United States District Court for the Central District of California

• Court
• Judges

Central District of California Ninth Circuit Chief: George King Judges: 28 Posts: 28 Vacancies: 0 Active judges Anderson • Bernal • Carney • Carter • Collins • Feess • Fischer • Fitzgerald • Gee • Guilford • Gutierrez • Klausner • Kronstadt • Morrow • O'Connell • Olguin • Otero • Phillips • Pregerson • Real • Selna • Snyder • Tucker • Walter • Wilson • Wright • Wu Senior Judges Fairbank • Hatter • Keller • Letts • Lew • Marshall • Pfaelzer • Stotler • Timlin Magistrate Judges Chief Magistrate: Stephen Hillman Abrams • Bauer • Block • Chapman • Chooljian • Eick • Federman • Gandhi • Kenton • Lum • Mumm • Nagel • Nakazato • Olguin • Parada • Rosenberg • Saltzman • Segal • Walsh • Wistrich • Woehrle • Zarefsky Former Judges

Key: (Numbers indicate % of seats vacant.) 0% 0%-10% 10%-25% 25%-40% More than 40%

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California is the United States district court serving some 17 million people in southern and central California, making it the largest federal judicial district by population. The Central District of California was created on September 18, 1966.

The U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California represents the United States in civil and criminal cases before the court.

When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals based in downtown San Francisco at the James R. Browing Federal Courthouse. Initial appeals are heard in Pasadena at the Richard Chambers Courthouse.

Vacancy warning level

The United States District Court for the Central District of California's vacancy warning level is currently set at Green. The court currently has no vacancies.

Jurisdiction

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

The geographic jurisdiction of the Central District of California consists of all the following counties in the central part of the state of California.

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

The Eastern Division, covering Riverside and San Bernardino Counties

The Southern Division, covering Orange County

The Western Division, covering Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura Counties

When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals based in Downtown San Francisco at the James R. Browning Federal Courthouse.

Cases heard

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.

Case load

Federal Court Case Load Statistics*

Year	Starting case load:	Cases filed:	Total cases:	Cases terminated:	Remaining cases:	Median time(Criminal)**:	Median time(Civil)**:	3 Year Civil cases#:	Vacant posts:##	Trials/Post
2010	12303	16131	28434	16076	12358	11.4	5.7	822(7.9%)	32.8	13
2009	12221	16170	28391	15973	12418	9.0	5.7	774(7.6%)	32.6	12
2008	11817	15144	26961	14742	12219	7.5	7.0	821(8.1%)	12.0	11
2007	12401	14154	26555	13642	12913	12.1	6.8	712(7.2%)	31.2	12
2006	13180	12909	26089	13680	12409	12.4	7.2	1240(11.6%)	53.9	12

*All statistics are taken from the Official Federal Courts' Website and reflect the calendar year through September.    **Time in months from filing to completion. #This statistic includes cases which have been appealed in higher courts.    ##This is the total number of months that any all judicial posts had spent vacant that year.

Clerk's office

The Central District of California has four separate courthouses. The Clerk's Office hours for each division are 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding court observed holidays. Please consult the chart below for more information:

Branch	Address	Phone number
Eastern Division - Riverside Courthouse	3470 Twelfth Street Riverside, CA 92501	(951) 328-4450
Southern Division - Santa Ana Courthouse	411 West Fourth Street, Room 1053 Santa Ana, CA 92701-4516	(714) 338-4750
Western Division - Roybal Federal Building	255 East Temple Street Los Angeles, CA 90012	(213) 894-1565 or (213) 894-2215
Western Division - Spring Street Courthouse	312 N. Spring Street Los Angeles, CA 90012	(213) 894-1565 or (213) 894-2215

History

Court history

The Central District of California was established by Congress on March 18, 1966. Following this act, ten judicial posts were transferred over 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 28 current posts.

Judicial posts

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

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

Notable 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.

