Ninth Circuit |
Posts: 6 |
Judges: 5 |
Vacancies: 1 |
Chief: Kimberly Mueller |
Active judges: Dale A. Drozd, Kimberly Mueller, Troy L. Nunley, Jennifer L. Thurston, Ana I. de Alba Senior
judges: |
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California is one of 94 United States district courts. The district operates at courthouses in Sacramento, Fresno, Redding, Bakersfield, and Yosemite When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, based in downtown San Francisco, California, at the James R. Browning Federal Courthouse.
Vacancies
See also: Current federal judicial vacanciesThere is one current vacancy on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, out of the court's six judicial positions.
Pending nominations
Daniel Calabretta | Joe Biden (D) | Princeton University | University of Chicago Law School |
Active judges
Article III judges
Kimberly Mueller | Barack Obama (D) | December 21, 2010 - | Pomona College, 1981 | Stanford Law School, 1995 |
Troy L. Nunley | Barack Obama (D) | March 26, 2013 - | St. Mary's College of California, 1986 | University of California, 1990 |
Dale A. Drozd | Barack Obama (D) | November 2, 2015 - | California State University, San Diego, 1977 | University of California, Los Angeles, 1980 |
Jennifer L. Thurston | Joe Biden (D) | December 27, 2021 - | California State University, 1989 | California Pacific Law, 1997 |
Ana I. de Alba | Joe Biden (D) | July 7, 2022 - | University of California, Berkeley | University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law |
Active Article III judges by appointing political party
The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.
- Democrat appointed: 5
- Republican appointed: 0
Senior judges
William Shubb | George H.W. Bush (R) | November 1, 2004 - | University of California, Berkeley, 1960 | University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, 1963 |
Garland Burrell | George H.W. Bush (R) | July 4, 2012 - | California State University, Los Angeles, 1972 | California Western School of Law, San Diego, 1976 |
Anthony Ishii | Bill Clinton (D) | October 31, 2012 - | Reedley Junior College, 1966 | University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, 1973 |
Morrison England | George W. Bush (R) | December 17, 2019 - | University of the Pacific, 1977 | University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, 1983 |
Lawrence O'Neill | George W. Bush (R) | February 2, 2020 - | University of California, Berkeley, 1973 | University of California, Hastings College of the Law, 1979 |
John Mendez | George W. Bush (R) | April 17, 2022 - | Stanford University, 1977 | Harvard Law School, 1980 |
Senior judges by appointing political party
The list below displays the number of senior judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.
- Democrat appointed: 1
- Republican appointed: 5
Magistrate judges
Federal magistrate judges are federal judges who serve in United States district courts, but they are not appointed by the president and they do not serve life terms. Magistrate judges are assigned duties by the district judges in the district in which they serve. They may preside over most phases of federal proceedings, except for criminal felony trials. The specific duties of a magistrate judge vary from district to district, but the responsibilities always include handling matters that would otherwise be on the dockets of the district judges. Full-time magistrate judges serve for renewable terms of eight years. Some federal district courts have part-time magistrate judges, who serve for renewable terms of four years.[1]
Kendall J. Newman | United States District Court for the Eastern District of California | February 8, 2010 - | Cornell University, 1980 | College of William and Mary, 1984 |
Sheila K. Oberto | United States District Court for the Eastern District of California | April 12, 2010 - | University of Southern California, 1977 | University of Southern California, Gould School of Law, 1985 |
Carolyn K. Delaney | United States District Court for the Eastern District of California | August 1, 2011 - | Wesleyan University, 1984 | Stanford University Law, 1988 |
Barbara A. McAuliffe | United States District Court for the Eastern District of California | October 14, 2011 - | Louisiana State University, 1980 | University of Stan Diego Law, 1989 |
Allison Claire | United States District Court for the Eastern District of California | November 1, 2012 - | University of California, Santa Cruz, 1990 | University of California, Berkeley, 1993 |
