ballotpedia.org

United States District Court for the Central District of California

Central District of California
Ninth Circuit
Great seal of the United States.png
Judgeships
Posts: 28
Judges: 28
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief: Dolly Gee
Active judges: Fernando Aenlle-Rocha, Mónica Ramírez Almadani, Percy Anderson, Jesus Bernal, André Birotte Jr., Stanley Blumenfeld, David Carter, Michelle Williams Court, Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong, Michael Fitzgerald, Sherilyn P. Garnett, Dolly Gee, John William Holcomb, Wesley L. Hsu, Anne Hwang, Kenly Kiya Kato, Robert Klausner, Serena R. Murillo, Fernando Olguin, Mark C. Scarsi, Fred W. Slaughter, Josephine Staton, Sunshine S. Sykes, Cynthia Valenzuela, Hernán D. Vera, John Walter, Stephen Wilson, Otis Wright

Senior judges:
Valerie Baker Fairbank, Dale Fischer, Terry Hatter, Aaron Kampfe, William Duffy Keller, John A. Kronstadt, Ronald Lew, Consuelo Marshall, Virginia Phillips, Dean Pregerson, James Selna, Christina Snyder, George Wu


The United States District Court for the Central District of California is one of 94 United States district courts. The court serves about seventeen million people in southern and central California, making it the largest federal judicial district by population. The district operates out of courthouses in Santa Ana, Riverside and two locations in Los Angeles. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, based in downtown San Francisco at the James R. Browning Federal Courthouse. Initial appeals are heard in Pasadena at the Richard Chambers Courthouse.

Vacancies

See also: Current federal judicial vacancies

There are no current vacancies on the United States District Court for the Central District of California, out of the court's 28 judicial positions.

Pending nominations

There are no pending nominees for this court.

Active judges

Article III judges

Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

Stephen Wilson

Ronald Reagan (R)

October 17, 1985 -

Lehigh University, 1963

Brooklyn Law School, 1967

David Carter

Bill Clinton (D)

October 22, 1998 -

University of California, Los Angeles, 1967

University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, 1972

John Walter

George W. Bush (R)

May 1, 2002 -

Loyola University of Los Angeles, 1966

Loyola University School of Law, Los Angeles, 1969

Percy Anderson

George W. Bush (R)

May 1, 2002 -

University of California, Los Angeles, 1970

University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, 1975

Robert Klausner

George W. Bush (R)

November 15, 2002 -

University of Notre Dame, 1964

Loyola Law School, 1967

Otis Wright

George W. Bush (R)

April 16, 2007 -

California State University, Los Angeles, 1976

Southwestern School of Law, 1980

Dolly Gee

Barack Obama (D)

January 4, 2010 -

University of California, Los Angeles, 1981

University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, 1984

Josephine Staton

Barack Obama (D)

June 22, 2010 -

William Jewell College, 1983

Harvard Law School, 1986

Michael Fitzgerald

Barack Obama (D)

March 15, 2012 -

Harvard, 1981

University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, 1985

Jesus Bernal

Barack Obama (D)

December 12, 2012 -

Yale, 1986

Stanford Law, 1989

Fernando Olguin

Barack Obama (D)

January 16, 2013 -

Harvard, 1985

University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, 1989

André Birotte Jr.

Barack Obama (D)

August 8, 2014 -

Tufts University, 1987

Pepperdine University Law School, 1991

John William Holcomb

Donald Trump (R)

September 18, 2020 -

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1984

Harvard Law School, 1993

Mark C. Scarsi

Donald Trump (R)

September 18, 2020 -

Syracuse University, 1987

Georgetown University Law Center, 1996

Stanley Blumenfeld

Donald Trump (R)

September 18, 2020 -

State University of New York, Binghamton, 1984

University of California, Los Angeles, 1988

Fernando Aenlle-Rocha

Donald Trump (R)

December 22, 2020 -

Princeton University, 1983

University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, 1986

Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong

Joe Biden (D)

February 7, 2022 -

Harvard University

Yale Law School

Fred W. Slaughter

Joe Biden (D)

April 19, 2022 -

University of California, Los Angeles

University of California, Los Angeles

Sunshine S. Sykes

Joe Biden (D)

June 14, 2022 -

Stanford University

Stanford Law School

Sherilyn P. Garnett

Joe Biden (D)

June 24, 2022 -

University of California, Riverside

Harvard Law School

Wesley L. Hsu

Joe Biden (D)

May 12, 2023 -

Yale University

Yale University

Hernán D. Vera

Joe Biden (D)

June 15, 2023 -

Stanford University, 1991

UCLA School of Law, 1994

Kenly Kiya Kato

Joe Biden (D)

November 17, 2023 -

UCLA, 1993

Harvard School of Law, 1996

Mónica Ramírez Almadani

Joe Biden (D)

November 21, 2023 -

Harvard University, 2001

Stanford Law School, 2004

Michelle Williams Court

Joe Biden (D)

November 7, 2024 -

Pomona College

Loyola Law School

Anne Hwang

Joe Biden (D)

December 6, 2024 -

Cornell University

University of Southern California, Gould School of Law

Cynthia Valenzuela

Joe Biden (D)

