UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION
STANDING ORDER FOR MAGISTRATE JUDGE THOMAS S. HIXSON
Parties shall comply with the procedures in the Federal Rules of Civil or Criminal Procedure, the
Northern District of California’s Local Rules and General Orders, and this Standing Order, all of which
are available at www.cand.uscourts.gov. Failure to comply may result in monetary sanctions, dismissal,
entry of judgment, or other appropriate sanctions.
UNREPRESENTED (PRO SE) PARTIES
Parties representing themselves are invited to visit the “Representing Yourself” section of the Court’s
website, https://cand.uscourts.gov/pro-se-litigants/. The site includes information about the Legal Help
Center, a free service offered by the Justice & Diversity Center of the Bar Association of San Francisco.
You may request an appointment by emailing
[email protected] or calling 415-782-8982. You will be
able to speak with an attorney who may be able to provide basic legal help but not representation. More
information is available at https://cand.uscourts.gov/pro-se-litigants/.
SCHEDULING
Law and motion is heard on Thursdays at 10:00 a.m. All motions (except criminal duty matters) shall be
noticed for any available Thursday. The parties may confirm availability at
https://cand.uscourts.gov/judges/hixson-thomas-s-tsh/. For scheduling questions, please contact Judge
Hixson’s Courtroom Deputy at
[email protected] or (415) 522-4067.
DISCOVERY
Discovery disputes are governed by Judge Hixson’s Discovery Standing Order, available at
https://cand.uscourts.gov/judges/hixson-thomas-s-tsh/.
CONSENT TO PROCEED BEFORE MAGISTRATE JUDGE
In civil cases that are randomly assigned to Judge Hixson for all purposes, each party should file a
consent to the assignment of a United States Magistrate Judge for all purposes, or a request for
reassignment to a district judge, as soon as possible. If a party files a dispositive motion (such as a
motion to dismiss or a motion for remand), the moving party must file the consent/declination
simultaneously with the motion. The consent/declination form is available at
http://www.cand.uscourts.gov/civilforms. In no event shall the consent or declination be filed later than
the deadlines specified in Civil L.R. 73-1(a)(1) and (2).
Revised September 9, 2025
CIVIL CASE MANAGEMENT
Counsel shall meet and confer prior to the case management conference and file a joint statement no
later than seven days prior to the conference. The statement shall address the information contained in
the Standing Order for All Judges of the Northern District of California, which is available
https://cand.uscourts.gov/judges/hixson-thomas-s-tsh/.
The Court strongly encourages parties to permit less experienced attorneys to actively participate in the
proceedings by presenting argument at motion hearings or examining witnesses at trial.
Amended Pleadings
If a party files a motion to amend or the Court orders a party to file an amended pleading, that party shall
concurrently file a redlined or highlighted version comparing the amended pleading to the prior
operative pleading.
Documents filed on ECF
All exhibits to motions and/or discovery disputes should be separately filed on ECF. For example, if the
motion is Docket No. 30, and the declaration with 10 exhibits is Docket No. 31, Exhibit A would be
filed as Docket No. 31-1, Exhibit B would be Docket No. 31-2, and so on. All exhibits shall also be
filed in a searchable OCR format where possible.
Motions to File Under Seal
The parties are reminded that court proceedings are presumptively public. Any request to file a
document under seal must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5.
CHAMBERS COPIES AND PROPOSED ORDERS
The parties do not need to submit chambers copies, except when requested by a separate order from the
Court.
Any proposed order in a case subject to electronic filing shall be emailed in Word format to
[email protected]. This address is to be used only for proposed orders unless otherwise directed
by the Court.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
_______________________________
THOMAS S. HIXSON
United States Magistrate Judge
Revised September 9, 2025
