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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FEBRUARY 13, 2026
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DISTRICT OF NEVADA
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IN RE: CONSENT AND REFERRALS TO
4 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGES THIRD AMENDED
5 UNDER 28 U.S.C. § 636 GENERAL ORDER 2023-11
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7 This General Order is adopted under 28 U.S.C. § 636(c) and United States District
8 Court for the District of Nevada Local Rules IB 2-1 and 2-2. The District Judges hereby
9 designate the Magistrate Judges of this District to exercise jurisdiction over civil matters, and
10 specially designate them to enter final judgments in civil cases, provided all parties to the case
11 consent to proceed before the Magistrate Judge as established in this Order. The goal of these
12 procedures is to increase the percentage of consent cases to further advance Rule 1 of the
13 Federal Rules of Civil Procedure’s mandate: “to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive
14 determination of every action and proceeding.”
15 This court direct assigns a percentage of most newly filed civil cases and reassigned
16 cases to Magistrate Judges. Consent to a Magistrate Judge is voluntary. When a case is directly
17 assigned to a Magistrate Judge, all parties are provided with an option to decline consent form
18 (“the Form”). Any party may decline consent by signing and returning the Form to the court.
19 Each party will be deemed to have knowingly and voluntarily consented to proceed before the
20 assigned Magistrate Judge if the Form is not returned within 45 days from their first appearance
21 in the case. This Order does not modify the random assignment of other civil cases to a District
22 Judge. In those cases, a Magistrate Judge will also be assigned to handle all pretrial and non-
23 dispositive matters.
24 General Objectives and Applicability. In most cases, a civil case is randomly assigned
25 to a U.S. District Judge and a U.S. Magistrate Judge. Local Rule IB 1-3 gives the Magistrate
26 Judges the authority to hear and finally determine pretrial and non-dispositive matters, and any
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1 appeal of the Magistrate Judge’s rulings are made to the District Judge. It is the intent of the
2 court to facilitate the direct assignment of civil cases under 28 U.S.C. § 636 to the Magistrate
3 Judges to make decisions affecting the final disposition of cases. The public, the parties to civil
4 litigation, and the court are well served by assignment to Magistrate Judges of all appropriate
5 cases. This Order does not apply to the following:
6 a. Cases in which a plaintiff seeks review under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) of a
7 decision of the Commissioner of Social Security. Those cases are governed
8 by a different general order.
9 b. Bankruptcy appeals and bankruptcy withdrawals.
10 c. Habeas petitions and prisoner civil rights cases.
11 d. Cases in which a motion for preliminary injunction or temporary restraining
12 order is filed simultaneously with the complaint.
13 e. Class or collective actions.
14 f. Cases involving parties not represented by counsel.
15 Procedure for Assignment and Consent. A percentage of all newly filed, non-exempt
16 civil cases and reassigned cases will be assigned to the Magistrate Judges through the Clerk of
17 Court’s random civil case assignment system. Cases filed in the unofficial Southern Division of
18 the court will be assigned only to Magistrate Judges sitting in that division, and the same will
19 apply to the unofficial Northern Division. The Chief Judge will determine the percentage of
20 cases to assign the Magistrate Judges from time-to-time.
21 Once a case is assigned or reassigned to a Magistrate Judge, the Clerk will:
22 (a) advise the parties that consent to the assigned Magistrate Judge is voluntary and that
23 consent may be declined;
24 (b) docket a copy of this Order and the Form. The Clerk will also mail a copy of this
25 Order and the Form to all plaintiffs proceeding pro se and enter the event on the docket;
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1 (c) advise the parties that, should they choose to decline consent, the Form must be filed
2 in the docket or sent to the Clerk within 45 days of their first appearance in the case; and
3 (d) advise the parties that, upon receipt of a declination of consent (the Form), the case
4 will be assigned to a District Judge randomly selected from the District Judges in the division
5 where the case is properly filed.
6 Any party wishing to decline consent must file or send the Form to the Clerk’s Office
7 within 45 days from their first appearance in the case. If the Form is not returned by this
8 deadline, each party is deemed to have knowingly and voluntarily consented to proceed before
9 the assigned Magistrate Judge under 28 U.S.C. § 636(c).
10 All matters that arise in a case before the deadline by which consent must be declined
11 are deemed referred to the Magistrate Judge under 28 U.S.C. § 636(b).
12 The Magistrate Judge assigned to the case will handle all dispositive, non-dispositive,
13 and pretrial matters, including discovery. Any Early Neutral Evaluation or Settlement
14 Conference may be assigned to a different Magistrate Judge on a random basis. Any appeal of
15 an order or final judgment will be taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth
16 Circuit.
17 A Magistrate Judge may recuse from a case upon determination that there is a conflict
18 of interest. In that event, another Magistrate Judge will be randomly assigned as the presiding
19 judge and no further declination of consent will be entertained beyond the date designated in
20 the Form originally sent to each party.
21 If any party declines consent, the case will be returned to the random civil case
22 assignment system for selection of a District Judge. The previously assigned Magistrate Judge
23 will remain assigned to the case and will handle all pretrial and non-dispositive matters. The
24 identity of a declining party will not be disclosed to any judge.
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1 A party seeking to withdraw consent must file a motion to do so. The case will be
2 randomly assigned to a District Judge to resolve the issue of consent. If withdrawal of consent
3 is granted, the assigned District Judge will remain as the presiding judge. The previously
4 assigned Magistrate Judge will remain assigned to the case regardless of the outcome of the
5 motion.
6 In all cases assigned to a District Judge, the parties may nevertheless consent to having
7 the case heard by the Magistrate Judge on the case, who will then be assigned as the presiding
8 judge. If the parties consent, the Clerk must reassign the case to the Magistrate Judge already
9 assigned to the case as set forth under 28 U.S.C. § 636(c).
10 District Judge May Transfer a Case Based on Stipulation. A District Judge may, in
11 their discretion, transfer a case at any time to the Magistrate Judge already assigned to the case
12 based on the consent of all parties.
13 Proceedings In Forma Pauperis. Unless the court otherwise directs, upon filing, the
14 Clerk must assign to a Magistrate Judge all motions and applications to proceed in forma
15 pauperis (“IFP”). All applications to proceed IFP are deemed referred under 28 U.S.C. § 636.
16 Any reference received from a Court of Appeals for the limited purpose of determining whether
17 an appellant’s IFP status should continue or whether the appeal is frivolous or taken in bad faith
18 must be reviewed by the judge who made the final decision that resulted in the appeal.
19 DATED THIS 13th day of February, 2026.
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21 ANDREW P. GORDON, CHIEF JUDGE
22 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
DISTRICT OF NEVADA
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