Report and Recommendation (R&R)

What It Is

A report and recommendation, usually called an R&R or, in some districts, “findings, conclusions, and recommendation,” is the magistrate judge’s written proposal on a dispositive motion. It reads like an opinion. It states the facts as the magistrate judge understood them, applies the law, and recommends a result: grant the motion to dismiss, deny it in part, grant summary judgment, and so on.

The R&R is not a final ruling. The district judge decides whether to adopt it. 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(C).

The 14-Day Clock

You have 14 days from service of the R&R to file written objections. Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b)(2). If the R&R was served on you by mail, add 3 days. Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(d). The other side then has 14 days to respond to your objections.

Calendar the deadline the day the R&R arrives. If you need more time, ask for it before the deadline runs.

What Happens If You Do Not Object

The district judge reviews only the parts you objected to under the fresh, de novo standard. Everything else is reviewed, at most, for clear error, and most district judges simply adopt it.

Worse, a failure to object can waive your right to appeal the point. In Thomas v. Arn, the Supreme Court upheld a circuit rule that treats an unobjected R&R finding as forfeited on appeal. The Fifth Circuit, like most circuits, limits appellate review of unobjected findings to plain error, which almost never succeeds.

What a Good Objection Looks Like

General objections do not count. “Plaintiff objects to the entire R&R” preserves nothing. Each objection must:

• point to a specific finding or conclusion, by page and section of the R&R
• explain what is wrong, using the record that was before the magistrate judge and the controlling law
• state the result the district judge should reach instead

New arguments and new evidence raised for the first time in objections are usually refused. Argue from the record you already built.

Why It Matters in a Section 1983 Case

In districts that refer all pro se cases to magistrate judges, the R&R on the motion to dismiss is where most Section 1983 cases end. The objection is your only chance to have a district judge look at the qualified immunity analysis with fresh eyes. See the process step on responding to a report and recommendation for the full walkthrough.

Key Authority

• 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1) — referral, objections, and de novo review
• Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b) — dispositive motions and objection procedure
• Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(d) — three added days for mail service
• Thomas v. Arn, 474 U.S. 140 (1985) — waiver rules for unobjected findings