• Brookstreet Securities fined $10M  Judge(s):David Carter      *Securities and Exchange Commission v. Brookstreet Securities Corp et al 8:09-cv-01431-DOC-AN

On February 22, 2012, Judge David Carter of the United States District Court for the Central District of California fined the former CEO of Brookstreet Securities Corporation $10 million dollars for alleged civil fraud. Stanley Brooks, the founder, president and CEO of the securities company was ordered to pay $110,713 in restitution and interest. He was further ordered to refrain from future violations of securities laws. Brooks was accused of selling risky mortgage securities to unsophisticated retail investors prior to the collapse of the housing market. Brooks was charged in 2009, in one of the early cases brought by the SEC following the housing market collapse. Ten Brookstreet brokers were also sued by the SEC for misrepresentation to investors.

• Medical Capital Holdings  Judge(s):David Carter      *Securities and Exchange Commission v. Medical Capital Holdings Inc et al 8:09-cv-00818-DOC-RNB

On July 20, 2009, Judge 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. Judge Carter also froze the assets 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 to 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.

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

• Toyota lawsuits  Judge(s):James Selna      *In re: Toyota Motor Corp. Unintended Acceleration Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation 8:10-ml-02151-JVS-FMO

Judge Selna was chosen on April 9, 2010 to preside over 200 lawsuits involving the car maker Toyota. A group of 26 attorneys sued Toyota for negligence after the company was forced to recall many vehicles due to sudden acceleration problems. . In December 2012, a settlement between Toyota and the claimants was announced. While the exact amount is not known, Toyota is said to have paid $1.2 to $1.4 billion directly to car owners and in order to install new brake systems into millions of cars.

• Green cards  Judge(s):James Selna

Judge 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 turns twenty-one, they must restart the application process.

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

Judge Dean Pregerson of the United States District Court for the Central District of California 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". "Pregerson blasted public health officials' 'attempt to sidestep responsibility for what appears to be . . . one of the most, if not the most, egregious' violations of the constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment that 'the court has ever encountered'."

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

Judge 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 holds the rights to the Beatles, alleged the website illegally sold Beatles songs. In March 2011, BlueBeat.com agreed to pay over $1 million to EMI in a settlement.

• MySpace suicide case  Judge(s):George Wu      *USA v. Lori Drew 2:08-cr-00582-GW-1

Judge 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 of 2008. The decision reversed a jury's verdicts which convicted the woman of computer fraud charges. The case received a lot of national attention and created an uproar on the issue of internet security. 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 governs terms and conditions of visiting a website is "constitutionally vague". Almost three months later, federal prosecutors said they would not appeal Judge Wu's dismissal of charges against Drew.

• Supermarket labor fraud  Judge(s):Percy Anderson      *USA v. McGowan et al 2:08-cr-01116-PA

Judge 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.

• Economic espionage case  Judge(s):Cormac Carney      *USA v. Dongfan Chung 8:08-cr-00024-CJC-1

In 2009, Judge Carney presided over the trial of a Chinese-born engineer who was charged with stealing trade secrets critical to the U.S. space program. Dongfan "Greg" Chung was found guilty on July 14, 2009 on 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. 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. Chung was the first person convicted under The Economic Espionage Act of 1996. The 1996 law was created to help the government crackdown on stolen information from private companies that contract with the federal government. The law applies to contractors that provide technology services for the U.S. space and military programs.

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

• LAPD consent decree case  Judge(s):Gary Feess

Judge Feess on July 17, 2009 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 1990's. In 1999, a federal judge ordered that the Los Angeles Police appoint an independent monitor and comply with 100 reforms including a ban on all racial profiling. After noted improvements on how the LAPD conducted their 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 Los Angeles Police Commission. The agreement orders units of the department to report to the police oversight body. Judge Feess told the parties that the court will keep jurisdiction over the agreement.

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

In September 2010, Judge Phillips ruled that the U.S. military's policy of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", which outlines 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 restricts soldiers' rights to substantive due process and free speech. However, the policy was not overturned as a result. See opinion here: Log Cabin Republicans v. United States of America Associated Press "Judge says she’s inclined to reject government request", October 18, 2010

• Bus shutdown case  Judge(s):George King
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.

• Erin Andrews stalker case  Judge(s):Manuel Real      *USA v. Barrett 2:09-mj-02270-DUTY

Judge 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 27 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 27 months in prison on March 15, 2010.

