Ernest Gonzalez
How Judge Gonzalez rules, drawn from 16 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Gonzalez
Ernest Gonzalez is a judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. Appointed by President Joseph R. Biden, Judge Gonzalez received a commission on April 9, 2024.
Judge Gonzalez's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Gonzalez, 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.
- EG-Standing-Order-on-AI-1st-draft-6-24-2026.pdf ↗
- Judge-Ernest-Gonzalez-Standing-Order-in-Criminal-Cases.pdf ↗
- Patent-Standing-Order-1.0_EG-1.pdf ↗
Key rules
Sealing
Counsel must further certify that the use of generative artificial intelligence has not resulted in the disclosure of confidential or privileged information
“Counsel must further certify that the use of generative artificial intelligence has not resulted in the disclosure of confidential or privileged information”
Other
If counsel utilizes generative artificial intelligence to draft or assist in drafting a pleading, counsel must include with the pleading a “Certificate of Generative Artificial Intelligence Usage,” an example of which is appended to this Standing Order as Appendix C.
“If counsel utilizes generative artificial intelligence to draft or assist in drafting a pleading, counsel must include with the pleading a ‘Certificate of Generative Artificial Intelligence Usage,’ an example of which is appended to this Standing Order as Appendix C.”
Other
The certificate must disclose the use of generative artificial intelligence and certify that counsel has independently verified the accuracy of any portion of the document drafted or assisted by the tool.
“The certificate must disclose the use of generative artificial intelligence and certify that counsel has independently verified the accuracy of any portion of the document drafted or assisted by the tool.”
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 Gonzalez decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In an FTCA case, he adopted Magistrate Judge Watters’s report and recommendation and denied the government’s motions.
“IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the Report and Recommendation of the Honorable United States Magistrate Judge Matthew Watters, ECF 28, is ADOPTED and that the Government's Motions, ECF 16, are DENIED.”
Procedural preferences
In Javier Erazo Toro’s case, he denied the emergency motion for a temporary restraining order and administrative stay of removal in full.
“IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Plaintiff Javier Erazo Toro's Emergency Motion for Temporary Restraining Order and Request for Administrative Stay of Removal, ECF 4, be DENIED in its entirety.”
Cautions
In this case, he granted a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction filed by Officer No. 4 John Doe and Malex Logistics LLC.
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendants Officer No. 4 John Doe and Malex Logistics LLC's Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction, ECF 4, is GRANTED.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendants Officer No. 4 John Doe and Malex Logistics LLC's Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction, ECF 4, is GRANTED.”
Judge Gonzalez adopted Magistrate Judge Matthew Watters's recommendation and dismissed the amended complaint without prejudice after the plaintiff failed to prosecute the case or complete service for about a year despite three extensions. Because the court acted on its own rather than on a party's motion, the dismissal is not included in the motion statistics.
After clear-error review and with no objection filed, Gonzalez accepted the magistrate judge's recommendation and the defendant's guilty plea. The disposition concerned a plea rather than a contested motion.
“the Court RECOMMENDS that the Motion be GRANTED and the case be DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.”
“Government’s Motions, ECF 16, are DENIED.”
“IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Plaintiff Javier Erazo Toro's Emergency Motion for Temporary Restraining Order and Request for Administrative Stay of Removal, ECF 4, be DENIED in its entirety.”
“Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss, ECF 26, and Motion to Dismiss Amended Complaint, ECF 32, are DENIED AS MOOT without prejudice to filing motions to dismiss Plaintiff’s Second Amended Complaint.”
“Upon review of the Recommendation, the record, and the applicable law, the Court ADOPTS the Recommendation and GRANTS the Motion.”
“Order to Show Cause Why a Preliminary Injunction Should Not Issue, ECF 11, is DENIED.”
“the Government’s Motion to Dismiss, ECF 9, is GRANTED.”
“Defendants GES Corporation’s and Grizzlystick Corporation’s Motion to Dismiss, ECF 8, is DENIED.”
“Defendant Sephora USA, Inc’s Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim, ECF 14, is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE to raising patent ineligibility at the summary judgment stage.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Judge Gonzalez's Del Rio docket is dominated by illegal-reentry prosecutions and immigration-related habeas petitions. His smaller civil docket includes transferred or removed cases, an inherited civil-rights action filed before his commission, and several Waco patent matters referred to Magistrate Judge Gilliland.
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 |
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 Gonzalez: 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 Gonzalez with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Gonzalez, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
Opens in Ezel Pro.
- Grounded in Judge Gonzalez's own signed orders
- Cites every source it relies on, so you can verify it
- Chat, drafting and research in one workspace