Mitchel Neurock

How Judge Neurock rules, drawn from 30 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

Court
United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
Position
Magistrate judge
Commissioned
September 23, 2021
Education
Rice University (B.A. political science, 1989); Washington & Lee University School of Law (J.D., 1992)
Signed orders read
30

About Judge Neurock

Mitchel Neurock has served as a U.S. magistrate judge for the Southern District of Texas since September 2021. He earned a B.A. in political science from Rice University in 1989 and a J.D. from Washington and Lee University School of Law in 1992.

Judge Neurock's practices and standing orders

The court's website lists no individual practices or standing orders of Judge Neurock's own (checked October 8, 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 8, 2026).

Key rules from these orders · The court's local rules ↗

How Judge Neurock decides

Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

Procedural preferences

In Adams v. Texas Board of Pardons, Neurock recommended dismissal without prejudice under Rule 41(b) because the petitioner did not supply a required inmate trust fund statement despite court orders and warnings, and did not adequately explain why he could not obtain it.

“the undersigned recommends that Petitioner’s case be DISMISSED without prejudice pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b).”

In Punch's prisoner civil-rights suit, Neurock recommended dismissal without prejudice at the section 1915 screening stage and recommended denying the related transfer and counsel motions as moot. The district judge adopted the recommendation.

“recommended that Plaintiff’s Section 1983 claims be dismissed without prejudice, (Dkt. Nos. 1, 7), for purposes of screening and 28 U.S.C. §1915(e)(2)(B).”

When a prisoner sought to amend after a screening recommendation, he recommended denial of both amendment requests because the proposed complaint would still fail to state a viable claim.

“The district court should DENY Plaintiff’s motions for leave to amend his complaint (Doc. Nos. 13, 14) because amendment would be futile.”

Cautions

In Campos v. Shepherd, a later magistrate judge's report explained that the district court reached a different conclusion from Neurock's earlier recommendation on a late-substitution issue. That recommendation was not the district court's final ruling on the issue.

“The magistrate judge saw the question one way, but the district court applied the same factors and simply reached a different conclusion.”

Signed rulings

A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.

Martin v. Live Oak County Jail
2:22-cv-00156 · 2023-01-23
Motion for leave to amend (plaintiff) Granted

“recommended that the Court (1) retroactively grant leave for Plaintiff to file his second amended complaint”

Preliminary injunction (plaintiff) Denied

“recommended that the Court ... (4) deny Plaintiff’s motions for preliminary injunction”

Motion to consolidate (plaintiff) Moot / procedural

“(5) deny Plaintiff’s motion to consolidate cases as moot”

Motion to change venue (plaintiff) Denied

“(6) deny Plaintiff’s motion to change venue in his state criminal case”

Breland v. Sam's East, Inc.
2:21-cv-00108 · 2023-01-13
Summary judgment (defendant) Granted

“Magistrate Judge Neurock made findings and conclusions, and recommended that Defendant Sam’s East Inc.’s Motion for Summary Judgment, (Dkt. No. 49), be granted and that Plaintiffs’ claims against Sam’s East be dismissed.”

Adams v. Texas Board of Pardons
2:23-cv-00103 · 2023-06-14

Pro se §2254 habeas. Neurock M&R recommended dismissal WITHOUT PREJUDICE under Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b) for want of prosecution (failure to file the inmate trust-fund account statement / required affidavit despite two warnings); all remaining pending motions (Docs. 5, 7, 10, 11) recommended denied as moot. The recommendation states: "the undersigned recommends that Petitioner’s case be DISMISSED without prejudice pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b)." This is a failure-to-prosecute dismissal, not a merits motion ruling.

Punch v. Victoria County Jail Medical Department
6:22-cv-00022 · 2023-02-07

Pro se prisoner §1983 (Victoria Division). Neurock M&R recommended dismissing the §1983 claims without prejudice on 28 U.S.C. §1915(e)(2)(B) screening; Plaintiff's Motion to Transfer (treated as a habeas petition and severed) and Motion for Appointment of Counsel recommended denied as moot. Adopted in full 2023-08-29 by Judge Drew B. Tipton. The recommendation states: "recommended that Plaintiff’s Section 1983 claims be dismissed without prejudice, (Dkt. Nos. 1, 7), for purposes of screening and 28 U.S.C. §1915(e)(2)(B)." This is a §1915 screening disposition rather than a merits motion ruling.

Kuzniar v. Commissioner of the Social Security Administration
2:23-cv-00237 · 2024-06-04
Social security appeal (plaintiff) Denied

“Having considered the parties’ filings, the record, and the law, the Court finds that the substantial evidence supports the Administrative Law Judge’s (‘ALJs’) determination that Plaintiff was not disabled. The Court therefore AFFIRMS the decision of the Commissioner.”