Stanley A. Boone | United States District Court for the Eastern District of California | December 31, 2012 - | University of California, Berkeley, 1988 | University of the Pacific, 1995 |
Erica P. Grosjean | United States District Court for the Eastern District of California | October 12, 2015 - | University of California, Berkeley, 1997 | Harvard Law School, 2000 |
Deborah Barnes | United States District Court for the Eastern District of California | August 1, 2016 - | University of California, Berkeley, 1981 | McGeorge School of Law, 1986 |
Jeremy Peterson | United States District Court for the Eastern District of California | April 27, 2018 - | Swarthmore College, 1999 | Harvard Law School, 2006 |
Dennis Cota | United States District Court for the Eastern District of California | September 3, 2018 - | University of California, Los Angeles, 1983 | University of California, Davis, 1986 |
Helena Barch-Kuchta | United States District Court for the Eastern District of California | November 1, 2020 - | Pennsylvania State University, 1983 | Duquesne University School of Law, 1990 |
Former chief judges
In order to qualify for the office of chief judge in an Article III circuit or district court, or on the United States Court of International Trade, a judge must be in active service and hold seniority over the court's commissioned judges who are 64 years of age or under, have served one year or more, and have not previously served as chief judge.[2]
In the event that no judge on the court meets those qualifications, the youngest judge in regular active service aged 65 years or more and who has served as a judge for one year or more shall become chief judge. If no judge meets those qualifications, the judge holding seniority in active service who has not served as chief before shall become the chief judge.[3][4][5]
The chief judge serves for a term of seven years until another judge becomes eligible to serve in the position. No judge is permitted to serve as chief judge after reaching the age of 70 years unless no other judge is qualified to serve.[3][4][5]
Unlike the chief justice of the United States, a chief judge returns to active service after the expiration of their term and does not create a vacancy on the court by the fact of their promotion.[2][3][4][5]
On the United States Court of Federal Claims, the chief judge is selected by the President of the United States. The judge must be less than 70 years of age. A chief may serve until they reach age 70 or until another judge is designated by the president as the new chief judge. If the president selects a new chief judge, the former chief judge may continue active service on the court for the remainder of their appointed term.[6]
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Robert T. Matsui United States Federal Courthouse, Sacramento, CA
Former judges
For more information about the judges of the Eastern District of California, see former federal judges of the Eastern District of California.
Robert E. Coyle United States Federal Courthouse, Fresno, CA
Jurisdiction
The Counties of the Eastern District of California (click for larger map)
The Eastern 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.
The geographic jurisdiction of the Eastern District of California consists of all the following counties in the eastern part of the state of California.
There are five court divisions, with the two main court divisions covering the following counties:
The Fresno Division, covering Calaveras, Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Stanislaus, Tulare and Tuolumne counties
The Sacramento Division, covering Alpine, Amador, Butte, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo and Yuba counties
The Eastern Division hears cases from Riverside and San Bernardino counties at its Riverside courthouse.
The Bakersfield office has jurisdiction over certain cases in Inyo and Kern counties and on federal lands and National Parks. These cases are heard in courthouses in Bakersfield, at Edwards Air Force Base, and in Independence, California.
The Redding/Susanville office hears misdemeanors and petty crimes for federal lands and National Parks in four locations: Alturas, Chester, Herlong and Redding.
The South Lake Tahoe office hears misdemeanors and petty crimes for federal lands and National Parks.
The Yosemite office hears misdemeanors and petty crimes for Yosemite National Park.
Caseloads
This section contains court management statistics dating back to 2010. It was last updated in April 2021.
Click [show] below for more information on caseload terms and definitions.
