Mitchel Neurock
How Judge Neurock rules, drawn from 30 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
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).
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.
“recommended that the Court (1) retroactively grant leave for Plaintiff to file his second amended complaint”
“recommended that the Court ... (4) deny Plaintiff’s motions for preliminary injunction”
“(5) deny Plaintiff’s motion to consolidate cases as moot”
“(6) deny Plaintiff’s motion to change venue in his state criminal case”
“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.”
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.
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.
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“Accordingly, Defendants’ motion to dismiss (D.E. 22), construed as a motion for summary judgment, is GRANTED and this action is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
“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).”
“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).”
“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 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 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2021 | 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 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.
| Cases | Median time | |
|---|---|---|
| All civil cases closed | 5,742 | 7.6 months |
| Closed with no court action | 2,442 | 6 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 2,371 | 7.4 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 871 | 11.4 months |
| Closed during trial | 58 | 31.6 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 5,742 | 7.6 months |
| Sep 2024 | 5,086 | 7.5 months |
| Sep 2023 | 4,762 | 7.9 months |
| Sep 2022 | 4,595 | 8.8 months |
| Sep 2021 | 4,745 | 8.8 months |
| Sep 2020 | 5,009 | 8.1 months |
| Sep 2019 | 5,233 | 7.5 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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