Henry J. Bemporad

How Judge Bemporad rules, drawn from 31 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

Court
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas
Position
Magistrate judge
Commissioned
April 13, 2012
Education
University of Texas at Austin (B.A., 1985, highest honors, Phi Beta Kappa); Stanford University (J.D., 1988, with distinction)
Signed orders read
31

About Judge Bemporad

Henry J. Bemporad has served as a U.S. magistrate judge in the San Antonio Division of the Western District of Texas since 2012. He earned a law degree from Stanford University and previously served as the federal public defender for the Western District of Texas. He also clerked for U.S. District Judge Edward C. Prado.

Judge Bemporad's practices and standing orders

Rules for cases before Judge Bemporad, 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

My Law Clerk, Daniel Moss, may be contacted directly to raise a procedural (not substantive) issue in a civil case if the issue has not been addressed by the rules or prior Orders.

“My Law Clerk, Daniel Moss, may be contacted directly to raise a procedural (not substantive) issue in a civil case if the issue has not been addressed by the rules or prior Orders.”

Contacting chambers

In most cases, contact during deposition is unnecessary. However, the parties may contact me during depositions on matters requiring immediate attention.

“In most cases, contact during deposition is unnecessary. However, the parties may contact me during depositions on matters requiring immediate attention.”

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).

Key rules from these orders · The court's local rules ↗

How Judge Bemporad decides

Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

What persuades

In Mahmoudpour v. Bondi, Bemporad recommended release from immigration detention within 48 hours because the government had not rebutted the petitioner’s evidence that removal was unlikely in the reasonably foreseeable future.

“Respondents have not met their burden of presenting evidence sufficient to rebut Petitioner’s good reasons for believing that he is not likely to be removed in the reasonably foreseeable future.”

Procedural preferences

In Puebla v. Ford Motor Co., Bemporad recommended denying remand because the corrected service date still placed the removal notice within the 30-day limit.

“Even with a receipt date of April 18, 2025, the removal was filed well within the 30-day time frame established by § 1446(b)(1).”

Cautions

In Dewitt v. Magnificus, Bemporad recommended dismissal of the age-discrimination claim after the complaint and its attachments failed to show an administrative charge and the plaintiff did not answer the exhaustion argument.

“Neither facts pleaded in the Amended Complaint nor the documents attached to it show otherwise, and Plaintiff does not respond to Defendant’s exhaustion argument in its motion to dismiss.”

Signed rulings

A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.

Oglesby v. Medtronic, Inc.
SA-20-CV-1267-FB · 2023-03-30
Summary judgment (defendant) Granted

“Defendants Medtronic, Inc.'s and Medtronic USA, Inc.'s Motion for Summary Judgment (docket #104) and Defendant Integra Lifesciences Corporation's Motion for Summary Judgment (docket #105) are GRANTED such that Plaintiffs' claims and this case are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”

Miranda v. Kendall County, Texas
SA-23-CV-683-FB · 2025-11-30
Summary judgment (defendant) Granted

“Defendant Kendall County's Motion for Summary Judgment (docket #18) is GRANTED and all of Plaintiff's claims and this case are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”

Alanis v. U.S. Bank National Association
SA-23-CV-749-FB · 2024-02-27
Summary judgment (plaintiff) Denied

“Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment (docket #4) is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE as premature”

Motions to dismiss (defendant) Granted in part

“Defendants' Motion to Dismiss (docket #38) is GRANTED IN PART such that Plaintiff's Verified First Amended Complaint (docket #32) is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE for the failure to comply with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2); DENIED IN PART... DENIED IN PART AS MOOT”

Joe Hand Promotions, Inc. v. Aguirre
5:22-CV-1388-DAE · 2023-08-07
Default judgment (plaintiff) Granted in part

“GRANTS IN PART AND DENIES IN PART Plaintiff's Motion for Final Default Judgment (Dkt. # 8). The Motion is GRANTED as to Plaintiff's request for damages, fees, and costs, as follows: (1) $3,285 in statutory compensatory damages... (2) $3,285 in statutory enhanced damages... (3) $2,137.50 in reasonable attorneys' fees... and (4) $516 of costs... The Motion is DENIED as to Plaintiff's request for additional damages.”

Dominguez v. Municipal Credit Service Corp.
5:23-CV-1232-DAE · 2024-04-02
Default judgment (plaintiff) Granted

“the Court ADOPTS Judge Bemporad's recommendations and GRANTS Plaintiff Angel Dominguez's Motion for Default Judgment. (Dkt. # 11.)”