December 16, 2024 -

University of Arizona, 1991

University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, 1995

Serena R. Murillo

Joe Biden (D)

January 9, 2025 -

University of California, San Deigo

Loyola Law School

Active Article III judges by appointing political party

The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

  • Democrat appointed: 19
  • Republican appointed: 9

Senior judges

Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

William Duffy Keller

Ronald Reagan (R)

October 29, 1999 -

University of California, Berkeley, 1956

University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, 1960

Terry Hatter

Jimmy Carter (D)

April 22, 2005 -

Wesleyan University, 1954

University of Chicago Law School, 1960

Consuelo Marshall

Jimmy Carter (D)

October 24, 2005 -

Howard University, 1958

Howard University, 1961

Ronald Lew

Ronald Reagan (R)

September 19, 2006 -

Loyola University, Los Angeles, CA, 1964

Southwestern University School of Law, 1971

Valerie Baker Fairbank

George W. Bush (R)

March 1, 2012 -

University of California, Santa Barbara, 1971

UCLA School of Law

Dean Pregerson

Bill Clinton (D)

January 28, 2016 -

University of California, Los Angeles, 1972

University of California, Davis, 1976

Christina Snyder

Bill Clinton (D)

November 23, 2016 -

Pomona College, 1969

Stanford Law School, 1972

James Selna

George W. Bush (R)

March 3, 2020 -

Stanford University, 1967

Stanford Law School, 1970

Virginia Phillips

Bill Clinton (D)

February 14, 2022 -

University of California, Riverside, 1979

University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, 1982

John A. Kronstadt

Barack Obama (D)

April 1, 2022 -

Cornell University, 1973

Yale Law School, 1976

Aaron Kampfe

George W. Bush (R)

November 3, 2023 -

George Wu

George W. Bush (R)

November 3, 2023 -

Pomona College, 1972

University of Chicago Law School, 1975

Dale Fischer

George W. Bush (R)

May 1, 2024 -

University of South Florida, 1977

Harvard Law School, 1980

Senior judges by appointing political party

The list below displays the number of senior judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

  • Democrat appointed: 6
  • Republican appointed: 6

Magistrate judges

Federal magistrate judges are federal judges who serve in United States district courts, but they are not appointed by the president and they do not serve life terms. Magistrate judges are assigned duties by the district judges in the district in which they serve. They may preside over most phases of federal proceedings, except for criminal felony trials. The specific duties of a magistrate judge vary from district to district, but the responsibilities always include handling matters that would otherwise be on the dockets of the district judges. Full-time magistrate judges serve for renewable terms of eight years. Some federal district courts have part-time magistrate judges, who serve for renewable terms of four years.[1]

Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

Alexander F. MacKinnon

University of Michigan,E., 1977

University of Michigan Law School, 1981

Alicia Rosenberg

Wellesley College, 1982

University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, 1985

Alka Sagar

UCLA, 1981

UCLA School of Law, 1984

Douglas F. McCormick

University of California, Irvine, 1991

UCLA School of Law, 1995

Gail J. Standish

UCLA School of Law, 1993

Jacqueline Chooljian

University of California, Los Angeles, 1982

University of Southern California, Gould School of Law, 1986

John Early

University of Notre Dame, 1990

UCLA School of Law, 1993

John McDermott

Ohio Wesleyan University, 1968

Harvard Law School, 1971

Karen Scott

Stanford University

Stanford Law School

Karen Stevenson

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Stanford Law School

Louise A. LaMothe

Stanford School of Law, 1971

Michael Wilner

Dartmouth College, 1988

University of Pennsylvania Law School, 1991

Paul Abrams

University of California, Berkeley, 1979

University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, 1983

Rozella Anne Oliver

Harvard University, 1992

Stanford Law School, 1999

Sheri Pym

Williams College, 1989

University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, 1994

Charles F. Eick

January 29, 1988 -

Tulane University, 1975

University of Texas Law, 1978

Jean Rosenbluth

September 23, 2011 -

Barnard College, 1983

University of Southern California, Gould School of Law, 1993

Steve Kim

April 11, 2016 -

University of Oklahoma

Georgetown University Law Center

Shashi Kewalramani

August 10, 2017 -

University of Texas at Austin, 1993

Baylor University School of Law, 1996

Maria Audero

June 11, 2018 -

Southwestern University School of Law

Autumn Spaeth

June 15, 2018 -

University of California, Los Angeles

The University of Southern California

Pedro Castillo

January 24, 2020 -

Stanford University

University of Arizona College of Law

Patricia Donahue

United States District Court for the Central District of California

May 4, 2020 -

Stanford University

University of California, Los Angeles

Margo Rocconi

United States District Court for the Central District of California

March 19, 2021 -

University of California, Santa Barbara

Pepperdine University School of Law

Jurisdiction

The Counties of the Central District of California (click for larger map)

The Central District of California has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

There are three court divisions, each covering the following counties:

The Eastern Division, covering Riverside and San Bernardino counties.[2]

The Southern Division, covering Orange County.[2]

The Western Division, covering Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties.[2]

Caseloads

This section contains court management statistics dating back to 2010. It was last updated in September 2023. Click [show] below for more information on caseload terms and definitions.