Metting v. O'Malley
2:24-cv-00130 · 2025-01-10
Social security appeal (plaintiff) Denied

“After review of the parties’ briefing, the record, and relevant law, and for the reasons discussed below, the Court orders that the decision of the Commissioner be AFFIRMED and that this case be DISMISSED.”

Ortega v. Kijakazi
2:22-cv-00096 · 2023-03-14
Social security appeal (plaintiff) Denied

“On March 14, 2023, United States Magistrate Judge Mitchel Neurock issued his Memorandum and Recommendation (M&R, D.E. 18), recommending that the Commissioner’s decision be affirmed and that this case be dismissed.”

De La Garza v. BCW Trucking, LLC
2:24-cv-00066 · 2025-04-16
Summary judgment (defendant) Granted in part

“DENIES Defendants’ motion for summary judgment (D.E. 19) with regard to Plaintiffs’ claim that Wilson failed to properly inspect or secure the load; DENIES Defendants’ motion for summary judgment with regard to Plaintiffs’ claims of gross negligence and respondeat superior regarding Wilson’s alleged failure to properly inspect or secure the load; GRANTS summary judgment for Defendants with regard to Plaintiffs’ claim that Wilson failed to exercise ordinary care in his emergency driving maneuvers when the panel began to fall from the trailer; GRANTS summary judgment for Defendants with regard to Plaintiffs’ claims of gross negligence and respondeat superior regarding Wilson’s emergency driving maneuvers when the panel began to fall from the trailer; and GRANTS summary judgment for Defendants with regard to Plaintiffs’ abandoned claim that Wilson failed to properly maintain his truck and trailer.”

Gonzales v. Chief Sinton Police Department/Officers
2:24-cv-00001 · 2024-09-27
Summary judgment (defendant) Granted

“Accordingly, Defendants’ motion to dismiss (D.E. 22), construed as a motion for summary judgment, is GRANTED and this action is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”

Barefield v. Bowman
6:23-cv-00040 · 2023-11-09
Motions to dismiss (defendant) Granted

“For the reasons discussed below, the undersigned recommends that the district court GRANT the motions and DISMISS Plaintiff’s lawsuit with prejudice pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6).”

Castillo v. Becka
2:21-cv-00162 · 2022-08-31
Motions to dismiss (defendant) Granted

“Accordingly, the undersigned recommends that Defendant’s motion to dismiss (Doc. No. 34) be GRANTED and that this case be DISMISSED with prejudice pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b).”

Molinar v. Lumpkin
6:22-cv-00006 · 2022-08-12
Motions to dismiss (defendant) Granted in part

“For the reasons set forth below, the undersigned recommends that Defendant’s motion to dismiss be GRANTED IN PART, as to Plaintiff’s request to grow his hair long in accordance with his professed faith, and DENIED IN PART, because a live controversy still exists regarding whether Plaintiff may wear two braids rather than only one.”

Caseload & timing

From public federal docket records for this judge.

Corpus Christi and Victoria Division referral magistrate; the record is dominated by pro se prisoner 1983 and 2254/1915 screening recommendations, plus occasional counsel-represented civil dispositive recommendations (e.g. the Breland products-liability summary-judgment). Not a complete caseload census.

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 months0
Bench trials submitted more than six months0
Bankruptcy appeals pending more than six months0
Social Security appeals pending more than six months0
Civil cases pending more than three years0
ReportMotions over six monthsCases over three years
Mar 202600
Sep 202500
Mar 202500
Sep 202400
Mar 202400
Sep 202300
Mar 202300
Sep 202200
Mar 202200
Sep 202100

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 Southern District of Texas, not for Judge Neurock: 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.

CasesMedian time
All civil cases closed5,7427.6 months
Closed with no court action2,4426 months
Closed before pretrial2,3717.4 months
Closed during or after pretrial87111.4 months
Closed during trial5831.6 months
12 months endingCases closedMedian time
Sep 20255,7427.6 months
Sep 20245,0867.5 months
Sep 20234,7627.9 months
Sep 20224,5958.8 months
Sep 20214,7458.8 months
Sep 20205,0098.1 months
Sep 20195,2337.5 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).

Draft for Judge Neurock with the record in hand

Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Neurock, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.

Opens in Ezel Pro.

  • Grounded in Judge Neurock's own signed orders
  • Cites every source it relies on, so you can verify it
  • Chat, drafting and research in one workspace