• Medi-Cal injunction  Judge(s):Christina Snyder      *California Medical Association, et al v. Toby Douglas, et al CV 11-9688 (MANx)

In August 2008, Judge 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. The original lawsuit was filed by Medi-Cal providers after the state legislature approved ten percent cuts of reimbursement rates for providers Medi-Cal in February of 2008. The legislation was approved by both houses of the California legislature and was approved by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The cuts went into affect on July 1, 2008. On August 18, 2008, Judge Snyder granted a partial injunction against the State of California. Judge Snyder blocked the 10 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. After the August ruling, David Maxwell-Jolly who heads Medi-Cal, argued that the injunction should apply only to payments for services provided on or after August 18th 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. 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. 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.

• Sealed records lawsuit  Judge(s):Stephen Wilson

The Los Angeles Times and the Associated Press filed a motion on August 4, 2009 to ask Judge 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 over a protective order from the Bureau of Prisons that protects the identity of a prisoner. Judge Wilson closed the civil trial, and only allowed information released to the public after "sensitive information" was removed.

Federal courthouse

Four separate courthouses serve the Central District of California.

Major news

For new stories and other related material see California judicial news.

See also

• United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• News: Federal Courts, Empty Benches:The Wednesday Vacancy Count 3/7/2012, March 7, 2012

External links

• United States District Court for the Central District of California Official Website
• Federal Judicial Center-U.S. District Court for the Central District of California Website
• United States Attorney's Office, Central District of California
• Opinions of the Central District of California
• Judges of the Central District of California

References

Central District of California Ninth Circuit Chief: George King Judges: 28 Posts: 28 Vacancies: 0 Active judges Anderson • Bernal • Carney • Carter • Collins • Feess • Fischer • Fitzgerald • Gee • Guilford • Gutierrez • Klausner • Kronstadt • Morrow • O'Connell • Olguin • Otero • Phillips • Pregerson • Real • Selna • Snyder • Tucker • Walter • Wilson • Wright • Wu Senior Judges Fairbank • Hatter • Keller • Letts • Lew • Marshall • Pfaelzer • Stotler • Timlin Magistrate Judges Chief Magistrate: Stephen Hillman Abrams • Bauer • Block • Chapman • Chooljian • Eick • Federman • Gandhi • Kenton • Lum • Mumm • Nagel • Nakazato • Olguin • Parada • Rosenberg • Saltzman • Segal • Walsh • Wistrich • Woehrle • Zarefsky Former Judges

Key: (Numbers indicate % of seats vacant.) 0% 0%-10% 10%-25% 25%-40% More than 40%

Since the court was established, 76 Article III federal judges have served on it.

Active judges

Article III judges

See: Article III federal judge
The United States District Court for the Central District of California has 28 posts and 0 vacancies. The current Chief Judge is Audrey Collins. This is a list of the current judges on the court:

Judge	Born	Home	Appointed by	Active	Chief	Preceeded	Bachelors	Law
Judge James Selna	1945	San Jose, CA	W. Bush	3/27/2003 - Present		Spencer Letts	Stanford U., A.B., 1967	Stanford Law School, J.D., 1970
Judge Dean Pregerson	1951	Los Angeles, CA	Clinton	8/1/1996 - Present		Wallace Tashima	U. of California, Los Angeles, B.A., 1972	U. of California, Davis, King Hall School of Law, J.D., 1976
Judge John Walter	1944	Buffalo, NY	W. Bush	5/1/2002 - Present		John Davies	Loyola U. of Los Angeles, B.A., 1966	Loyola U. of Los Angeles School of Law, J.D., 1969
Judge Otis Wright	1944	Tuskegee, AL	W. Bush	4/16/2007 - Present		Gary Taylor	California State U. at Los Angeles, B.A., 1976	Southwestern School of Law, J.D., 1980
Judge George Wu	1950	New York, NY	W. Bush	4/17/2007 - Present		Ronald Lew	Pomona College, B.A., 1972	U. of Chicago Law School, J.D., 1975
Judge Percy Anderson	1948	Long Beach, CA	W. Bush	5/1/2002 - Present		Kim McLane Wardlaw	U. of California, Los Angeles, A.B., 1970	U. of California, Los Angeles, School of Law, J.D., 1975
Judge Cormac Carney	1959	Detroit, MI	W. Bush	4/9/2003 - Present		Carlos R. Moreno	U. of California, Los Angeles, B.A., 1983	Harvard Law School, J.D., 1987
Judge David Carter	1944	Providence, RI	Clinton	10/22/1998 - Present		William Rea	U. of California, Los Angeles, B.A., 1967	U. of California, Los Angeles, School of Law, J.D., 1972
Judge Audrey Collins	1945	Chester, PA	Clinton	5/9/1994 - Present	2009 - 2012	Robert Bonner	Howard U., B.A., 1967	U. of California, Los Angeles, School of Law, J.D., 1977
Judge Gary Feess	1948	Alliance, OH	Clinton	7/7/1999 - Present		James Ideman	Ohio State U., B.A., 1970	U. of California at Los Angeles, J.D., 1974
Judge Dale Fischer	1951	Orange, NJ	W. Bush	11/5/2003 - Present		New Seat|116 Stat. 1758	U. of South Florida, B.A., 1977	Harvard Law School, J.D., 1980
Judge Andrew Guilford	1950	Santa Monica, CA	W. Bush	6/26/2006 - Present		Dickran Tevrizian	U. of California, Los Angeles, A.B., 1972	U. of California, Los Angeles, School of Law, J.D., 1975
Judge Philip Gutierrez	1959	Los Angeles, CA	W. Bush	2/16/2007 - Present		Terry Hatter	U. of Notre Dame, B.A., 1981	UCLA School of Law, J.D., 1984
Judge Virginia Phillips	1957	Orange, CA	Clinton	11/15/1999 - Present		William Byrne, Jr.	U. of California, Riverside, B.A., 1979	U. of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, J.D., 1982
Chief Judge George King	1951	Shanghai, China	Clinton	6/30/1995 - present	10/1/2012-present	New Seat|104 Stat. 5089	U. of California, Los Angeles, A.B., 1971	U. of Southern California Law School, J.D., 1974
Judge Robert Klausner	1941	Los Angeles, CA	W. Bush	11/15/2002 - Present		William Keller	U. of Notre Dame, B.A., 1963; U. of Notre Dame, B.S., 1964	Loyola Law School, J.D., 1967
Judge James Otero	1951	Los Angeles, CA	W. Bush	2/12/2003 - Present		Richard Paez	California State U., B.A., 1973	Stanford Law School, J.D., 1976
Judge Manuel Real	1924	San Pedro, CA	L.B. Johnson	November 3, 1966 - Present	1982 - 1993	New Seat|80 Stat. 75	U. of Southern California, B.S., 1944	Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, CA, LL.B., 1951
Judge Christina Snyder	1947	Los Angeles, CA	Clinton	11/10/1997 - Present		Edward Rafeedie	Pomona College, B.A., 1969	Stanford Law School, J.D., 1972
Judge Stephen Wilson	1941	New York, NY	Reagan	10/17/1985 - Present		New Seat|98 Stat. 333	Lehigh U., B.A., 1963	Brooklyn Law School, J.D., 1967
Judge Margaret Morrow	1950	Columbus, NE	Clinton	2/24/1998 - Present		Richard Gadbois	Bryn Mawr College, A.B., 1971	Harvard Law School, J.D., 1974
Judge Fernando Olguin			Obama	12/17/2012 - Present		Jacqueline Nguyen	Harvard, 1985	U. of California, Berkeley Law, J.D., 1989
Judge Dolly Gee	1959	Hawthorne, CA	Obama	1/4/2010 - Present		George Schiavelli	U. of California at Los Angeles, B.A., 1981	U. of California at Los Angeles School of Law, J.D., 1984
Judge Beverly Reid O'Connell	1965	Ventura, CA	Obama	4/11/2013 - Present		Valerie Baker Fairbank	U. of California, Los Angeles, B.A. 1986	Pepperdine U. Law, J.D., 1990
Judge John A. Kronstadt	1951	Washington, D.C.	Obama	4/14/2011 - Present		Florence-Marie Cooper	Cornell University, B.A., 1973	Yale Law School, J.D., 1976
Judge Josephine S. Tucker	1961	St. Louis, MO	Obama	6/22/2010 - Present		Alicemarie Stotler	William Jewell College, B.A., 1983	Harvard Law School, J.D., 1986
Judge Michael Fitzgerald	1959	Los Angeles, CA	Obama	3/15/2012 - Present		Howard Matz	Harvard, A.B., 1981	U. of California, Berkeley Law, J.D., 1985
Judge Jesus Bernal	1963	Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico	Obama	12/11/2012 - Present		Stephen Larson	Yale, B.A., 1986	Stanford Law, J.D., 1989