Caseload statistics explanation
Term Explanation
Cases filed and terminated The number of civil and criminal lawsuits formally initiated or decided by the court in a calendar year. The chart below reflects the table columns Cases filed and Cases terminated.
Average time from filing to disposition The average amount of time, in months, from a case's date of filing to date of disposition (acquittal, sentencing, dismissal, etc.). The chart below reflects the table columns Median time (Criminal) and Median time (Civil).
Starting case load The number of cases pending from the previous calendar year.
Cases filed The number of civil and criminal lawsuits formally initiated in a calendar year.
Cases terminated The total number of civil and criminal lawsuits decided by the court in a calendar year.
Remaining cases The number of civil and criminal cases pending at the end of a given year.
Median time (Criminal) The average amount of time, in months, from a case's date of filing to the date of disposition. In criminal cases, the date of disposition occurs on the day of sentencing or acquittal/dismissal.
Median time (Civil) The average amount of time, in months, from a case's date of filing to the date of disposition.
Three-year civil cases The number and percent of civil cases that were filed more than three years before the end of the given calendar year.
Vacant posts The number of months during the year an authorized judgeship was vacant.
Trial/Post The number of trials completed divided by the number of authorized judgeships on the court. Trials include evidentiary trials, hearings on temporary restraining orders, and preliminary injunctions.

Source: United States Courts, "Explanation of the Judicial Caseload Profiles for United States District Courts," accessed September 25, 2018

United States District Court for the Central District of California caseload stats, 2010-2022
Year Cases Filed Cases Terminated Cases Pending Number of Judgeships Vacant Judgeship Months Average Total Filings per Judgeship Trials Completed per Judgeship Median time from filing to disposition, criminal Median time from filing to disposition, civil Three-year civil cases (#) Three-year civil cases (%)
2010 17,278 16,719 14,443 28 29 617 13 12 6 825 7
2011 17,149 17,644 12,605 28 21 612 13 11 6 638 6
2012 18,580 18,308 14,238 28 31 664 13 10 5 597 6
2013 16,712 17,361 13,501 28 3 597 14 12 6 610 6
2014 16,540 17,062 12,837 28 9 591 15 14 6 609 6
2015 16,550 16,858 12,474 28 14 591 12 17 5 557 6
2016 16,538 16,435 12,575 28 36 591 12 16 5 550 6
2017 16,250 16,477 12,376 28 63 580 12 13 5 545 6
2018 18,102 16,232 14,273 28 74 647 12 13 5 564 5
2019 18,125 17,648 14,695 28 102 647 10 14 5 597 5
2020 18,207 17,388 15,310 28 108 650 4 17 5 667 6
2021 15,853 17,255 13,879 28 93 566 8 19 5 903 9
2022 15,495 15,881 13,491 28 80 553 9 20 5 975 9
Average 17,029 17,021 13,592 28 51 608 11 15 5 664 6

History

The Central District of California was established by Congress on March 18, 1966. Following this act, ten judicial posts were transferred from the Southern District of California, with the addition of three new judicial posts. Over time, fifteen more judicial posts were added for a total of twenty-eight posts.[3]

Judicial posts

The following table highlights the development of judicial posts for the Central District of California:[3]

Year Statute Total Seats
March 18, 1966 80 Stat. 75 13
June 2, 1970 84 Stat. 294 16
October 20, 1978 92 Stat. 1629 17
July 10, 1984 98 Stat. 333 22
December 1, 1990 104 Stat. 5089 27
November 2, 2002 116 Stat. 1758 28

Noteworthy cases

For cases in the Central District of California, see United States Department of Justice-California or Recently Issued Opinions and Orders-Central District of California.

  • California's death penalty ruled unconstitutional (2014)
     Judge(s):Cormac Carney (Jones v. Chappell, 2:09-cv-02158-CJC)
Click for summary→

On July 16, 2014, Judge Cormac Carney ruled that California's death penalty system violated the Eighth Amendment's prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment, and was therefore unconstitutional. He also found that executions following the California system's inherent delays would "serve no retributive or deterrent purpose and [would] be arbitrary."[4][5]


In the underlying case, plaintiff Ernest Dewayne Jones was sentenced to death on April 7, 1995, yet lived on California's Death Row awaiting his eventual execution for almost twenty years. In Jones' case, it took four years for an attorney to be appointed to represent him in his direct appeal to the California Supreme Court in 1999. Four years later, in 2003, that court affirmed Jones' conviction. Jones then applied to the Supreme Court of the United States for certiorari, which was later denied in 2003. Jones' state habeas corpus attorney was appointed in 2000, five years after he was sentenced to death. Two years later, in 2002, his state habeas attorney filed Jones' petition. The California Supreme Court denied that petition six and a half years later, in 2009. In 2010, Jones filed a federal habeas petition, and briefing on the case was completed in January 2014. In April 2014, Jones amended the petition to expand upon his claims of unconstitutional delay in California's administration of its death penalty system. Jones' timeline of events and his allegations of unconstitutional delay are what brought about Judge Carney's finding.[6]


