David Campos Guaderrama
How Judge Guaderrama rules, drawn from 22 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Guaderrama
David Campos Guaderrama is a senior judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. Appointed by President Barack Obama, he received his commission on April 30, 2012, and took senior status on May 27, 2023. He previously served as a magistrate judge in the same district and as a Texas state district judge in El Paso County.
Judge Guaderrama's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Guaderrama, 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.
- Standing-Order-Referring-Social-Security-Cases.pdf ↗
- Standing-Order-Regarding-Motions-for-Summary-Judgment-1.pdf ↗
- Standing-Order-to-Replead-in-Removal-Cases-061621.pdf ↗
- Standing-Order-Immigration-Case-Updates-DCG.pdf ↗
Key rules
Contacting chambers
If the opposing party disagrees with the filing party’s characterization of the facts, that party SHALL inform the Court within three days.
“If the opposing party disagrees with the filing party’s characterization of the facts, that party SHALL inform the Court within three days.”
Filing
Plaintiff(s)SHALL replead vdthm fourteen(14)calendar days ofthe expiration ofthe thirty- day deadline to file a motion to remand pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c) or vvithin fourteen days ofthe Court’s order denying a motion to remand.
“Plaintiff(s)SHALL replead vdthm fourteen(14)calendar days ofthe expiration ofthe thirty- day deadline to file a motion to remand pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c) or vvithin fourteen days ofthe Court’s order denying a motion to remand.”
Filing
Defendant(s)SHALL replead within twenty- one(21)days ofthe date plaintiff(s) file their complaint.
“Defendant(s)SHALL replead within twenty- one(21)days ofthe date plaintiff(s) file their complaint.”
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 Guaderrama decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
At the pleading stage in an excessive-force case, specific allegations about an officer's use of a taser and the decedent's conduct supported proceeding against the officer and city.
“the Court DENIES Officer Escajeda's Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' excessive-force claim.”
Procedural preferences
He treated personal jurisdiction as a threshold requirement and dismissed a trademark suit when the defendant's Texas contacts did not support specific jurisdiction.
“Taken together, Rize does not have minimum contacts with Texas.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“The Court GRANTS Petitioner Sonia Eladia Acosta Saldivar’s ‘Verified Complaint/Petition for Return of Child to Petitioner’ [ECF No. 1].”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Petitioner Sonia Eledia Acosta Saldivar’s ‘Application for Reasonable Attorneys’ Fees and Costs and Brief in Support’ (ECF No. 35) is GRANTED IN PART, insofar as the Court directs Respondent to pay in accordance with the orders stated below, and DENIED IN PART, insofar as the Court reduces the amount .requested by Petitioner consistent with the foregoing discussion.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff United National Insurance Company’s Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 28) is GRANTED.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Respondent Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ ‘Motion for Summary Judgment’ (ECF No. 9) is GRANTED.”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the ‘Motion to. Dismiss Plaintiffs Complaint’ (ECF No. 25), converted to a motion .for summary judgment and filed by Defendants-Jeh Johnson, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security; Alejandro Mayorkas, Director USCIS; James B. Comey, FBI Director; Raymond Adams, El Paso Field Office Director; and Does 1-10 is DENIED.”
“IT IS. HEREBY ORDERED THAT Defendant Ricardo Posada’s ‘Motion for Relief from Mandatory Detention Pending Self-Surrender Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1345(c)’ (ECF No. 475) is DENIED.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiffs ‘Opposed Motion to Remand and Brief in Support’ (ECF No. 7) is DENIED.”
“IT IS ORDERED that Defendant City of El Paso, Texas's ‘ Rule 12 Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' Original Complaint’ (ECF No. 8) is DENIED.”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendant Ruben Escajeda, Jr.'s ‘Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' Original Complaint’ (ECF No. 14) is DENIED.”
“IT IS ORDERED that Respondents' ‘Motion to Dismiss, or in the Alternative, Motion for Summary Judgment’ (ECF No. 22) is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART . The Court GRANTS the Motion with respect to Petitioners' Procedural Due Process, Substantive Due Process, Equal Protection, and APA claims, which are hereby DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE . The Court DENIES the Motion with regard to Petitioners' Freedom of the Press and Freedom of Speech claims.”
“For the foregoing reasons, IT IS ORDERED that Defendant's ‘Motion to Dismiss’ (ECF No. 26) is DENIED”
“The Court thereby GRANTS ‘Plaintiff’s Motion for Default Judgment’ (ECF No. 29) IN PART.”
“IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiffs’ ‘Motion for Remand’ (ECF No. 3) is GRANTED.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The five sampled El Paso civil dockets span injury, lending, employment, and insurance matters; they do not represent the full caseload.
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 | 28 |
| 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 | 9 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 28 | 9 |
| Sep 2025 | 27 | 11 |
| Mar 2025 | 33 | 12 |
| Sep 2024 | 32 | 2 |
| Mar 2024 | 28 | 2 |
| Sep 2023 | 32 | 2 |
| Mar 2023 | 5 | 3 |
| Sep 2022 | 9 | 2 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 2 |
| Sep 2021 | 3 | 2 |
| Mar 2021 | 4 | 4 |
| Sep 2020 | 1 | 1 |
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 Guaderrama: 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).
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Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Guaderrama, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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