Dillard v. Wray (FBI Director), et al.
SA-23-CV-00853-JKP · 2023-08-31

Judge Bemporad screened this self-represented litigant's in-forma-pauperis complaint under 28 U.S.C. 1915(e) and recommended dismissal as frivolous, denial of the pending motions as moot, and a filing injunction. Judge Pulliam reviewed for clear error and adopted the recommendation. Because the screening occurred on the court's own initiative, it resolved no party motion.

Weah v. Estancia Villas LLC
5:24-cv-00326 · 2024-06-04
Motion to proceed ifp (Plaintiff Allen Weah) Denied

“the Magistrate Judge concluded that Plaintiff's appeal to the Fifth Circuit was not taken in good faith and recommended that his application for IFP status on appeal (ECF No. 14) be denied.”

Patrick v. Kijakazi
5:22-cv-00716 · 2023-08-18
Social security appeal (Plaintiff Amy Dee Patrick) Granted

“the Magistrate Judge concluded that, because the ALJ had erred in failing to resolve conflict between the VE's testimony and the DOT, the record lacked substantial evidence to support the ALJ's decision that Plaintiff is not disabled at step five of the analysis. ECF No. 23 at 10 ... Accordingly, the Magistrate Judge recommended that the Commissioner's decision be vacated and remanded for further reconsideration.”

Tovar v. City of San Antonio
5:23-cv-00847 · 2025-05-28
Motions to dismiss (Defendant City of San Antonio, Texas) Granted

“the Report and Recommendations of the United States Magistrate Judge, filed in this case on May 28, 2025 (docket #71) is ACCEPTED such that Defendant, City of San Antonio, Texas' Partial Motion to Dismiss Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) (docket #57) and The Defendant Officers' Second (12)(b)(6) Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' Third Amended Complaint (docket #61) are GRANTED and this case is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”

Motions to dismiss (Defendant Officers (Alfred Flores, Eleazar Alejandro)) Granted
Martin v. The City of Las Vegas
5:24-cv-00647 · 2024-12-12
Other motion Granted

“For the reasons set out above, I recommend DISMISSAL WITHOUT PREJUDICE of Plaintiff's claims against (1) Las Vegas; (2) Attorney Cameron Brown, (3) Attorney Christopher Ford; (4) Attorney Tony Smith; (5) Attorney Kimberley House; (6) Advocate Kassandra Levay; (7) Tonja Ochonma, and (8) Charles Ochonma.”

State of Alabama and All Known and Unknown Parties v. Walker
5:25-cv-01019 · 2025-10-31
Motions to remand (State of Alabama (opposing removal)) Granted

“it is clear from the face of Plaintiff's notice ‘that removal should not be permitted,’ and that ‘summary remand’ is appropriate. Id. § 1455(b)(4). Accordingly, I recommend that the Court REMAND this matter to the Fifteenth Circuit Court of Alabama.”

Alamo Fireworks, Inc. v. Landstar Ranger, Inc.
5:23-cv-00116 · 2023-07-05
Motions to dismiss (Defendant Landstar Ranger, Inc.) Denied

“I recommend that Defendant's Motion to Dismiss (Docket Entry 7) be DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE to reconsideration of Defendant's arguments by way of a motion for summary judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56.”

Caseload & timing

From public federal docket records for this judge.

Judge Bemporad sits in the San Antonio Division and receives civil referrals from Judges Fred Biery and Jason K. Pulliam and Senior Judge David Alan Ezra. His directly assigned work includes a substantial criminal-duty docket. Before joining the bench, he clerked for former Western District of Texas Judge Edward C. Prado.

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 months0
Bench trials submitted more than six months0
Bankruptcy appeals pending more than six months0
Social Security appeals pending more than six months0
Civil cases pending more than three years0
ReportMotions over six monthsCases over three years
Mar 202600
Sep 202500
Mar 202500
Sep 202400
Mar 202400
Sep 202300
Mar 202301
Sep 202200
Mar 202200
Sep 202100
Mar 202100
Sep 202000

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 Bemporad: 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.

CasesMedian time
All civil cases closed3,6917.7 months
Closed with no court action1,1715.5 months
Closed before pretrial2,1157.5 months
Closed during or after pretrial36614 months
Closed during trial3930.6 months
12 months endingCases closedMedian time
Sep 20253,6917.7 months
Sep 20243,4407.8 months
Sep 20233,8237.2 months
Sep 20223,6338.3 months
Sep 20213,1788 months
Sep 20202,9906.4 months
Sep 20192,8547.1 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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