Cases filed and terminated | The number of civil and criminal lawsuits formally initiated or decided by the court in a calendar year. The chart below reflects the table columns Cases filed and Cases terminated. |
Average time from filing to disposition | The average amount of time, in months, from a case's date of filing to date of disposition (acquittal, sentencing, dismissal, etc.). The chart below reflects the table columns Median time (Criminal) and Median time (Civil). |
Starting case load | The number of cases pending from the previous calendar year. |
Cases filed | The number of civil and criminal lawsuits formally initiated in a calendar year. |
Cases terminated | The total number of civil and criminal lawsuits decided by the court in a calendar year. |
Remaining cases | The number of civil and criminal cases pending at the end of a given year. |
Median time (Criminal) | The average amount of time, in months, from a case's date of filing to the date of disposition. In criminal cases, the date of disposition occurs on the day of sentencing or acquittal/dismissal. |
Median time (Civil) | The average amount of time, in months, from a case's date of filing to the date of disposition. |
Three-year civil cases | The number and percent of civil cases that were filed more than three years before the end of the given calendar year. |
Vacant posts | The number of months during the year an authorized judgeship was vacant. |
Trial/Post | The number of trials completed divided by the number of authorized judgeships on the court. Trials include evidentiary trials, hearings on temporary restraining orders, and preliminary injunctions. |
Source: United States Courts, "Explanation of the Judicial Caseload Profiles for United States District Courts," accessed September 25, 2018 |
Year | Cases Filed | Cases Terminated | Cases Pending | Number of Judgeships | Vacant Judgeship Months | Average Total Filings per Judgeship | Trials Completed per Judgeship | Median time from filing to disposition, criminal | Median time from filing to disposition, civil | Three-year civil cases (#) | Three-year civil cases (%) |
2010 | 7,388 | 6,889 | 9,557 | 6 | 11 | 1,231 | 17 | 12 | 8 | 733 | 10 |
2011 | 6,722 | 7,314 | 7,986 | 6 | 0 | 1,121 | 16 | 13 | 8 | 739 | 11 |
2012 | 6,580 | 7,257 | 8,347 | 6 | 8 | 1,097 | 14 | 14 | 8 | 766 | 13 |
2013 | 5,971 | 6,186 | 8,136 | 6 | 15 | 995 | 16 | 15 | 9 | 775 | 14 |
2014 | 6,057 | 6,213 | 7,952 | 6 | 9 | 1,010 | 14 | 17 | 8 | 841 | 14 |
2015 | 5,495 | 5,775 | 7,630 | 6 | 12 | 916 | 16 | 20 | 9 | 785 | 14 |
2016 | 5,614 | 5,524 | 7,713 | 6 | 0 | 936 | 15 | 23 | 9 | 807 | 13 |
2017 | 5,281 | 5,536 | 7,477 | 6 | 0 | 880 | 19 | 23 | 10 | 744 | 13 |
2018 | 5,861 | 5,768 | 7,448 | 6 | 0 | 977 | 15 | 19 | 8 | 738 | 13 |
2019 | 5,128 | 5,195 | 7,403 | 6 | 0 | 855 | 13 | 19 | 10 | 741 | 13 |
Average | 6,010 | 6,166 | 7,965 | 6 | 5 | 1,002 | 16 | 18 | 9 | 767 | 13 |
History
The Eastern District of California was established by Congress on March 18, 1966, with one judicial post being transferred from the Southern District and two from the Northern District. Over time, three additional judicial posts were added for a total of six current posts.[7]
Judicial posts
The following table highlights the development of judicial posts for the Eastern District of California:[7]
Noteworthy events
Federal Judicial Conference recommendation (2019)
In March 2019, the Federal Judicial Conference (FJC) recommended that five judgeships be added to the district.[8] Based on FJC data, the district handled 855 weighted filings per judgeship from September 2017 to September 2018. Weighted filings are a specific metric used by the federal judiciary that accounts for the different amounts of time judges require to resolve types of civil and criminal cases. The national average in that period for weighted filings per judgeship was 513.[9]
The FJC is the policy-making body for the United States federal courts system. It was first organized as the Conference of Senior Circuit Judges in 1922.[10] The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States serves as chair of the conference. The members of the conference are the chief judge of each judicial circuit, the Chief Judge of the Court of International Trade, and a district judge from each regional judicial circuit.[11]
Federal courthouse
Two separate courthouses serve the Eastern District of California.
About United States District Courts
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. There are 94 such courts. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of both law and equity.
There is a United States bankruptcy court and a number of bankruptcy judges associated with each United States district court. Each federal judicial district has at least one courthouse, and most districts have more than one.
There is at least one judicial district for each state, and one each for Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. District courts in three insular areas—the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands—exercise the same jurisdiction as U.S. district courts. Despite their name, these courts are technically not District Courts of the United States. Judges on these territorial courts do not enjoy the protections of Article III of the Constitution, and serve terms of 10 years rather than for life.
There are 677 U.S. District Court judgeships.[12][13]
The number of federal district judge positions is set by the U.S. Congress in Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Section 133, which authorizes a set number of judge positions, or judgeships, making changes and adjustments in these numbers from time to time.
In order to relieve the pressure of trying the hundreds of thousands of cases brought before the federal district courts each year, many trials are tried by juries, along with a presiding judge.[14]
Appointments by president
The chart below shows the number of district court judges confirmed by the U.S. Senate through November 1 of the second year of each president's term in office. At this point in the term, President Clinton had the most district court appointments with 107.
