United States District Court for the Central District of California

United States District Court for the Central District of California
United States District Court for the Central District of California
(C.D. Cal.)
	Divisions of the Central District of California : Eastern (yellow), Southern (red), and Western (blue)
Location	Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse (Los Angeles) More locations New United States Courthouse (Los Angeles); Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Courthouse (Santa Ana); Riverside / San Bernardino;
Appeals to	Ninth Circuit
Established	September 18, 1966
Judges	28
Chief Judge	Dolly Gee
Officers of the court
U.S. Attorney	E. Martin Estrada
U.S. Marshal	David M. Singer
	www.cacd.uscourts.gov

The United States District Court for the Central District of California (in case citations, C.D. Cal.; commonly referred to as the CDCA or CACD) is a federal trial court that serves over 19 million people in Southern and Central California, making it the most populous federal judicial district.^[1] The district was created on September 18, 1966. Cases from the Central District are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the United States government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit). Along with the Central District of Illinois, the court is the only district court referred to by the name "Central" – all other courts with similar geographical names instead use the term "Middle."

History edit

California was admitted to the union on September 9, 1850, and was divided into two federal trial court districts – Northern and Southern – by Act of Congress on September 28, 1850, 9 Stat. 521.^[2] The boundary was at the 37th parallel.^[3] The two districts were merged as the United States District Court for the District of California on July 27, 1866, by 14 Stat. 300.^[2]^[3] On August 5, 1886, Congress re-created the Southern District by 24 Stat. 308,^[3] while the northern half was renamed Northern District. The Eastern and Central Districts of California were created on March 18, 1966 from portions of the Northern and Southern Districts by 80 Stat. 75.^[2]

Divisions edit

The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California is divided into three divisions, with jurisdiction over seven counties: Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange, Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura.

The Eastern Division covers Riverside and San Bernardino Counties at the Riverside courthouse.

The Southern Division covers Orange County from the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Courthouse in Santa Ana.

The Western Division covers Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura Counties. Cases are heard in two courthouses in downtown Los Angeles. All but two district judges are located in the new First Street Courthouse, whereas magistrate judges and two district judges maintain chambers in the Edward R. Roybal Courthouse.

United States attorney for the Central District of California edit

The United States attorney for the Central District of California represents the United States government in civil and criminal cases before the court. As of September 19, 2022^[update], the United States attorney is E. Martin Estrada.^[4]

Current judges edit

As of May 1, 2024^[update]:

#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Term of service			Appointed by
#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Active	Chief	Senior	Appointed by
76	Chief Judge	Dolly Gee	Los Angeles	1959	2010–present	2024–present	—	Obama
37	District Judge	Stephen Victor Wilson	Los Angeles	1941	1985–present	—	—	Reagan
56	District Judge	David O. Carter	Santa Ana	1944	1998–present	—	—	Clinton
61	District Judge	Percy Anderson	Los Angeles	1948	2002–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
62	District Judge	John F. Walter	Los Angeles	1944	2002–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
63	District Judge	R. Gary Klausner	Los Angeles	1941	2002–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
66	District Judge	Cormac J. Carney	Santa Ana	1959	2003–present	2020	—	G.W. Bush
72	District Judge	Philip S. Gutierrez	Los Angeles	1959	2007–present	2020–2024	—	G.W. Bush
73	District Judge	Otis D. Wright II	Los Angeles	1944	2007–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
77	District Judge	Josephine Staton	Los Angeles	1961	2010–present	—	—	Obama
79	District Judge	Michael W. Fitzgerald	Los Angeles	1959	2012–present	—	—	Obama
80	District Judge	Jesus Bernal	Riverside	1963	2012–present	—	—	Obama
81	District Judge	Fernando M. Olguin	Los Angeles	1961	2013–present	—	—	Obama
83	District Judge	André Birotte Jr.	Los Angeles	1966	2014–present	—	—	Obama
84	District Judge	Stanley Blumenfeld	Los Angeles	1962	2020–present	—	—	Trump
85	District Judge	John W. Holcomb	Santa Ana	1963	2020–present	—	—	Trump
86	District Judge	Mark C. Scarsi	Los Angeles	1964	2020–present	—	—	Trump
87	District Judge	Fernando Aenlle-Rocha	Los Angeles	1961	2020–present	—	—	Trump
88	District Judge	Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong	Los Angeles	1976	2022–present	—	—	Biden
89	District Judge	Fred W. Slaughter	Santa Ana	1973	2022–present	—	—	Biden
90	District Judge	Sunshine Sykes	Riverside	1974	2022–present	—	—	Biden
91	District Judge	Sherilyn Peace Garnett	Los Angeles	1969	2022–present	—	—	Biden
92	District Judge	Wesley Hsu	Los Angeles	1971	2023–present	—	—	Biden
93	District Judge	Hernán D. Vera	Los Angeles	1970	2023–present	—	—	Biden
94	District Judge	Kenly Kiya Kato	Riverside	1972	2023–present	—	—	Biden
95	District Judge	Mónica Ramírez Almadani	Los Angeles	1979	2023–present	—	—	Biden
96	District Judge	vacant	—	—	—	—	—	—
97	District Judge	vacant	—	—	—	—	—	—
23	Senior Judge	Terry J. Hatter Jr.	Los Angeles	1933	1979–2005	1998–2001	2005–present	Carter
26	Senior Judge	Consuelo Bland Marshall	Los Angeles	1936	1980–2005	2001–2005	2005–present	Carter
35	Senior Judge	William Duffy Keller	Los Angeles	1934	1984–1999	—	1999–present	Reagan
51	Senior Judge	Dean Pregerson	Los Angeles	1951	1996–2016	—	2016–present	Clinton
52	Senior Judge	Christina A. Snyder	Los Angeles	1947	1997–2016	—	2016–present	Clinton
60	Senior Judge	Virginia A. Phillips	Los Angeles	1957	1999–2022	2016–2020	2022–present	Clinton
65	Senior Judge	James V. Selna	Santa Ana	1945	2003–2020	—	2020–present	G.W. Bush
67	Senior Judge	Dale S. Fischer	Los Angeles	1951	2003–2024	—	2024–present	G.W. Bush
71	Senior Judge	Valerie Baker Fairbank	Los Angeles	1949	2007–2012	—	2012–present	G.W. Bush
74	Senior Judge	George H. Wu	Los Angeles	1950	2007–2023	—	2023–present	G.W. Bush
78	Senior Judge	John Kronstadt	Los Angeles	1951	2011–2022	—	2022–present	Obama