Pending appointments

There are no current pending appointments for the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

Senior judges

See: Federal judges on senior status
The United States District Court for the Central District of California has 9 judges on senior status currently. This is a list of the current senior judges on the court:

Judge	Appointed by	Active	Chief	Senior	Bachelors	Law
Senior Judge Alicemarie Stotler	Reagan	5/3/1984 - 1/5/2009	2005 - 2009	1/5/2009 - Present	U. of Southern California, B.A., 1964	U. of Southern California Law School, J.D., 1967
Senior Judge Valerie Baker Fairbank	W. Bush	2/16/2007 - 3/1/2012		3/1/2012 - Current	U. of California, Santa Barbara, B.A., 1971	U. of California, Los Angeles School of Law, 1975, J.D.
Senior Judge Terry Hatter	Carter	12/20/1979 - 4/22/2005	1998 - 2001	4/22/2005 - Present	Wesleyan U., B.A., 1954	U. of Chicago Law School, J.D., 1960
Senior Judge Bill Keller	Reagan	10/4/1984 - 10/29/1999			U. of California, Berkeley, B.S., 1956	U. of California, Los Angeles, School of Law, LL.B., 1960
Senior Judge Spencer Letts	Reagan	12/17/1985 - 12/19/2000		12/19/2000 - Present	Yale U., B.A., 1956	Harvard Law School, LL.B., 1960
Senior Judge Ronald Lew	Reagan	5/7/1987 - 9/19/2006		9/19/2006 - Present	Loyola U., Los Angeles, CA, B.A., 1964	Southwestern U. School of Law, J.D., 1971
Senior Judge Consuelo Marshall	Carter	9/30/1980 - 10/24/2005	2001 - 2005	10/24/2005 - Present	Howard University, B.A., 1958	Howard University, LL.B., 1961
Senior Judge Mariana Pfaelzer	Carter	9/23/1978 - 12/31/1997		12/31/1997 - Present	U. of California, Santa Barbara, A.B., 1949	U. of California, Los Angeles, School of Law, J.D., 1957
Senior Judge Robert Timlin	Clinton	9/15/1994 - 2/1/2005			Georgetown U., A.B., 1954	Georgetown U. Law Center, J.D., 1959