In his opinion, Judge Carney noted that California's death penalty system was "so plagued by inordinate and unpredictable delay" that the average review process took about 25 years. Judge Carney further pointed out that more prisoners on California's Death Row died of natural causes while awaiting their execution than were actually executed by the state. Since 1978, just thirteen out of the more than 900 who have lived on Death Row who were sentenced to death were executed.[4][5] In view of these facts, Judge Carney went on to write:

For all practical purposes then, a sentence of death in California is a sentence of life imprisonment with the remote possibility of death—a sentence no rational legislature or jury could ever impose.[7]


Judge Carney concluded his opinion by stating that California's continued delays "resulted in a system that serves no penological purpose," and that "[s]uch a system is unconstitutional." Judge Carney then vacated Jones' death sentence.[4][5]

  • California foie gras ban (2013)
     Judge(s):Stephen V. Wilson (Association des Eleveurs de Canards et d’Oies du Quebec v. Harris, D.C. No. 2:12-cv-05735-SVW-RZ)
Click for summary→

Judge Stephen V. Wilson presided over a suit brought by out-of-state producers of foie gras over California’s Bird Feeding bill, which served as a ban on the sale of fattened duck liver. The plaintiffs filed a motion for a temporary emergency injunction, arguing that the law was unconstitutionally vague and adversely affected interstate commerce. Judge Wilson denied the motion, ruling that because it was not timely filed, the arguments must be made in court.

The plaintiffs appealed to a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, where their arguments were heard by Judges Harry Pregerson, Raymond C. Fisher, and Wiley Daniel. The appeals court affirmed Judge Wilson’s ruling, and remanded the case back to his courtroom.[8][9][10]

See opinion here: Association des Eleveurs de Canards et d’Oies du Quebec v. Harris
  • Toyota lawsuits (2010-2012)
     Judge(s):James Selna (In re: Toyota Motor Corp. Unintended Acceleration Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation, 8:10-ml-02151-JVS-FMO)
Click for summary→

Judge James Selna was chosen on April 9, 2010, to preside over 200 lawsuits involving the car maker Toyota. A group of twenty-six attorneys sued Toyota for negligence after the company was forced to recall many vehicles due to sudden acceleration problems.[11][12][13]

In December 2012, a settlement between Toyota and the claimants was announced. While the exact amount was not known, Toyota was said to have paid $1.2 to $1.4 billion directly to car owners, in order to install new brake systems into millions of cars.[14]

  • "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy (2010)
     Judge(s):Virginia Phillips (Log Cabin Republicans v. United States of America, et al, CV 04-08425-VAP(EX))
Click for summary→

In September 2010, Judge Virginia Phillips ruled that the U.S. military's policy of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," which outlined the rules regarding homosexuals serving in the armed forces, violated the First and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. The ruling found in favor of the plaintiffs, stating that the policy restricted soldiers' rights to substantive due process and free speech. However, the policy was not overturned as a result.[15][16]

See opinion here: Log Cabin Republicans v. United States of America
  • Bus shutdown case (2010)
     Judge(s):George King
Click for summary→

Judge King ordered Tierra Santa, an interstate bus transportation company, to cease its operations on March 6, 2010. This came after the Federal Motor Carrier Administration ordered the company to stop operations after a tragic bus accident on March 5, 2010, in Arizona. According to federal authorities, the bus operator during that accident was operating illegally.[17]

  • Erin Andrews stalker case (2010)
     Judge(s):Manuel Real (USA v. Barrett, 2:09-mj-02270-DUTY)
Click for summary→

Judge Manuel Real presided in the case of Michael David Barrett, a former insurance executive from Illinois who was accused of stalking ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews in Wisconsin, Tennessee, and Ohio. Barrett pleaded guilty as part of a plea agreement, and originally agreed to a twenty-seven-month prison sentence. However, Andrews pleaded to Judge Real that she wanted Barrett locked up for as long as possible. Despite her plea for a longer sentence, the judge sentenced Barrett to twenty-seven months in prison on March 15, 2010.[18]

  • Supermarket labor fraud (2010)
     Judge(s):Percy Anderson (USA v. McGowan et al, 2:08-cr-01116-PA)
Click for summary→

Judge Percy Anderson sentenced two former supermarket managers to probation for telling locked out employees to use false social security numbers to get re-hired during a grocery strike in 2003 and 2004.

The two former zone managers for Ralph's Supermarkets were sentenced on March 22, 2010, to two years of probation. They were convicted of falsifying Internal Revenue Service and Immigration and Naturalization Service documents.[19]

  • Medical Capital Holdings (2009)
     Judge(s):David Carter (Securities and Exchange Commission v. Medical Capital Holdings Inc et al, 8:09-cv-00818-DOC-RNB)
Click for summary→

On July 20, 2009, Judge David Carter barred Medical Capital Holdings Inc. from selling additional securities in an offering that raised at least $76.9 million. The ruling was in response to a complaint alleging fraud against the company filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission.[20]

Judge Carter also froze the assets of the company and its subsidiaries, and appointed a temporary receiver to oversee the firm. The SEC filed a complaint on July 16, 2009, alleging that the financial services company committed fraud as far back as 2003. The SEC complaint also alleged that the company lied to shareholders over not reporting $1.2 billion in notes outstanding and $992.5 million in notes that went into default.[20]