Vacancies and pending nominations edit

Seat	Prior judge's duty station	Seat last held by	Vacancy reason	Date of vacancy	Nominee	Date of nomination
5	Los Angeles	George H. Wu	Senior status	November 3, 2023	Anne Hwang	April 30, 2024
28	Los Angeles	Dale S. Fischer	Senior status	May 1, 2024	Michelle Williams Court	April 30, 2024
6	Santa Ana	Cormac J. Carney	Retirement	May 31, 2024^[5]	–	–
17	Los Angeles	Philip S. Gutierrez	Senior status	October 15, 2024^[5]	Cynthia Valenzuela Dixon	April 30, 2024

Former judges edit

#	Judge	State	Born–died	Active service	Chief Judge	Senior status	Appointed by	Reason for termination
—	Leon Rene Yankwich	CA	1888–1975	—	—	1966–1975^{[Note 1]}	F. Roosevelt/Operation of law	death
—	William Matthew Byrne Sr.	CA	1896–1974	—	—	1966–1974^{[Note 1]}	Truman/Operation of law	death
1	Peirson Mitchell Hall	CA	1894–1979	1966–1968^{[Note 1]}	—	1968–1979	F. Roosevelt/Operation of law	death
2	Thurmond Clarke	CA	1902–1971	1966–1970^{[Note 1]}	1966–1970	1970–1971	Eisenhower/Operation of law	death
3	Albert Lee Stephens Jr.	CA	1913–2001	1966–1979^{[Note 1]}	1970–1979	1979–2001	Kennedy/Operation of law	death
4	Charles Hardy Carr	CA	1903–1976	1966–1973^{[Note 1]}	—	1973–1976	Kennedy/Operation of law	death
5	Jesse William Curtis Jr.	CA	1905–2008	1966–1975^{[Note 1]}	—	1975–1990	Kennedy/Operation of law	retirement
6	Elisha Avery Crary	CA	1905–1978	1966–1975^{[Note 1]}	—	1975–1978	Kennedy/Operation of law	death
7	Francis C. Whelan	CA	1907–1991	1966–1978^{[Note 1]}	—	1978–1991	L. Johnson/Operation of law	death
8	Irving Hill	CA	1915–1998	1966–1980^{[Note 1]}	1979–1980	1980–1998	L. Johnson/Operation of law	death
9	A. Andrew Hauk	CA	1912–2004	1966–1982^{[Note 1]}	1980–1982	1982–2004	L. Johnson/Operation of law	death
10	William Percival Gray	CA	1912–1992	1966–1982^{[Note 1]}	—	1982–1992	L. Johnson/Operation of law	death
11	Warren J. Ferguson	CA	1920–2008	1966–1979	—	—	L. Johnson	elevation to 9th Cir.
12	Manuel Real	CA	1924–2019	1966–2018	1982–1993	2018–2019	L. Johnson	death
13	Harry Pregerson	CA	1923–2017	1967–1979	—	—	L. Johnson	elevation to 9th Cir.
14	David W. Williams	CA	1910–2000	1969–1981	—	1981–2000	Nixon	death
15	Robert J. Kelleher	CA	1913–2012	1970–1983	—	1983–2012	Nixon	death
16	William Matthew Byrne Jr.	CA	1930–2006	1971–1998	1994–1998	1998–2006	Nixon	death
17	Malcolm Lucas	CA	1927–2016	1971–1984	—	—	Nixon	resignation
18	Lawrence Tupper Lydick	CA	1916–1995	1971–1984	—	1984–1995	Nixon	death
19	Robert Firth	CA	1918–1984	1974–1979	—	1979–1984	Nixon	death
20	Robert Mitsuhiro Takasugi	CA	1930–2009	1976–1996	—	1996–2009	Ford	death
21	Laughlin Edward Waters Sr.	CA	1914–2002	1976–1986	—	1986–2002	Ford	death
22	Mariana Pfaelzer	CA	1926–2015	1978–1997	—	1997–2015	Carter	death
