The United States District Court for the Southern District of California (in

case citation Case citation is a system used by legal professionals to identify past court case decisions, either in series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a neutral style that identifies a decision regardless of where it is reported. Case ci ...

s, S.D. Cal.) is a federal court in the

Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District o ...

(except for

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

claims and claims against the U.S. government under the

Tucker Act The Tucker Act (March 3, 1887, ch. 359, , ) is a federal statute of the United States by which the United States government has waived its sovereign immunity with respect to certain lawsuits. The Tucker Act may be divided into the "Big" Tucker A ...

, which are appealed to the

Federal Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (in case citations, Fed. Cir. or C.A.F.C.) is a United States court of appeals that has special appellate jurisdiction over certain types of specialized cases in the U.S. federal court ...

). The District was created on September 28, 1850, following the passage of the

California Statehood Act An Act for the Admission of the State of California into the Union is the federal legislation that admitted California to the United States as the thirty-first state. California is one of only a few states to become a state without first being ...

on September 9, 1850. The state was divided into a

Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

and Southern district. The

Judicial Circuits Act The Judicial Circuits Act of 1866 (ch. 210, ) reorganized the United States circuit courts and provided for the gradual elimination of several seats on the Supreme Court of the United States. It was signed into law on July 23, 1866, by President ...

of 1866 abolished the

and Southern districts, re-organizing California as a single circuit district. On August 5, 1886 the Southern district was re-established, following the division of the state into

and Southern districts. The district was further divided on March 18, 1966 with the creation of the

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and

Eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

districts. The United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. the United States Attorney is Randy Grossman.

Organization of the court

The United States District Court for the Southern District of California is one of four federal district courts in California. Court for the District is held at

El Centro El Centro (Spanish for "The Center") is a city and county seat of Imperial County, California, United States. El Centro is the largest city in the Imperial Valley, the east anchor of the Southern California Border Region, and the core urban are ...

and the Edward J. Schwartz U.S. Courthouse and U.S. Courthouse Annex in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

. The district comprises

Imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texa ...

and

counties.

Current judges

Vacancies and pending nominations

On December 21, 2022, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate

Marian Gaston President Joe Biden began his presidency with fewer vacancies to fill than his predecessor. He pledged to nominate people with diverse backgrounds and professional experience, and also pledged to nominate the first African-Americans, Black woman t ...

to an unspecified seat on the court.

Former judges

Chief judges

Succession of seats

References

External links

United States District Court for the Southern District of California

United States Attorney for the Southern District of California
{{DEFAULTSORT:United States District Court for the Southern District of California California, Southern District California law Government of Imperial County, California Government of San Diego County, California 1850 establishments in California 1866 disestablishments in California 1886 establishments in California Courts and tribunals established in 1850 Courts and tribunals disestablished in 1866 Courts and tribunals established in 1886