Gonzalo P. Curiel
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Gonzalo Paul Curiel (born September 7, 1953) is a
United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...
of the
United States District Court for the Southern District of California The United States District Court for the Southern District of California (in case citations, S.D. Cal.) is a federal court in the Ninth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appe ...
.


Early life and education

Curiel was born in
East Chicago, Indiana East Chicago is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 29,698 at the 2010 census. The city is home of the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal, an artificial freshwater harbor characterized by industrial and manufacturing ac ...
, the youngest of four children. Their parents, Salvador and Francisca, had emigrated from
Mascota Mascota is a town and municipality in Jalisco, in central-western Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 1,591.63 km². The name Mascota comes from the root "Amaxacotlán", which means "place of deer and colubrids". The municipality ha ...
, a small Mexican town near
Puerto Vallarta Puerto Vallarta ( or simply Vallarta) is a Mexican beach resort city situated on the Pacific Ocean's Bahía de Banderas in the Mexican state of Jalisco. Puerto Vallarta is the second largest urban agglomeration in the state after the Guadala ...
in the state of
Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal En ...
. Salvador worked as a laborer in Arizona before moving to Indiana where he worked in the steel mills. Curiel's parents married in 1946 and later became American citizens. Curiel graduated from high school at the
Bishop Noll Institute Bishop Noll Institute is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Hammond, Indiana. It is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gary. History The school opened as Catholic Central High School on September 16, 1921. It was founded by the Sisters ...
. He received his
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree from
Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...
in 1976 and his
Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
from the Indiana University School of Law in 1979 and is a member of the fraternity
Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never restricted membership on the basis of color, creed ...
.Wilford Shamlin III
Latino judge bashed by Trump is member of Kappa Alpha Psi
''
Philadelphia Tribune ''The Philadelphia Tribune'' is the oldest continuously published African-American newspaper in the United States. The paper began in 1884 when Christopher J. Perry published its first copy. Throughout its history, ''The Philadelphia Tribune' ...
'' (June 10, 2016).


Pre-judicial career

Curiel worked in private practice, first at James, James & Manning from 1979 to 1986 and then at Barbosa & Vera from 1986 to 1989. He was an
Assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gove ...
in the Southern District of California from 1989 to 2002. While in the Southern District, he served as Deputy Chief (1996–1999) and then Chief (1999–2002) of the Narcotics Enforcement Division. During his tenure with the Narcotics Enforcement Division, Curiel handled a case involving two alleged members of the Arellano Felix cartel of Tijuana, Mexico. U.S. law enforcement arrested the two alleged murderers in California, based on information from Mexican authorities, and Curiel sought their extradition to Mexico.Preston, Julia and Pyes, Craig.
"U.S.-Mexico Drug War: 2 Systems Collide"
''The New York Times''. July 23, 1997.
The two men objected to extradition by arguing that the information used to track them down had been obtained in Mexico via
torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...
. Curiel argued: "The .S.Government is not here to deny there is a possibility of torture. ... There are serious allegations of torture. But the forum for those allegations to be aired is the Government of Mexico." While still in United States custody, one of the men allegedly threatened Curiel's life, so that Curiel had to live under federal protection for a time. The extradition case went up to a federal appeals court, with Curiel arguing the case.''Mainero v. Gregg''
164 F.3d 1199
(9th Cir. 1999).
The appeals court decided that the extradition could proceed, saying that there was enough evidence to support it without using the evidence allegedly obtained via torture. Curiel hailed the ruling, which he said might lead to greater cooperation between the two countries in the fight against the
drug cartel A drug cartel is any criminal organization with the intention of supplying drug trafficking operations. They range from loosely managed agreements among various drug traffickers to formalized commercial enterprises. The term was applied when the ...
. Curiel then worked as an Assistant
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 c ...
in the Central District of California from 2002 to 2006.


Judicial career


California Superior Court

In 2006, California governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...
appointed Curiel to the San Diego County
Superior Court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...
. He held that position until his appointment to the federal bench.


Federal judicial service

On November 10, 2011, President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
nominated Curiel to serve as a judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. He replaced Judge Thomas J. Whelan, who had taken
senior status Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...
. Curiel was rated "well qualified" by a substantial majority of the
American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...
's
Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academ ...
, which evaluates federal judicial nominees. Curiel received a hearing before the
Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations, a ...
on March 28, 2012, which reported his nomination to the Senate on April 26, 2012, by voice vote. In the early hours of September 22, 2012, on what was officially still the legislative day of September 21, the Senate confirmed Curiel by
voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...
. He received his commission on October 1, 2012.