  • California Prop 8 case (2009)
     Judge(s):David Carter (Arthur Smelt et al v. United States of America et al, 8:09-cv-00286-DOC-MLG)
Click for summary→

On July 17, 2009, Judge David Carter threw out a lawsuit involving Proposition 8 on a federal constitutional challenge.[21]

A homosexual couple sued the State of California claiming the 2008 ballot measure violated the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996.[21]

The judge's ruling found the plaintiffs were legally married before the enactment of Proposition 8. Because the California Supreme Court in May of 2009 ruled that their marriage would be upheld, there was no "injury" caused by the measure.[21]

  • Green cards (2009)
     Judge(s):James Selna
Click for summary→

Judge James Selna presided in a case involving age restrictions on immigration green cards. A group of green card holders sued the federal government, claiming that if children turned age twenty-one while their parents were awaiting a green card, they could have new applications signed on their behalf. However, the judge ruled on October 13, 2009, that if a child turned age twenty-one, they must restart the application process.[22]

  • Beat.com case (2009)
     Judge(s):John Walter (Capitol Records, LLC et al v. Bluebeat Inc. et al, 2:09-cv-08030-JST -JC)
Click for summary→

Judge John Walter was the presiding judge in a lawsuit involving the music website BlueBeat.com. The judge on November 5, 2009, issued a restraining order on the music website on selling songs from the legendary music group The Beatles. EMI, which held the rights to The Beatles music, alleged the website illegally sold Beatles songs.[23]

In March 2011, BlueBeat.com agreed to pay over $1 million to EMI in a settlement.[24]

  • MySpace suicide case (2009)
     Judge(s):George Wu (USA v. Lori Drew, 2:08-cr-00582-GW-1)
Click for summary→

Judge George Wu was the presiding judge in the case of a Missouri woman who was convicted of computer fraud charges stemming from an Internet hoax that prompted a teenage girl to commit suicide. On July 2, 2009, Judge Wu decided to tentatively acquit Lori Drew, who was convicted in November 2008. The decision reversed a jury's verdict which convicted the woman of computer fraud charges.[25]

The case received a lot of national attention and created an uproar on the issue of internet security.[25]

On August 28, 2009, Judge Wu officially reversed the conviction of Lori Drew. The judge found that the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act was not applied beyond a reasonable doubt in convicting Drew of a misdemeanor. Wu said that the federal law that governed terms and conditions of visiting a website was "constitutionally vague."[26]

Almost three months later, federal prosecutors said they would not appeal Judge Wu's dismissal of charges against Drew.[27]

  • Economic espionage case (2009)
     Judge(s):Cormac Carney (USA v. Dongfan Chung, 8:08-cr-00024-CJC-1)
Click for summary→

In 2009, Judge Cormac Carney presided over the trial of a Chinese-born engineer who was charged with stealing trade secrets critical to the U.S. space program.[28]

Dongfan "Greg" Chung was found guilty on July 14, 2009, of six counts of economic espionage and other charges, including hoarding 300,000 pages of sensitive documents in his home. The charges included that Chung destroyed information about a U.S. space shuttle and a booster rocket.[28]

Chung was a space engineer for Boeing, and used to work for Rockwell Automation. During the investigation, federal investigators found papers in Chung's home that included top-secret information about a fueling system for a booster rocket. It was against company policy for Boeing employees to take sensitive documents home. The documents that investigators found were part of Boeing's $50 million investment for the booster rocket system.[28]

Chung was the first person convicted under the Economic Espionage Act of 1996. The 1996 law was created to help the government crack down on stolen information from private companies that contracted with the federal government. The law applied to contractors that provided technology services for the U.S. space and military programs.[28]

  • Billboards lawsuit (2009)
     Judge(s):Audrey Collins (World Wide Rush LLC et al v. Los Angeles City of et al, 2:07-cv-00238-ABC -JWJ)
Click for summary→

Judge Audrey Collins was the presiding judge in a highly charged lawsuit involving World Wide Rush, LLC and the City of Los Angeles. The lawsuit claimed that the City of Los Angeles wrongfully refused permits to approve billboards in the city. The judge disallowed the lawsuit on the basis there was not enough evidence World Wide Rush could prove beyond a reasonable doubt.[29]

  • LAPD consent decree case (2009)
     Judge(s):Gary Feess
Click for summary→

On July 17, 2009, Judge Gary Feess lifted a decade-long consent decree on the Los Angeles Police Department.

The consent decree happened after the Rampart scandal which affected the anti-gang unit of the police force. The scandal was one of a number of incidents that bruised the image of the department during the 1990s. In 1999, a federal judge ordered that the Los Angeles Police Department appoint an independent monitor and comply with 100 reforms including a ban on all racial profiling.

