remand, the judge directed the agency to consider the claimant’s barriers to treatment when reevaluating her symptoms.
“The ALJ should also take into consideration plaintiff’s significant barriers to treatment and continue with the sequential evaluation and offer her an opportunity for a new hearing.”
Procedural preferences
In Groshong v. MTGLQ Investors, Armistead recommended denying the plaintiff's motion to remand the removed foreclosure case. District Judge Immergut adopted that recommendation and denied remand.
“The F&R, ECF 21, is adopted in full. Plaintiff's Motion to Remand to Washington County Circuit Court, ECF 7, is DENIED.”
Cautions
In Watson v. Caliber Funding, Armistead recommended dismissal with prejudice after the plaintiff failed to respond to three dismissal motions or a show-cause order; the district judge adopted the recommendation with a clarification.
“Accordingly, Defendants' Motions to Dismiss, ECF 7; ECF 9; ECF 13, are GRANTED. ... The F&R, ECF 16, is ADOPTED as clarified in this Order. Accordingly, this action is DISMISSED with prejudice.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“The F&R, ECF 21, is adopted in full. Plaintiff's Motion to Remand to Washington County Circuit Court, ECF 7, is DENIED.”
“The Court ADOPTS Judge Armistead's Findings and Recommendation [104]. Therefore, Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment [80] is GRANTED. This case is DISMISSED with prejudice.”
“For these reasons, the court should GRANT defendants’ motions to dismiss (ECF Nos. 7, 9, 13) and dismiss this action with prejudice.”
“the court REVERSES the Commissioner's decision that plaintiff was not disabled and REMANDS for further proceedings consistent with this Opinion and Order.”
“the court REVERSES the Commissioner's final decision and REMANDS this case for further administrative proceedings.”
“Driven 2 Drive's motion to dismiss (ECF 9) should be GRANTED with prejudice.”
“Kendal's Motions to Compel (ECFs 39, 43, 62) are DENIED.”
“Jacobson's motions for leave to amend (ECFs 25, 26) are GRANTED.”
“Weaver's Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF 32) is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.”
“the court recommends that New's motion to remand (ECF No. 3) and emergency motion to remand (ECF No. 8) be DENIED.”
“RT's motion to dismiss (ECF No. 5) be DENIED IN PART and GRANTED IN PART”
“defendants' motion for summary judgment (ECF 16) should be GRANTED.”
“For the foregoing reasons, DAS’s Motion to Dismiss (ECF 11) should be DENIED.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
- The Portland sample includes real-property and foreclosure, employment civil-rights, consumer-protection, Social Security, contract, product-liability, and criminal matters.
- As a magistrate judge, Armistead enters final judgments when the parties consent to his jurisdiction and issues recommendations in referred cases.
- Reported durations measure the life of each 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 | 24 |
| 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 | 15 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 24 | 15 |
| Sep 2025 | 23 | 23 |
| Mar 2025 | 26 | 26 |
| Sep 2024 | 48 | 27 |
| Mar 2024 | 33 | 27 |
| Sep 2023 | 41 | 28 |
| Mar 2023 | 42 | 23 |
| Sep 2022 | 42 | 20 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 16 |
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 Armistead: 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 Armistead with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Armistead, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
Opens in Ezel Pro.
- Grounded in Judge Armistead's own signed orders
- Cites every source it relies on, so you can verify it
- Chat, drafting and research in one workspace