Sherilyn P. Garnett

Sherilyn Peace Garnett is a judge on the United States District Court for the Central District of California. She was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D) on December 15, 2021, and confirmed by the United States Senate on April 27, 2022, by a vote of 62-33.^[1] Garnett was one of 235 Article III judges nominated by President Joe Biden (D) and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. To see a full list of judges appointed by Joe Biden, click here.

The United States District Court for the Central District of California is one of 94 U.S. District Courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.

Garnett was previously a judge on the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, serving from 2014 to 2022. She was appointed to the court by Gov. Jerry Brown (D) on June 18, 2014.^[2]

Judicial nominations, appointments, and elections

United States District Court for the Central District of California (2022-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On December 15, 2021, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Sherilyn Garnett to the United States District Court for the Central District of California. She was confirmed by a 62-33 vote of the U.S. Senate on April 27, 2022, and received commission on June 24, 2022.^[1] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
Name: Sherilyn P. Garnett
Court: United States District Court for the Central District of California
Progress
Confirmed 133 days after nomination.
Nominated: December 15, 2021
ABA Rating: Unanimously Well Qualified
Questionnaire: Questionnaire
Hearing: February 16, 2022
Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
QFRs: QFRs (Hover over QFRs to read more)
Reported: March 10, 2022
Confirmed: April 27, 2022
Vote: 62-33

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Garnett by a vote of 62-33 on April 27, 2022.^[1] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Garnett confirmation vote (April 27, 2022)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	45	0	3
Republican	15	33	2
Independent	2	0	0
Total	62	33	5

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Garnett's nomination on February 16, 2022. The committee voted to advance Garnett's nomination to the full Senate on March 10, 2022.^[1]

Nomination

On December 15, 2021, President Joe Biden (D) announced his intent to nominate Garnett to the United States District Court for the Central District of California. The president officially nominated Garnett on the same day.^[3][1]

Garnett was nominated to replace Judge Manuel Real, who assumed senior status on November 4, 2018.^[1] Real died on June 26, 2019.^[4]

The American Bar Association unanimously rated Garnett well qualified.^[5] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Superior Court of Los Angeles County (2014-2022)

Election (2022)

See also: Municipal elections in Los Angeles County, California (2022)

Nonpartisan primary election

Election (2016)

See also: California local trial court judicial elections, 2016

California held general elections for local judicial offices on November 8, 2016. There was a primary on June 7, 2016. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was March 31, 2016. A total of 351 seats were up for election. Incumbent Sherilyn P. Garnett ran unopposed in the election for Office 73 of the Los Angeles County Superior Court.^[6]

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge, Office #73, 2016
Candidate
Sherilyn P. Garnett Incumbent

Appointment (2014)

Garnett was appointed to the Superior Court of Los Angeles County by Gov. Jerry Brown (D) on June 18, 2014.

Biography

Education

Garnett received a B.A., with honors, from the University of California, Riverside, in 1991 and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1995.^[3]

Professional career

• 2022-present: Judge, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
• 2014-2022: Judge, Superior Court of Los Angeles County
• 2001-2014: Assistant U.S. attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of California
  • 2014: Chief, General Crimes Section
  • 2011-2014: Deputy chief, General Crimes Section
  • 2008-2011: Domestic terrorism coordinator
• 1999-2000: Litigation associate, Arnold and Porter LLP
• 1998-1999: Law clerk, Judge Barry Moskowitz, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
• 1995-1998: Litigation associate, Altheimer and Gray^[3]

About the court

Central District of California
Ninth Circuit
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.

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.^[7]

The Southern Division, covering Orange County.^[7]

The Western Division, covering Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties.^[7]

To read opinions published by this court, click here.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

• The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
• The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
• The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.

• As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.

• After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.

• If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
• If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.

• The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.

• If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
• If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.

See also

• Los Angeles County, California
• Courts in California
• Judicial selection in California
• United States District Court for the Central District of California
• United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit

External links

• Biography from the Federal Judicial Center
• United States District Court for the Central District of California
• United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit

Footnotes