Trump University lawsuits

In February 2014, Curiel certified ''Tarla Makaeff v. Trump University'' as a
class action A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class actio ...
case that alleged
Trump University Trump University (also known as the Trump Wealth Institute and Trump Entrepreneur Initiative LLC) was an American company that ran a real estate training program from 2005 until 2010. It was owned and operated by The Trump Organization. A sep ...
was "a basically fraudulent endeavor", and he accepted residents of three states as members of that class. In October 2014, Curiel certified '' Cohen v. Trump'' as another national class action against then-entrepreneur
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
. In March 2016, Curiel allowed Makaeff to withdraw her name from the first lawsuit, and the case was retitled ''Low v. Trump University''. In May 2016, Curiel granted a request by ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' for public release of certain Trump University documents and depositions that had been filed in the case. Curiel scheduled a trial to begin in the ''Low'' case on November 28, 2016, in San Diego. He had planned to start the trial in the summer of 2016, but postponed it until after the 2016 Presidential election because of concerns that jurors would be affected by a "media frenzy" if the trial took place before the election. In November 2016, after Trump had been elected president, his attorneys asked that the case be delayed until after Trump's inauguration, set for January 20, 2017. Curiel denied the request but urged the parties to pursue a settlement, and recruited District Judge Jeffrey T. Miller to facilitate settlement talks. On November 18 a $25 million settlement of all three pending cases (Curiel's two class-action suits plus a suit filed by the
attorney general of New York The attorney general of New York is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of New York and head of the Department of Law of the state government. The office has been in existence in some form since 1626, under the Dutch colonial government o ...
) was announced and was certified by Curiel. Implementation of the settlement was delayed because one individual claimant wished to pursue a separate lawsuit. A district court and an appeals court rejected that individual's claim, and Curiel finalized the settlement in April 2018. Former students can now get a refund of up to 90% of the money they spent on courses. During the campaign Trump repeatedly criticized Curiel in campaign speeches and interviews, calling him a "hater of Donald Trump", saying his rulings have been unfair, and that Curiel "happens to be, we believe, Mexican, which is great. I think that's fine", while suggesting that the judge's ethnicity posed a
conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations i ...
in light of Trump's proposal to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexican border. Curiel wrote in court papers that Trump has "placed the integrity of these court proceedings at issue", but is forbidden from responding publicly to Trump's claims in view of rules against public commentary by judges on active cases. Legal experts were critical of Trump's original attacks on Curiel, viewing them as racially charged, unfounded, and an affront to the concept of an independent judiciary. On June 7, 2016, Trump issued a lengthy statement saying that his criticism of the judge had been "misconstrued" and that his concerns about Curiel's impartiality were not based upon ethnicity alone, but also upon rulings in the case. In reply,
Cato Institute The Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries.Koch Indust ...
fellow
Nat Hentoff Nathan Irving Hentoff (June 10, 1925 – January 7, 2017) was an American historian, novelist, jazz and country music critic, and syndicated columnist for United Media. Hentoff was a columnist for ''The Village Voice'' from 1958 to 2009. Fol ...
wrote that thus far in the case, Curiel had ruled in Trump's favor far more often than not, including granting his motion to delay the trial until after the 2016 presidential election, and concluded that "Donald Trump has an odd way of showing his appreciation for a trial judge who, as his attorney said, is just 'doing his job'."Why Judge Curiel May Be Donald Trump’s Best Friend
Nat Hentoff Nathan Irving Hentoff (June 10, 1925 – January 7, 2017) was an American historian, novelist, jazz and country music critic, and syndicated columnist for United Media. Hentoff was a columnist for ''The Village Voice'' from 1958 to 2009. Fol ...
, ''
Cato Institute The Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries.Koch Indust ...
'', June 9, 2016.
In November 2017 at an appeals court hearing, one of Trump's attorneys said that Trump had changed his opinion of Curiel and now regarded his actions as a "textbook example of a district court properly administering a settlement".


DACA lawsuit

In April 2017 Curiel was assigned to hear the case of a 23-year-old man whose lawyers say he was deported to Mexico on February 18 by the Border Patrol despite being registered under the
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, colloquially referred to as DACA, is a United States immigration policy that allows some individuals with unlawful presence in the United States after being brought to the country as children to receive ...
program, having arrived in the United States from Mexico when he was 9 years old. The Department of Homeland Security says he was not deported and must have gone into Mexico from the United States voluntarily at some point. He was caught on February 19 trying to illegally cross the border into the United States from Mexico.