24	A. Wallace Tashima	CA	1934–present	1980–1996	—	—	Carter	elevation to 9th Cir.
25	David Vreeland Kenyon	CA	1930–2015	1980–1995	—	1995–1997	Carter	retirement
27	Cynthia Holcomb Hall	CA	1929–2011	1981–1984	—	—	Reagan	elevation to 9th Cir.
28	Richard Arthur Gadbois Jr.	CA	1932–1996	1982–1996	—	1996	Reagan	death
29	Edward Rafeedie	CA	1929–2008	1982–1996	—	1996–2008	Reagan	death
30	Pamela Ann Rymer	CA	1941–2011	1983–1989	—	—	Reagan	elevation to 9th Cir.
31	Harry Lindley Hupp	CA	1929–2004	1984–1997	—	1997–2004	Reagan	death
32	Alicemarie Huber Stotler	CA	1942–2014	1984–2009	2005–2009	2009–2014	Reagan	death
33	James M. Ideman	CA	1931–present	1984–1998	—	1998	Reagan	retirement
34	William J. Rea	CA	1920–2005	1984–1998	—	1998–2005	Reagan	death
36	Ferdinand Fernandez	CA	1937–present	1985–1989	—	—	Reagan	elevation to 9th Cir.
38	John Spencer Letts	CA	1934–2014	1985–2000	—	2000–2014	Reagan	death
39	Dickran Tevrizian	CA	1940–present	1985–2005	—	2005–2007	Reagan	retirement
40	John Davies	CA	1929–2020	1986–1998	—	—	Reagan	retirement
41	Ronald S. W. Lew	CA	1941–2023	1987–2006	—	2006–2023	Reagan	death
42	Robert C. Bonner	CA	1942–present	1989–1990	—	—	G.H.W. Bush	resignation
43	Gary L. Taylor	CA	1938–present	1990–2004	—	2004–2005	G.H.W. Bush	retirement
44	Lourdes Baird	CA	1935–present	1992–2004	—	2004–2005	G.H.W. Bush	retirement
45	Linda Hodge McLaughlin	CA	1942–1999	1992–1999	—	—	G.H.W. Bush	death
46	Audrey B. Collins	CA	1945–present	1994–2014	2009–2012	—	Clinton	retirement
47	Richard Paez	CA	1947–present	1994–2000	—	—	Clinton	elevation to 9th Cir.
48	Robert Timlin	CA	1932–2017	1994–2005	—	2005–2017	Clinton	death
49	George H. King	CA	1951–present	1995–2017	2012–2016	—	Clinton	retirement
50	Kim McLane Wardlaw	CA	1954–present	1995–1998	—	—	Clinton	elevation to 9th Cir.
53	Carlos R. Moreno	CA	1948–present	1998–2001	—	—	Clinton	resignation
54	Margaret M. Morrow	CA	1950–present	1998–2015	—	2015–2016	Clinton	retirement
55	Howard Matz	CA	1943–present	1998–2011	—	2011–2013	Clinton	retirement
57	Nora Margaret Manella	CA	1951–present	1998–2006	—	—	Clinton	resignation
58	Gary Allen Feess	CA	1948–present	1999–2014	—	2014–2015	Clinton	retirement
59	Florence-Marie Cooper	CA	1940–2010	1999–2010	—	—	Clinton	death
64	S. James Otero	CA	1951–present	2003–2018	—	2018–2020	G.W. Bush	retirement
68	George P. Schiavelli	CA	1948–2019	2004–2008	—	—	G.W. Bush	resignation
69	Stephen G. Larson	CA	1964–present	2006–2009	—	—	G.W. Bush	resignation
70	Andrew J. Guilford	CA	1950–present	2006–2019	—	2019–2020	G.W. Bush	retirement
75	Jacqueline Nguyen	CA	1965–present	2009–2012	—	—	Obama	elevation to 9th Cir.
82	Beverly Reid O'Connell	CA	1965–2017	2013–2017	—	—	Obama	death

