Leon Schydlower
How Judge Schydlower rules, drawn from 18 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Schydlower
Leon Schydlower is a judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. Appointed by President Joseph R. Biden, Judge Schydlower received a commission on March 26, 2024.
Judge Schydlower's practices and standing orders
The court's website lists no individual practices or standing orders of Judge Schydlower's own (checked October 8, 2026), so the court's local rules and general orders are the place to look (court page ↗).
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 Schydlower decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Cacho, allegations that the plaintiff used his cell phone for personal activities were enough at the pleading stage to treat it as a residential phone under the telephone-solicitation rules. The complaint also described home-improvement marketing calls, so the court allowed the federal and Texas claims to proceed.
“This is sufficient at the pleadings stage to state a claim based on a call to a residential phone.”
Procedural preferences
Generalized concerns that defendants may destroy evidence or move assets do not, without a more specific confidentiality interest, justify sealing a proposed temporary restraining order or the defendants' identities.
“The risk of parties destroying evidence and attempting to hide assets exists in many cases, but that does not mean that documents in all such cases should be sealed.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“For all the reasons stated above, Investments' motion to strike is DENIED.”
“IT IS ORDERED that Respondent Warden Charisma Edge's ‘Motion for Summary Judgment’ (ECF No. 7) is GRANTED.”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Petitioner Eric Aniles' ‘Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus’ under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 (ECF No. 1) is DENIED and his cause is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
“I grant the defendants' motions to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6).”
“I therefore deny Plaintiff's motion for leave to file third and fourth amended complaints.”
“This court is without authority to transfer venue under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a), so Plaintiff's motion in this regard is denied.”
“Because this lawsuit was originally filed in federal court, the Court has no authority to ‘remand’ it to state court. ... Plaintiff's motion is therefore denied.”
“The Court GRANTS the subject Rule 12(b)(6) motions to dismiss for failure to state a claim [ECF Nos. 13 & 14] and DISMISSES all claims against Aetna Life Insurance Company and Optum RX.”
“Movant Paris Lamont Dennis's amended pro se ‘Motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 to Vacate, Set Aside, or Correct Sentence by a Person in Federal Custody’ [ECF No. 260] is DENIED, and his civil cause is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
“Joseph Anthony Rocha-Chaparro's pro se ‘Motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 to Vacate, Set Aside, or Correct Sentence by a Person in Federal Custody’ (Doc. 172) is DENIED, and his civil cause is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
“Plaintiff's motion to file another amended complaint [ECF No. 28] is DENIED.”
“The Court grants Judge Simmons' motion to dismiss.”
“For the reasons explained above and because the Court grants Defendants’ motion to dismiss and motion for judgment on the pleadings, the Court denied Plaintiff’s motions.”
“Plaintiff Philip Ireland's motions for judicial notice [ECF No. 9] and summary judgment [ECF No. 10] are denied.”
“The Court grants Defendants' motion for summary judgment [Doc. No. 15] and denies Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment [Doc. No. 16].”
“The Court ADOPTS the report and recommendation of the Magistrate Judge, GRANTS Plaintiff's motion for default judgment against Defendant Vanguard Alliance Group, LLC, [ECF No. 22] ... and AWARDS Plaintiff damages totaling $27,905.00 for his TCPA claim, TBCC claim, and court costs.”
“Hugo Alberto Granados' pro se ‘Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241’ (ECF No. 1) is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE for lack of jurisdiction.”
“The Court DENIES the petition [ECF No. 1] and DISMISSES this action with prejudice.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Judge Schydlower's El Paso docket is diverse but predominantly criminal, and its recent civil filings include a substantial 2026 surge of alien-detainee habeas petitions. The sampled civil matters include an employment-discrimination case, a removed contract dispute, and a TCPA default action, along with still-pending habeas cases.
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 U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, not for Judge Schydlower: 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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