U.S.–Mexico border wall case

Curiel also heard a case brought by the State of California and
California Coastal Commission The California Coastal Commission (CCC) is a state agency within the California Natural Resources Agency with quasi-judicial control of land and public access along the state's coastline. Its mission as defined in the California Coastal Act is " ...
, a number of
environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...
groups, and U.S. Representative
Raúl Grijalva Raúl Manuel Grijalva (; born February 19, 1948) is an American politician and activist who has served as the United States representative for since 2003. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, numbered as the 7th from 2003 to 20 ...
(Democrat of Arizona) that challenged waivers issued in 1996 and 2005 that allowed the federal government to bypass some federal and state environmental laws to promote border security. These waivers were granted under a 1996 immigration law. Three separate lawsuits were initially brought, challenging the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...
's power to waive these laws to construct a border wall. Curiel consolidated these into a single case, ''In re Border Infrastructure Environmental Litigation''.Kylee Clark
Federal judge dismisses challenge to Trump's border wall
''Jurist'' (February 28, 2018).
Order Denying Plaintiffs' Motions for Summary Judgment and Granting Defendants' Motions for Summary Judgment
''In re Border Infrastructure Environmental Litigation'' (S.D. Cal. February 27, 2018).
The plaintiffs argued that the waivers were ''
ultra vires ('beyond the powers') is a Latin phrase used in law to describe an act which requires legal authority but is done without it. Its opposite, an act done under proper authority, is ('within the powers'). Acts that are may equivalently be termed ...
'' and not authorized by the 1996 immigration law; they also raised constitutional challenges grounded in the
Nondelegation Doctrine The doctrine of nondelegation (or non-delegation principle) is the theory that one branch of government must not authorize another entity to exercise the power or function which it is constitutionally authorized to exercise itself. It is explicit ...
,
Take Care Clause Article Two of the United States Constitution establishes the executive branch of the federal government, which carries out and enforces federal laws. Article Two vests the power of the executive branch in the office of the president of the Un ...
,
Presentment Clause The Presentment Clause (Article I, Section 7, Clauses 2 and 3) of the United States Constitution outlines federal legislative procedure by which bills originating in Congress become federal law in the United States. Text The Presentment Claus ...
,
First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
and Tenth Amendment. On February 27, 2018, Curiel granted
summary judgment In law, a summary judgment (also judgment as a matter of law or summary disposition) is a judgment entered by a court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes ...
in favor of the Trump administration.


Memberships

Curiel was
admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...
in Illinois in 1979, in Indiana in 1980, and in California in 1986. Curiel is a member of
American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...
, and served on the ABA's Hispanic Advisory Committee of the Commission on Public Understanding about the Law from 1993 to 1998. He served on the
State Bar of California The State Bar of California is California's official attorney licensing agency. It is responsible for managing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law, investigating complaints of professional misconduct, prescribing appropriate disciplin ...
's Criminal Law Advisory Commission from 1994 to 1998, spending one year as chair and another year as vice chair. He also served on the board of directors of the San Diego County Judges Association and was a member of the California Judges Association. He served on the San Diego Superior Court's Domestic Violence Committee from 2007 to 2010. He is a member of the American Inns of Court, William B. Enright Chapter. Curiel is a member of the San Diego La Raza Lawyers Association, a nonprofit
professional association A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) usually seeks to advocacy, further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in that professio ...
of Latino lawyers that is affiliated with a statewide organization, the La Raza Lawyers of California. Neither these groups nor Curiel are affiliated with the
National Council of La Raza UnidosUS, formerly National Council of La Raza (NCLR) (La Raza), is the United States's largest Latino nonprofit advocacy organization. It advocates in favor of progressive public policy changes including immigration reform, a path to citizens ...
(NCLR), an unrelated
advocacy group Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the developm ...
. On his 2011 questionnaire, Curiel also noted that he was a "life-time member" of the
Hispanic National Bar Association The Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) is a 501(c)(6) organization representing Hispanics in the legal profession, including attorneys, judges, law professors, legal assistant and paralegals, and law students in the United States and its ...
, and a member of the National Hispanic Prosecutors Association, as well as the Latino Judges Association.


Personal life

Curiel is married. He and his wife, a court probation officer, have one daughter. He plays
jazz guitar Jazz guitar may refer to either a type of electric guitar or a guitar playing style in jazz, using electric amplification to increase the volume of acoustic guitars. In the early 1930s, jazz musicians sought to amplify their sound to be hear ...
.


Notes


See also

*
List of Hispanic/Latino American jurists This is a list of Hispanic/Latino Americans who are or were judges, magistrate judges, court commissioners, or administrative law judges. If known, it will be listed if a judge has served on multiple courts. Other topics of interest * List ...


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Curiel, Gonzalo P. 1953 births Living people Assistant United States Attorneys California state court judges Donald Trump controversies Hispanic and Latino American judges Indiana University Maurer School of Law alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California People from East Chicago, Indiana Superior court judges in the United States United States district court judges appointed by Barack Obama 21st-century American judges