After noted improvements as to how the LAPD conducted its operations, the independent monitor asked the judge for an end to the decree. In ending the decree, the judge approved a transition agreement that would move oversight of the department to the Los Angeles Police Commission. The agreement ordered units of the department to report to the police oversight body. Judge Feess told the parties that the court would keep jurisdiction over the agreement.[30]

  • Sealed records lawsuit (2009)
     Judge(s):Stephen V. Wilson
Click for summary→

On August 4, 2009, the Los Angeles Times and the Associated Press filed a motion asking Judge Stephen V. Wilson to unseal court transcripts in a lawsuit over a Jewish activist who was killed in prison. The motion came after Judge Wilson sealed the records concerning a protective order from the Bureau of Prisons that protected the identity of a prisoner.[31]

Judge Wilson closed the civil trial, and only allowed information released to the public after "sensitive information" was removed.[32]

  • Medi-Cal injunction (2008-2009)
     Judge(s):Christina Snyder (California Medical Association, et al v. Toby Douglas, et al, CV 11-9688 (MANx))
Click for summary→

In August 2008, Judge Christina Snyder issued an original injunction against the California Department of Health Services and the California Legislature. Judge Snyder granted California an injunction on state-mandated cuts of reimbursement rates against Medi-Cal providers.[33]

The original lawsuit was filed by Medi-Cal providers after the state legislature approved ten percent cuts of reimbursement rates for Medi-Cal providers in February 2008. The legislation was approved by both houses of the California legislature and was approved by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The cuts went into effect on July 1, 2008.[33]

On August 18, 2008, Judge Snyder granted a partial injunction against the State of California. Judge Snyder blocked the ten percent cut for providers. However, Snyder ruled that managed-care plans and acute-care hospitals not under contract with the State were subject to the ten percent reductions.[33]

After the August ruling, David Maxwell-Jolly, who headed Medi-Cal, argued that the injunction should apply only to payments for services provided on or after August 18, the day the judge issued the order. Snyder accepted the arguments of Mr. Maxwell-Jolly, and granted the adjustment which prompted appeals by all parties to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.[33]

In a separate ruling on February 27, 2009, Snyder issued an injunction against the State of California. Snyder barred the state from imposing a five percent cut in Medi-Cal payments to pharmacies.[34]

On July 10, 2009, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed Judge Snyder's decision of withholding reduced reimbursements from July 1 to August 18, 2008. The Ninth Circuit's ruling came amid a serious budget deficit the state faced.[33]

  • Withheld medical treatment for detainee (2008)
     Judge(s):Dean Pregerson (Castaneda v. The United States of America California et al, 2:07-cv-07241-DDP-JC)
Click for summary→

Judge Dean Pregerson ruled that immigration officials' decision to withhold medical treatment from a detainee was "beyond cruel and unusual." The detainee, Francisco Castaneda, died of penile cancer on February 16, 2008.

According to the suit, the government denied the detainee treatment for eleven months, refusing to authorize a biopsy for a growing lesion, despite the urging of numerous medical professionals. Instead, the government gave Castaneda antihistamines, ibuprofen, and extra boxer shorts. The judge characterized the treatment in his ruling as "nothing."

Per Los Angeles Times staff writer Henry Weinstein, "Pregerson blasted public health officials' 'attempt to sidestep responsibility for what appear[ed] to be . . . one of the most, if not the most, egregious' violations of the constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment that 'the court ha[d] ever encountered.'"[35]

Noteworthy events

Federal Judicial Conference recommendation (2019)

In March 2019, the Federal Judicial Conference (FJC) recommended that nine judgeships be added to the district and one temporary judgeship be made permanent.[36] Based on FJC data, the district handled 627 weighted filings per judgeship from September 2017 to September 2018. Weighted filings are a specific metric used by the federal judiciary that accounts for the different amounts of time judges require to resolve types of civil and criminal cases. The national average in that period for weighted filings per judgeship was 513.[37]

The FJC is the policy-making body for the United States federal courts system. It was first organized as the Conference of Senior Circuit Judges in 1922.[38] The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States serves as chair of the conference. The members of the conference are the chief judge of each judicial circuit, the Chief Judge of the Court of International Trade, and a district judge from each regional judicial circuit.[39]

Federal courthouse

Four separate courthouses serve the Central District of California: two in Los Angeles, one in Riverside, and one in Santa Anna.[40]

About United States District Courts

The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. There are 94 such courts. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of both law and equity.

There is a United States bankruptcy court and a number of bankruptcy judges associated with each United States district court. Each federal judicial district has at least one courthouse, and most districts have more than one.

There is at least one judicial district for each state, and one each for Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. District courts in three insular areas—the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands—exercise the same jurisdiction as U.S. district courts. Despite their name, these courts are technically not District Courts of the United States. Judges on these territorial courts do not enjoy the protections of Article III of the Constitution, and serve terms of 10 years rather than for life.

There are 677 U.S. District Court judgeships.[41][42]

The number of federal district judge positions is set by the U.S. Congress in Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Section 133, which authorizes a set number of judge positions, or judgeships, making changes and adjustments in these numbers from time to time.

In order to relieve the pressure of trying the hundreds of thousands of cases brought before the federal district courts each year, many trials are tried by juries, along with a presiding judge.[43]

Appointments by president

The chart below shows the number of district court judges confirmed by the U.S. Senate through February 1 of the first year of each president's term in office. At this point in the term, no president had made Article III judicial appointments.

Judges by district

See also: Judicial vacancies in federal courts

The table below displays the number of judges in each district and indicates how many were appointed by presidents from each major political party. It also includes the number of vacancies in a district and how many pending nominations for that district are before the United States Senate. The table can be sorted by clicking the column headers above the line, and you can navigate through the pages by clicking the arrows at the top of the table. It is updated every Monday.

