Anne T. Berton
How Judge Berton rules, drawn from 36 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Berton
Anne T. Berton has served as a U.S. magistrate judge for the Western District of Texas since 2012. She earned an undergraduate degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point and a law degree from Texas Tech University School of Law. She handles pretrial matters and prepares recommendations on referred dispositive motions.
Judge Berton's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Berton, as published on the court's website (checked October 8, 2026). Judges revise these often, so confirm the current version on the court's site before you file.
Key rules
Filing
Each statement of fact shall be supported by reference to the page in the record where the evidence may be found.
“Each statement of fact shall be supported by reference to the page in the record where the evidence may be found.”
Filing
The plaintiff’s opening brief must contain:
“The plaintiff’s opening brief must contain:”
Motions
The parties shall request a briefing schedule from the Court to file pretrial
“The parties shall request a briefing schedule from the Court to file pretrial”
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).
- Standing Order Regarding Joint or Unopposed Request to Change Deadlines ↗
- Order Regarding Procedures for the Filing, Service and Management of Highly Sensitive Documents ↗
- General Order Regarding Electronic Filing of Transcripts ↗
- Standing Order Regarding Attorney Admissions and CLE Requirements ↗
- Privacy Policy and Public Access to Electronic Files ↗
- Standing Order Regarding the Electronic Submission of Sealed Civil Documents ↗
How Judge Berton decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Cautions
In one civil-rights recommendation, she concluded that an alleged crime victim lacked standing to sue prosecutors for declining to charge someone else. She treated prosecutorial immunity as a separate ground for dismissing claims against the prosecutors.
“Davis, as an alleged victim of crimes, lacks standing to sue the DA Defendants for their decision not to prosecute Judge Gonzalez.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“For the foregoing reasons, the Court RECOMMENDS that Defendant Wyoming National Logistics's Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's First Amended Complaint (ECF No. 12) should be DENIED.”
“the Court RECOMMENDS that Defendant Supreme Labor Source, LLC's Motion to Dismiss First Amended Complaint (ECF No. 17) be GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. Specifically, the motion should be GRANTED as to Plaintiff Ana Davis's claims for sex/gender discrimination and hostile work environment sexual harassment but be DENIED as to her claims for race discrimination and retaliation.”
“Accordingly, the Court RECOMMENDS that Defendant Anaya's Motion for Summary Judgment be GRANTED.”
“Accordingly, IT IS RECOMMENDED that this case be DISMISSED.”
“On August 4, 2023, the Magistrate Judge filed a Report and Recommendation (‘R&R’), ECF No. 15, which recommended that the Court affirm the decision of the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (‘Commissioner’) denying Plaintiff's application for disability insurance benefits and supplemental security income benefits. ... Accordingly, the Court ADOPTS the R&R, ECF No. 15, in its entirety, and ORDERS that the Commissioner's decision is AFFIRMED.”
“After considering the briefs, the record evidence of the administrative proceedings, and the written decision of the Administrative Law Judge (‘ALJ’), the Court AFFIRMS the final decision of the Commissioner.”
“Based on the foregoing, the Court concludes that the ALJ's opinion was supported by substantial evidence, and the decision of the Commissioner should be AFFIRMED.”
“The Court concludes that the ALJ's decision is not supported by substantial evidence and does not comport with relevant legal standards. Based on the foregoing, it is hereby ORDERED that the decision of the Commissioner is REVERSED and REMANDED for further consideration and administrative proceedings.”
“The decision of the Commissioner is, therefore, REVERSED and the case is REMANDED for further proceedings.”
“The decision of the Commissioner is, therefore, REVERSED and the case is REMANDED for further proceedings.”
“The Court concludes that the ALJ’s decision is supported by substantial evidence. Based on the foregoing, it is hereby ORDERED that the decision of the Commissioner is AFFIRMED.”
“For the reasons set above, the Court concludes that the ALJ properly evaluated Plaintiff’s allegation of depression, and that the ALJ’s RFC determination is supported by substantial evidence. Based on the foregoing, it is hereby ORDERED that the decision of the Commissioner is AFFIRMED.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median motion-to-ruling time: 62 days (N = 3).
- Judge Berton's directly assigned docket is dominated by El Paso border prosecutions involving illegal entry or reentry, many of which were still pending during the period reviewed and did not provide civil timing or duration evidence.
- Her dispositive civil work generally comes through referrals that remain under the district judge's case assignment.
- She also runs the El Paso Sendero Re-entry Court.
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 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2020 | 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 Western District of Texas, not for Judge Berton: 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 | 3,691 | 7.7 months |
| Closed with no court action | 1,171 | 5.5 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 2,115 | 7.5 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 366 | 14 months |
| Closed during trial | 39 | 30.6 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 3,691 | 7.7 months |
| Sep 2024 | 3,440 | 7.8 months |
| Sep 2023 | 3,823 | 7.2 months |
| Sep 2022 | 3,633 | 8.3 months |
| Sep 2021 | 3,178 | 8 months |
| Sep 2020 | 2,990 | 6.4 months |
| Sep 2019 | 2,854 | 7.1 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 Berton with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Berton, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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