Magistrate judges

Judge	Active	Bachelors	Law
Magistrate Judge Charles F. Eick	01/29/1988 - Present	Tulane U., B.A., 1975	U. of Texas Law, J.D., 1978
Magistrate Judge Stephen Hillman	07/16/1992 - Present	U. of California, B.A., 1972	U. of Washington Law, J.D., 1975
Magistrate Judge Paul Abrams	01/14/2002 - Present	U. of California at Berkeley, B.A., 1979	U. of California at Berkeley Law, J.D., 1983
Magistrate Judge Robert Block	02/17/1995 - Present	U. of California, Los Angeles, B.A., 1972	U. of California, Los Angeles Law, B.A., 1978
Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Chooljian	01/09/2006 - Present	U. of California, Los Angeles, B.A., 1982	U. of Southern California Law, B.A., 1986
Magistrate Judge Rita Federman
Magistrate Judge Victor Kenton	07/02/2001 - Present	U. of Connecticut, B.A., 1969	U. of California, Los Angeles Law, J.D., 1974
Magistrate Judge Fred Mumm	04/03/2006 - Present	U. of Virginia, B.S., 1976	College of William and Mary Law, J.D., 1979
Magistrate Judge Margaret Nagle	07/25/1997 - Present	Boston College, A.B., 1972	Columbia Law, J.D., 1975
Magistrate Judge Arthur Nakazato	08/13/1996 - Present	U. of Pittsburgh, B.A., 1975	Temple U. Law, J.D., 1978
Magistrate Judge Oswald Parada	01/20/2006 - Present	California State U., Fullerton, B.A., 1987	Loyola U. Law, J.D., 1990
Magistrate Judge Alicia Rosenberg	03/13/2007 - Present	Wellesley College, B.A., 1982	U. of California, Los Angeles Law, J.D., 1985
Chief Magistrate Judge Suzanne Segal	07/31/2002 - Present	Claremont McKenna College, B.A., 1982	Cornell Law, J.D., 1987
Magistrate Judge Patrick Walsh	05/14/2004 - Present	U. of Texas, B.B.A., 1966	U. of Arizona Law, J.D., 1969
Magistrate Judge Andrew Wistrich	04/04/1994 - Present	U. of California, Berkeley, A.B., 1972	U. of Chicago Law, J.D., 1976
Magistrate Judge Carla Woehrle	06/10/1996 - Present	Pomona College, B.A., 1972	Loyola U. - Los Angeles Law, J.D., 1977
Magistrate Judge Ralph Zarefsky	07/30/1997 - Present	Northwestern U., B.A., 1972	Stanford Law, J.D., 1976
Magistrate Judge Vijay Chand Gandhi	04/14/2010 - Present	California State U., Fullerton, B.A., 1994	U. of Southern California, J.D., 1997
Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym	04/19/2011 - Present	Williams College, B.A., 1989	U. of California, Los Angeles, Law, J.D., 1994
Magistrate Judge David Bristow	06/25/2009 - Present	California State U., B.A., 1985	U. of the Pacific, J.D., 1993
Magistrate Judge John McDermott	07/02/2009 - Present	Ohio Wesleyan U., B.A., 1968	Harvard Law, J.D., 1971
Magistrate Judge Jean Rosebluth
Magistrate Judge Michael Wilner	04/01/2011 - Present	Dartmouth College, B.A., 1988	U. of Pennsylvania Law, J.D., 1991

Past judges

Former Chief judges

Judge	Term
Irving Hill	1979 - 1980
Andrew Hauk	1980 - 1982
Thurmond Clarke	1966 - 1970
William Byrne, Jr.	1994 - 1998
Albert Lee Stephens, Jr.	1970 - 1979
Manuel Real	1982 - 1993
Consuelo Marshall	2001 - 2005
Terry Hatter	1998 - 2001
Alicemarie Stotler	2005 - 2009

In order to qualify for the office of Chief Judge in one of the federal courts, 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 in the office of Chief Judge 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. Unlike the Chief Justice of the United States, a Chief Judge returns to active service after the expiration of his or her term and does not create a vacancy on the bench by the fact of his or her promotion. See 28 U.S.C. § 45.

These rules for Chief Judges in the federal judiciary have been in effect since October 1, 1982. The office of Chief Judge was created in 1948. Until August 6, 1959, the position was filled in each federal court by 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. From then until 1982 it was filled by the senior such judge who had not turned 70.

Former judges

1. Gilbert Jertberg
2. Carlos Moreno
3. Kim McLane Wardlaw
4. Florence-Marie Cooper
5. Robert Kelleher
6. Stephen Larson
7. Howard Matz
8. George Schiavelli
9. Robert Takasugi
10. Harry Pregerson
11. Pamela Rymer
12. Richard Paez
13. Warren Ferguson
14. Cynthia Holcomb Hall
15. Ferdinand Francis Fernandez
16. Leon Rene Yankwich
17. Albert Lee Stephens, Jr.
18. Lourdes Baird
19. Robert Bonner
20. William Byrne, Jr.
21. William Byrne, Sr.
22. Charles Carr
23. Thurmond Clarke
24. Elisha Crary
25. Jesse Curtis
26. John Davies
27. Robert Firth
28. Richard Gadbois
29. William Gray
30. Peirson Hall
31. Andrew Hauk
32. Irving Hill
33. Harry Hupp
34. James Ideman
35. David Kenyon
36. Malcolm Lucas
37. Lawrence Lydick
38. Linda McLaughlin
39. Edward Rafeedie
40. William Rea
41. Gary Taylor
42. Dickran Tevrizian
43. Laughlin Waters
44. Francis Whelan
45. David Williams
46. Jacqueline Nguyen
47. Atsushi Wallace Tashima