Judicial selection

The district courts are served by Article III federal judges who are appointed for life during "good behavior." They are usually first recommended by senators (or members of the House, occasionally). The President of the United States makes the appointments, which must then be confirmed by the U.S. Senate in accordance with Article III of the United States Constitution.[42]

Step Approved Candidacy Proceeds Defeated Candidacy Halts
1. Recommendation made by Congress Member to the President President Nominates to Senate Judiciary Committee President Declines Nomination
2. Senate Judiciary Committee interviews Candidate Sends candidate to Senate for confirmation Returns candidate to President, who may re-nominate to Committee
3. Senate votes on candidate confirmation Candidate becomes federal judge Candidate does not receive judgeship

Magistrate judges

The district courts are also served by magistrate judges. Congress created the judicial office of federal magistrate in 1968. In 1990, the position title was changed to magistrate judge. The chief judge of each district appoints one or more magistrate judges, who discharge many of the ancillary duties of district judges so judges can handle more trials. There are both full-time and part-time magistrate judge positions, and these positions are assigned to the district courts according to caseload criteria (subject to funding by Congress). A full-time magistrate judge serves a term of eight years; a part-time magistrate judge's term of office is four years.[44]

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. Federal Judicial Center, "Magistrate Judgeships," accessed April 29, 2021
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 United States District Court for the Central District of California, Jurisdiction
  3. 3.0 3.1 Federal Judicial Center, "History of the Central District of California," accessed July 31, 2014
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 New York Times, "California Death Penalty System Is Unconstitutional, Federal Judge Rules," July 16, 2014
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Los Angeles Times, "Federal judge rules California death penalty is unconstitutional," July 16, 2014
  6. Casetext, "Jones v. Chappell", accessed May 14, 2021
  7. Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  8. San Francisco Chronicle, "Foie gras ban triggers California lawsuit," July 3, 2012
  9. Los Angeles Times, "Judge denies effort to stop California foie gras ban," July 18, 2012
  10. Los Angeles Times, "California ban on foie gras upheld by federal appeals court," August 30, 2013
  11. Seattle Times, "Southern California court gets Toyota lawsuits," April 9, 2010
  12. Beasley Allen Legal News, "Beasley Allen's Miles appointed by court to lead Toyota litigation," May 14, 2010
  13. Intrado, "Kirtland & Packard LLP: Toyota Judge Appoints Michael Louis Kelly to Lead Counsel Committee," May 17, 2010
  14. Yahoo, "Hagens Berman: Toyota Agrees to Fund a Settlement of Unintended Acceleration Cases Worth up to $1.4," December 26, 2012
  15. New York Times, "Judge Rules That Military Policy Violates Rights of Gays," September 9, 2010
  16. Associated Press, "Judge says she’s inclined to reject government request," October 18, 2010
  17. San Diego Union Tribune, "Judge orders bus firm to stop interstate service," March 7, 2010
  18. Reuters, "Erin Andrews peephole stalker lands in jail," March 15, 2010
  19. San Diego Union-Tribune, "Probation ordered in SoCal supermarket labor fraud," March 22, 2010
  20. 20.0 20.1 Los Angeles Times, "Medical Capital Holdings' securities sales blocked," July 21, 2009
  21. 21.0 21.1 21.2 Mercury News, "Proposition 8 case headed back to court," July 17, 2009
  22. Casetext, "Costelo v. Chertoff," July 16, 2009
  23. TopNews, "Federal judge temporarily restrains Beat.com from selling or streaming Beatles songs," November 6, 2009
  24. Billboard, "BlueBeat.com to Pay EMI Nearly $1 Million for Illegally Selling Beatles Hits," March 29, 2011
  25. 25.0 25.1 Metro, "Federal judge provisionally acquits Missouri woman in MySpace cyberbullying case," July 2, 2009
  26. Wall Street Journal, "Judge Officially Reverses Lori Drew’s Conviction," August 31, 2009
  27. NBC, "No appeal of dismissed conviction in MySpace case," November 20, 2009
  28. 28.0 28.1 28.2 28.3 Daily News, "Chinese-born engineer guilty of economic espionage," July 17, 2009
  29. Los Angeles Times, "Federal judge hands L.A. a billboard lawsuit victory," November 12, 2009
  30. LA Times, "Federal judge lifts LAPD consent decree," July 17, 2009
  31. San Diego Union-Tribune, "LA news outlets challenge sealed federal lawsuit," August 4, 2009
  32. CaliforniansAware, "Judge Closes Entire Civil Trial in Los Angeles," July 24, 2009
  33. 33.0 33.1 33.2 33.3 33.4 Courthouse News Service, "Court blocks 10 percent cut on Medi-Cal payments," July 10, 2009
  34. San Francisco Chronicle, "Cut in Medi-Cal payments to pharmacies blocked," February 28, 2009
  35. Los Angeles Times, "Fed's actions 'beyond cruel,'" March 18, 2008
  36. Federal Judicial Conference, "March 2019 Recommendations," accessed July 25, 2019
  37. US Courts, "Table X-1A—Other Judicial Business (September 30, 2018)," accessed July 24, 2019
  38. US Courts, "Governance & the Judicial Conference," accessed July 25, 2019
  39. US Courts, "About the Judicial Conference," accessed July 25, 2019
  40. U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, "Court Locations," accessed August 20, 2014
  41. US Courts, "Federal Judgeships," accessed May 10, 2021 (archived)
  42. 42.0 42.1 U.S. Courts, "United States District Court Federal Judiciary Frequently Asked Questions," accessed May 10, 2021 (archived)
  43. United States District Courts, "District Courts," accessed May 10, 2021
  44. The 'Lectric Law Library, "Understanding the U.S. federal courts"
Flag of California