Judges by district
See also: Judicial vacancies in federal courtsThe table below displays the number of judges in each district and indicates how many were appointed by presidents from each major political party. It also includes the number of vacancies in a district and how many pending nominations for that district are before the United States Senate. The table can be sorted by clicking the column headers above the line, and you can navigate through the pages by clicking the arrows at the top of the table. It is updated every Monday.
Judicial selection
The district courts are served by Article III federal judges who are appointed for life during "good behavior." They are usually first recommended by senators (or members of the House, occasionally). The President of the United States makes the appointments, which must then be confirmed by the U.S. Senate in accordance with Article III of the United States Constitution.[13]
1. Recommendation made by Congress Member to the President | President Nominates to Senate Judiciary Committee | President Declines Nomination |
2. Senate Judiciary Committee interviews Candidate | Sends candidate to Senate for confirmation | Returns candidate to President, who may re-nominate to Committee |
3. Senate votes on candidate confirmation | Candidate becomes federal judge | Candidate does not receive judgeship |
Magistrate judges
The district courts are also served by magistrate judges. Congress created the judicial office of federal magistrate in 1968. In 1990, the position title was changed to magistrate judge. The chief judge of each district appoints one or more magistrate judges, who discharge many of the ancillary duties of district judges so judges can handle more trials. There are both full-time and part-time magistrate judge positions, and these positions are assigned to the district courts according to caseload criteria (subject to funding by Congress). A full-time magistrate judge serves a term of eight years; a part-time magistrate judge's term of office is four years.[15]
See also
- United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- District of Alaska
- District of Arizona
- Central District of California
- Northern District of California
- Southern District of California
- District of Hawaii
- District of Idaho
- District of Montana
- District of Nevada
- District of Oregon
- Eastern District of Washington
- Western District of Washington
- United States District Court for the District of Guam
- United States District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands
External links
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, "Official Website"
- Federal Judicial Center, "Judges of the Eastern District of California"
- Eastern District of California, "Local Rules"
- Eastern District of California, "Opinions"
Footnotes
- ↑ U.S. District Court – NH, "Magistrate Judges of the District Court," accessed April 27, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 United States Courts, "Frequently Asked Questions," accessed January 25, 2022
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 136 - Chief judges; precedence of district judges," accessed January 25, 2022
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 258 - Chief judges; precedence of judges," accessed January 25, 2022
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 45 - Chief judges; precedence of judges," accessed January 25, 2022
- ↑ Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 171 - Appointment and number of judges; character of court; designation of chief judge," accessed January 25, 2022
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Federal Judicial Center, "U.S. District Courts for the Districts of California," accessed April 29, 2021
- ↑ Federal Judicial Conference, "March 2019 Recommendations," accessed July 25, 2019
- ↑ US Courts, "Table X-1A—Other Judicial Business (September 30, 2018)," accessed July 24, 2019
- ↑ US Courts, "Governance & the Judicial Conference," accessed July 25, 2019
- ↑ US Courts, "About the Judicial Conference," accessed July 25, 2019
- ↑ US Courts, "Federal Judgeships," accessed May 10, 2021 (archived)
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 U.S. Courts, "United States District Court Federal Judiciary Frequently Asked Questions," accessed May 10, 2021 (archived)
- ↑ United States District Courts, "District Courts," accessed May 10, 2021
- ↑ The 'Lectric Law Library, "Understanding the U.S. federal courts"
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v • e Federal judges who have served the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California |
Chief Judge: Kimberly Mueller • Dale A. Drozd • Troy L. Nunley • Jennifer L. Thurston • Ana de Alba
Lawrence O'Neill • Garland Burrell • William Shubb • Anthony Ishii • Morrison England • John Mendez •
Lawrence Karlton • Myron Crocker • Robert Coyle • Frank Damrell • Oliver Wanger • Sherrill Halbert • David Levi • Thomas MacBride • Edward Price (Eastern District of California) • Raul Ramirez • Milton Schwartz • Philip Wilkins • Edward Garcia (California) •
Lawrence O'Neill • Garland Burrell • Lawrence Karlton • William Shubb • Anthony Ishii • Myron Crocker • Robert Coyle • Morrison England • David Levi • Thomas MacBride • Philip Wilkins •