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l Reassigned from the Southern District of California.

Chief judges edit

Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their district court. Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the district court judges. To be chief, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge.

A vacancy is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years, or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position.

When the office was created in 1948, the chief judge was the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire, on what has since 1958 been known as senior status, or declined to serve as chief judge. After August 6, 1959, judges could not become or remain chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982.

Succession of seats edit

Seat 1
Seat reassigned from Southern District on September 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75
P. Hall	1966–1968
Williams	1969–1981
Rafeedie	1982–1996
Snyder	1997–2016
Frimpong	2022–present

Seat 2
Seat reassigned from Southern District on September 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75
Clarke	1966–1970
Lydick	1971–1984
Ideman	1984–1998
Feess	1999–2014
Birotte, Jr.	2014–present

Seat 3
Seat reassigned from Southern District on September 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75
Stephens, Jr.	1966–1979
Kenyon	1980–1995
Wardlaw	1995–1998
Anderson	2002–present

Seat 4
Seat reassigned from Southern District on September 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75
Carr	1966–1973
Firth	1974–1979
Marshall	1980–2005
Fairbank	2007–2012
O'Connell	2013–2017
Kato	2023–present

Seat 5
Seat reassigned from Southern District on September 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75
Curtis, Jr.	1966–1975
Waters, Sr.	1976–1986
Lew	1987–2006
Wu	2007–2023
vacant	2023–present

Seat 6
Seat reassigned from Southern District on September 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75
Crary	1966–1975
Takasugi	1976–1996
Moreno	1998–2001
Carney	2003–present

Seat 7
Seat reassigned from Southern District on September 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75
Whelan	1966–1978
Pfaelzer	1978–1997
Manella	1998–2006
Nguyen	2009–2012
Olguin	2013–present

Seat 8
Seat reassigned from Southern District on September 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75
Hill	1966–1980
Gadbois, Jr.	1982–1996
Morrow	1998–2015
Vera	2023–present

Seat 9
Seat reassigned from Southern District on September 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75
Hauk	1966–1982
Hupp	1984–1997
Matz	1998–2011
Fitzgerald	2012–present

Seat 10
Seat reassigned from Southern District on September 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75
Gray	1966–1982
Rymer	1983–1989
Bonner	1989–1990
Collins	1994–2014
Blumenfeld	2020–present

Seat 11
Seat established on September 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75
Ferguson	1966–1979
Tashima	1980–1996
D. Pregerson	1996–2016
Holcomb	2020–present

Seat 12
Seat established on September 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75
Real	1966–2018
Garnett	2022–present

Seat 13
Seat established on September 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75
H. Pregerson	1967–1979
C. Hall	1981–1984
Davies	1986–1998
Walter	2002–present

Seat 14
Seat established on June 2, 1970 by 84 Stat. 294
Kelleher	1970–1983
Stotler	1984–2009
Staton	2010–present

Seat 15
Seat established on June 2, 1970 by 84 Stat. 294
Byrne, Jr.	1971–1998
Phillips	1999–2022
Hsu	2023–present

Seat 16
Seat established on June 2, 1970 by 84 Stat. 294
Lucas	1971–1984
Rea	1984–1998
Carter	1998–present

Seat 17
Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629
Hatter, Jr.	1979–2005
Gutierrez	2007–present

Seat 18
Seat established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333
Keller	1984–1999
Klausner	2002–present

Seat 19
Seat established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333
Fernandez	1985–1989
Taylor	1990–2004
Wright II	2007–present

Seat 20
Seat established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333
Wilson	1985–present

Seat 21
Seat established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333
Letts	1985–2000
Selna	2003–2020
Sykes	2022–present

Seat 22
Seat established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333
Tevrizian, Jr.	1985–2005
Guilford	2006–2019
Slaughter	2022–present