v  e

State of California
Sacramento (capital)
Elections

What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures

Government

Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy

v  e

U.S. Circuit Courts and District Courts
First Circuit
Second Circuit
Third Circuit
Fourth Circuit
Fifth Circuit
Sixth Circuit
Seventh Circuit
Eighth Circuit
Ninth Circuit
Tenth Circuit
Eleventh Circuit

Flag of California.svg

v  e

Federal judges who have served the United States District Court for the Central District of California
Active judges

Chief JudgeDolly Gee   •  John Walter (California)  •  Otis Wright  •  Percy Anderson  •  David Carter (California)  •  Robert Klausner  •  Stephen V. Wilson  •  Fernando Olguin  •  Stanley Blumenfeld  •  Josephine Staton  •  Michael Fitzgerald (California)  •  Michelle Williams Court  •  Jesus Bernal  •  Sunshine S. Sykes  •  Fred W. Slaughter  •  Serena R. Murillo  •  André Birotte, Jr.  •  Sherilyn P. Garnett  •  Kenly Kiya Kato  •  Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong  •  Fernando Aenlle-Rocha  •  Wesley Hsu  •  Mark Scarsi  •  Anne Hwang  •  John Holcomb (California)  •  Hernán D. Vera  •  Mónica Ramírez Almadani  •  Cynthia Valenzuela

Senior judges

James Selna  •  Dean Pregerson  •  George Wu  •  Valerie Baker Fairbank  •  Dale Fischer  •  Terry Hatter  •  William Duffy Keller  •  Virginia Phillips  •  Ronald Lew  •  Consuelo Marshall  •  Christina Snyder  •  John A. Kronstadt  •  

Magistrate judges Charles F. Eick  •  Paul Abrams  •  Jacqueline Chooljian  •  Alicia Rosenberg  •  Sheri Pym  •  John McDermott (California)  •  Jean Rosenbluth  •  Michael Wilner  •  Douglas McCormick  •  Alka Sagar  •  Kenly Kiya Kato  •  Louise A. LaMothe  •  Steve Kim (California)  •  Karen Stevenson  •  Karen Scott  •  John Early  •  Alexander MacKinnon  •  Rozella Oliver  •  Gail Standish  •  Maria Audero  •  Pedro Castillo  •  Shashi Kewalramani  •  Autumn Spaeth  •  Margo Rocconi  •  Patricia Donahue  •  
Former Article III judges

Gilbert Jertberg  •  Carlos Moreno  •  Kim McLane Wardlaw  •  Alicemarie Stotler  •  Cormac Carney  •  Audrey Collins  •  Florence-Marie Cooper  •  Gary Feess  •  Andrew Guilford  •  Philip Gutierrez  •  Robert Kelleher  •  Stephen Larson  •  Spencer Letts  •  Howard Matz  •  Mariana Pfaelzer  •  S. James Otero  •  Manuel Real  •  George Schiavelli  •  Robert Takasugi  •  Harry Pregerson  •  Pamela Rymer  •  Richard Paez  •  Warren Ferguson  •  Cynthia Holcomb Hall  •  Ferdinand Francis Fernandez  •  Leon Rene Yankwich  •  Albert Lee Stephens, Jr.  •  Margaret Morrow  •  Lourdes Baird  •  Robert Bonner  •  William Byrne, Jr.  •  William Byrne, Sr.  •  Charles Carr  •  Thurmond Clarke  •  Elisha Crary  •  Jesse Curtis  •  John Davies  •  Robert Firth  •  Richard Gadbois  •  William Gray (California)  •  Peirson Hall  •  Andrew Hauk  •  Irving Hill  •  Harry Hupp  •  James Ideman  •  David Kenyon  •  Malcolm Lucas  •  Lawrence Lydick  •  Linda McLaughlin  •  Edward Rafeedie  •  William Rea  •  Gary L. Taylor  •  Dickran Tevrizian  •  Laughlin Waters  •  Francis Whelan  •  David Williams (California federal judge)  •  Jacqueline Nguyen  •  Beverly Reid O'Connell  •  Atsushi Wallace Tashima  •  

Former Chief judges

Alicemarie Stotler  •  Cormac Carney  •  Philip Gutierrez  •  Terry Hatter  •  Virginia Phillips  •  George King (California)  •  Consuelo Marshall  •  Manuel Real  •  Albert Lee Stephens, Jr.  •  William Byrne, Jr.  •  Thurmond Clarke  •  Andrew Hauk  •  Irving Hill  •