David Briones
How Judge Briones rules, drawn from 18 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Briones
David Briones is a senior judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, based in El Paso. Appointed by President Bill Clinton, he received his commission on October 11, 1994, and took senior status on February 26, 2009. He previously served as a judge of the El Paso County Court at Law Number One.
Judge Briones's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Briones, 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
Contacting chambers
Yes. The law clerks may be contacted for the purposes of preparing for trial and/or coordinating urgent matters that require the Court’s immediate attention.
“Yes. The law clerks may be contacted for the purposes of preparing for trial and/or coordinating urgent matters that require the Court’s immediate attention.”
Contacting chambers
Only if circumstances arise that necessitate the Court’s immediate attention.
“Only if circumstances arise that necessitate the Court’s immediate attention.”
Conferences
If Parties are amenable to ADR, they should notify the Court accordingly.
“If Parties are amenable to ADR, they should notify the Court accordingly.”
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 Briones decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
The court granted partial habeas relief where prolonged immigration detention had become unconstitutional as applied, and ordered a meaningful bond hearing or release.
“Section 1225(b)(2) is unconstitutional as applied to Petitioner.”
Procedural preferences
In a contract pleading dispute, the court allowed the case to proceed because the complaint supplied factual allegations for its claims.
“Plaintiffs have met the federal pleading standard by providing factual allegations about the elements of each claim. Thus, this Court will not dismiss the case at this time.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant Verizon Wireless's ‘Motion for Summary Judgment on Damages,’ ECF No. 43, is DENIED.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendants MDOffice, LLC, Eye Care Leaders Holdings, LLC and Eli Global, LLC's ‘Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim,’ ECF No. 12, is DENIED.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendants Maximus Services, LLC and Maximus Federal Services, Inc. 's Motion for Summary Judgment,‘ ECF No. 20, is GRANTED.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiffs' ‘Motion for Default,’ ECF No. 19, is DENIED.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff Spira Footwear, Ine.’s ‘Motion For Summary Judgment Pursuant To Rule 56 FRCP And Brief In Support Thereof’ is DENIED.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant Antonio Cruz-Ramos's ‘Motion to Dismiss Indictment’ is GRANTED.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff Mario Escobedo’s *1295 ‘Motion to Remand, or in the Alternative, for Partial Remand’ is GRANTED.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant Ford Motor Company’s ‘Motion To Dismiss’ is DENIED.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant Michaels Stores, Inc.’s ‘Motion For Summary Judgment And Brief In Support’ is DENIED.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant Jose Manuel Felix-Felix's ‘Motion to Dismiss Indictment’ is GRANTED .”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Respondents Ana B. Hinojosa, et al.’s ‘Motion to Dismiss’ is GRANTED.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant Jorge Ivan Moreno-Mendoza's ‘Motion to Dismiss Indictment’ is GRANTED.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 302 days (N = 9).
The eleven selected civil matters span tort, employment, benefits, consumer, and contract litigation. Nine have recorded termination dates and two do not. They are illustrative of the selected dockets only.
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 | 5 | 3 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 2 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 1 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 1 |
| Mar 2022 | 4 | 2 |
| Sep 2021 | 3 | 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 U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, not for Judge Briones: 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 Briones with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Briones, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
Opens in Ezel Pro.
- Grounded in Judge Briones's own signed orders
- Cites every source it relies on, so you can verify it
- Chat, drafting and research in one workspace