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. 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
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 ...
(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 ...
claims and claims against the United States government under the
Tucker Act, 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 ...
). 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
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.
The boundary was at the
37th parallel.
[Willoughby Rodman, ''History of the Bench and Bar of Southern California'' (1909), p. 46.] The two districts were merged as the
United States District Court for the District of California on July 27, 1866 by 14 Stat. 300.
On August 5, 1886, Congress re-created the
Southern District by 24 Stat. 308,
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.
Divisions
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
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
,
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
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
,
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
The
United States attorney
United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...
for the Central District of California represents the United States Government in civil and criminal cases before the court. , the United States attorney is
E. Martin Estrada.
Current judges
:
Vacancies and pending nominations
On December 21, 2022, President
Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate
Wesley Hsu and
Mónica Ramírez Almadani
Mónica Ramírez Almadani (born 1979) is an American lawyer who is serving as a United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California since 2023. She was the presid ...
to unspecified seats on the court.
Former judges
Chief judges
Succession of seats
List of U.S. Attorneys
*George J. Denis (1888–1889)
*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 (1942–943)
*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)
[In 1966, the Central District of California was created from portions of the Southern District of California.]
*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
Robert Cleve Bonner (January 29, 1942) is an American lawyer and arbitration neutral, a former federal prosecutor, prosecutor, former United States federal judge, United States District Judge, former Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administ ...
(1984–1989)
*
Gary Allen Feess (1989)
*Robert L. Brosio (1989–1990)
*
Lourdes Baird (1990–1992)
*Terree Bowers (1992–1994)
*
Nora Margaret Manella
Nora Margaret Manella (born January 22, 1951) is the Presiding Justice of the California Second District Court of Appeal, Division Four and a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of Cal ...
(1994–1998)
*
Alejandro Mayorkas
Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas (born November 24, 1959) is a Cuban-American government official and attorney who has been serving as the seventh United States Secretary of Homeland Security since February 2, 2021. During the Obama administration, h ...
(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)
See also
*
Courts of California
*
List of current United States district judges
The following is a list of all current judges of the United States district and territorial courts. The list includes both "active" and "senior" judges, both of whom hear and decide cases. There are 89 districts in the 50 states, with a total ...
*
List of United States federal courthouses in California
References
External links
United States District Court, Central District of CaliforniaUnited States Attorney's Office, Central District of California
{{DEFAULTSORT:United States District Court for the Central District of California
California, Central
California law
Government in Orange County, California
Government in Riverside County, California
Government in Riverside, California
Santa Ana, California
1966 establishments in California
Courts and tribunals established in 1966