U.S. District Court, Southern District of California: court analysis
4,683 linked cases · High confidence · Computed Oct 7, 2026
- Speed vs peers
- Fast
- trial general
- Median days to close
- 209
- 2,813 closed cases
- Cases in the index
- 4,683
- 856 with no closing date
- Judges with cases
- 47
How fast cases close here
Compared with courts at the same level. Fast is the quickest third of those courts, slow the slowest third.
Fast
Median 209 days from filing to closing (n=2,813) vs 274 days median across 94 federal trial general courts; fast is the quickest third (≤248 days), slow the slowest third (>301 days).
Official figure: U.S. Courts Federal Court Management Statistics report a median of 5.5 months from filing to disposition for civil cases and 4.4 months for felony defendants (12 months ending June 30, 2026). Source PDF
- Median
- 209 days
- Half of cases closed sooner
- Faster quarter
- 86 days or less
- Slower quarter
- more than 449 days
Based on 2,813 closed cases · High confidence
Caseload
Linked cases by filing year and type. A count is not an outcome.
1991–2005: 7 cases in total.
| Type | Cases |
|---|---|
| Civilcv | 2,852 |
| Magistrate judge mattermj | 1,005 |
| Criminalcr | 660 |
| Not classified | 114 |
| Petty offensepo | 32 |
| Miscellaneousmc | 18 |
| gj | 1 |
| Multidistrict litigationmd | 1 |
How civil cases ended
Only results stated in a source document count.
- Plaintiff win rate
- 37%
- 380 judgments for one side
- Dismissal rate
- 45%
- 1,158 dismissed of 2,555 with a stated result
Jury or judge decided
- Share of trials before a jury
- 91%
- 58 trials
- Jury demanded on the docket
- 75%
- 542 of 725 dockets with the flag. A demand is not a trial.
Criminal cases
- Resolved by guilty plea
- 86%
- 587 criminal outcomes
- Convicted at trial
- 95%
- 42 trials
Judges with the most cases here
| Judge | Cases |
|---|---|
| Ruth Bermudez MontenegroU.S. District Court, Southern District of California | 228 |
| Janis L. SammartinoU.S. District Court, Southern District of California | 171 |
| James E. Simmons, JrJudicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation | 167 |
Showing the top 3 of 47 judges. JudgeFinder Pro shows the full list.
Law firms most active here
An appearance is not an endorsement.
No attorney appearances with a firm are linked to this court yet.
How these figures are calculated
Read the methodology
Computed nightly from the cases linked to this court in the JudgeFinder record and sourced case outcomes.
Every figure carries its sample size. Confidence tiers: insufficient (fewer than 30), low (30–99), medium (100–499), high (500 or more). Below the minimum a rate is not shown and the page says "Insufficient data".
Speed compares this court's median days from filing to closing with other courts at the same level (for example, federal district courts with each other). Courts are split into thirds: fast is the quickest third, slow the slowest third. A label needs 30+ closed cases here and 3+ comparable courts. Federal district courts also cite the official median from the U.S. Courts Federal Court Management Statistics.
Caseload counts linked docket entries by filing year and type; open means no closing date is recorded.
Outcome rates follow the same definitions as judge analysis pages.