Seat 23
Seat established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089
Baird	1992–2004
Schiavelli	2004–2008
Gee	2010–present

Seat 24
Seat established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089
McLaughlin	1992–1999
Cooper	1999–2010
Kronstadt	2011–2022
Ramírez Almadani	2023–present

Seat 25
Seat established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089
Paez	1994–2000
Otero	2003–2018
Aenlle-Rocha	2020–present

Seat 26
Seat established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089
Timlin	1994–2005
Larson	2006–2009
Bernal	2012–present

Seat 27
Seat established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089
King	1995–2017
Scarsi	2020–present

Seat 28
Seat established on November 2, 2002 by 116 Stat. 1758 (temporary)
Fischer	2003–2024
vacant	2024–present

List of U.S. attorneys edit

George J. Denis (1888–1889)^[6]
Aurelus H. Hutton (1889–1890)
Matthew T. Allen (1892–1893)
George J. Denis (1893–1897)
Frank P. Flint (1897–1901)
Louis H. Valentine (1901–1905)
Oscar Lawler (1905–1909)
Albert Schoonover (1913–1917)
J. Robert O’Conner (1917–1921)
Joseph C. Burke (1921–1925)
Samuel W. McNabb (1925–1933)
John Rose Laying (1933)
Peirson M. Hall (1933–1937)
Ben Harrison (1937–1940)
William Fleet Palmer (1940–1942)
Leo V. Silverstein (1942–1943)
Charles H. Carr (1943–1946)
James M. Carter (1946–1949)
Ernest A. Tolin (1949–1951)
Walter Binns (1951–1953)
Laughlin Edward Waters Sr. (1953–1961)
Francis C. Whelan (1961–1964)
Thomas R. Sheridan (1962–1964)
Manuel L. Real (1964–1966)^[7]
John K. Van de Kamp (1966–1967)
William Matthew Byrne Jr. (1967–1970)
Robert L. Meyer (1970–1972)
William D. Keller (1972–1977)
Robert L. Brosio (1977) (Acting)
Andrea S. Ordin (1977–1981)
Alexander H. Williams, III (1981) (Acting)
Stephen S. Trott (1981–1983)
Alexander H. Williams, III (1983–1984)
Robert C. Bonner (1984–1989)
Gary Allen Feess (1989)
Robert L. Brosio (1989–1990)
Lourdes Baird (1990–1992)
Terree Bowers (1992–1994)
Nora Margaret Manella (1994–1998)
Alejandro Mayorkas (1998–2001)
John S. Gordon (2001–2002)
Debra Wong Yang (2002–2006)
George S. Cardona (2006–2007)
Thomas P. O'Brien (2007–2009)
George S. Cardona (2009–2010) (Acting)
André Birotte Jr. (2010–2014)
Stephanie Yonekura (2014–2015) (Acting)
Eileen M. Decker (2015–2017)
Sandra R. Brown (2017–2018) (Acting)
Nicola T. Hanna (2018–2021)
Tracy L. Wilkison (2021–2022) (Acting)
E. Martin Estrada (2022–present)

References edit

^ "Central District of California | Our District". www.justice.gov. June 22, 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c "U.S. District Courts for the Districts of California: Legislative History".
^ ^a ^b ^c Willoughby Rodman, History of the Bench and Bar of Southern California (1909), p. 46.
^ "Martin Estrada Sworn in as United States Attorney, Becoming Chief Federal Law Enforcement Officer in Nation's Most Populous District". United States Department of Justice. September 19, 2022. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Future Judicial Vacancies | United States Courts". www.uscourts.gov.
^ "Former United States Attorneys". November 4, 2015.
^ In 1966, the Central District of California was created from portions of the Southern District of California.

External links edit

[Reassigned-6] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l Reassigned from the Southern District of California.

[1] "Central District of California | Our District". www.justice.gov. June 22, 2015.

[fjcca-2] "U.S. District Courts for the Districts of California: Legislative History".

[calif-3] Willoughby Rodman, History of the Bench and Bar of Southern California (1909), p. 46.

[4] "Martin Estrada Sworn in as United States Attorney, Becoming Chief Federal Law Enforcement Officer in Nation's Most Populous District". United States Department of Justice. September 19, 2022. Retrieved September 19, 2022.

[Future-5] "Future Judicial Vacancies | United States Courts". www.uscourts.gov.

[:0-7] "Former United States Attorneys". November 4, 2015.

[8] In 1966, the Central District of California was created from portions of the Southern District of California.

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[2]

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