Judith K. Guthrie
Judge Guthrie no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.
How Judge Guthrie decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In consent (636(c)) prisoner civil-rights cases she presided over to final judgment, grants a served defendant's motion for summary judgment where there is no genuine dispute of material fact and dismisses the action with prejudice.
“ORDERED that the Defendants' motion for summary judgment (docket no. 48) is GRANTED and the above-styled civil action be and hereby is DISMISSED with prejudice as to all Defendants except for Smith and Childress.”
Procedural preferences
Resolves screened prisoner suits on a consolidated basis: a summary-judgment grant to the served defendants is applied to the unserved defendants, disposing of the whole action in one order.
“ORDERED that the Defendants' motion for summary judgment (docket no. 48) is GRANTED and the above-styled civil action be and hereby is DISMISSED with prejudice as to all Defendants except for Smith and Childress.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“ORDERED that the Defendants' motion for summary judgment (docket no. 48) is GRANTED and the above-styled civil action be and hereby is DISMISSED with prejudice as to all Defendants except for Smith and Childress.”
Guthrie's own Memorandum Opinion and Order of Dismissal in a 636(c) consent prisoner civil-rights case (transferred to her on consent). Sua sponte screening: the lawsuit -- denial of medication/food, denied grievances, and a demand to have officials criminally prosecuted -- was found to fail to state a claim and to be frivolous, and was DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE; the dismissal counted as a second 1915(g) strike. It is not a ruling on a party motion, so it is excluded from the motion statistics.
Guthrie R&R recommending dismissal of a pro se inmate's 42 U.S.C. 1983 suit challenging the facts underlying her probation revocation. District Judge Leonard Davis adopted the R&R over the plaintiff's objections (de novo), holding the claim barred by Heck v. Humphrey. Source is the adopting order. This is a sua sponte screening under 1915A, not a ruling on a party motion, so it is excluded from the motion statistics.
Guthrie R&R recommending dismissal of a pro se inmate's 1983 access-to-court suit (denied legal materials on a medical-chain bus). District Judge Leonard Davis adopted the R&R over the plaintiff's objections (de novo), addressing and rejecting an added retaliation theory for failure to show but-for causation or a more-than-de-minimis adverse act; the suit fails to state a claim and is frivolous. Source is the adopting order. This is a sua sponte screening under 1915A, so it is excluded from the motion statistics.
Guthrie R&R recommending dismissal of a pro se inmate's 1983 suit (arsenic-in-coffee, January 2009; filed September 2011) as time-barred by the two-year limitations period. District Judge Leonard Davis adopted the R&R over the plaintiff's objections (de novo), rejecting a delayed-discovery argument as not credible on the grievance record. Source is the adopting order. This is a sua sponte screening under 1915A, so it is excluded from the motion statistics.
Guthrie R&R recommending dismissal of a pro se inmate's 1983 suit alleging a conspiracy to falsely convict him, as barred by Heck v. Humphrey. District Judge Leonard Davis adopted the R&R over the plaintiff's objections (de novo) and rejected the plaintiff's request to amend, because any judgment for him would imply the invalidity of his sentence. Source is the adopting order. This is a sua sponte screening under 1915A, so it is excluded from the motion statistics; leave to amend was sought and denied.
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Her assigned / 636(c)-consent civil docket of record spans prisoner civil-rights, first-party insurance, product liability, employment civil-rights, personal injury, and contract matters; as a Tyler/Lufkin magistrate she also carried criminal-duty work (plea and pretrial proceedings) not reflected in this civil cohort. Filed-to-terminated durations on the 7-case civil cohort (filed 2008-2012) ran 123-535 days (median 274).
A historical record
Judge Guthrie no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.