United States District Court for the Central District of California


The United States District Court for the Central District of California 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. 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 as a state on September 9, 1850, and was initially divided into two districts, the Northern and the Southern, by Act of Congress approved September 28, 1850, 9 Stat. 521. The boundary line was at the 37th parallel of North Latitude. The Southern District of California was abolished and the State made to constitute a single district – the United States District Court for the District of California – by Act of Congress approved July 27, 1866, 14 Stat. 300. Twenty years later, on August 5, 1886, Congress re-created the Southern District of California by 24 Stat. 308, but it was not until March 18, 1966, that the Eastern and Central Districts were created 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, 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, 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 for the Central District of California represents the United States Government in civil and criminal cases before the court. The United States Attorney has been Nicola T. Hanna since January 5, 2018.

Current judges


Vacancies and pending nominations

SeatSeat last held byVacancy reasonDate of vacancyNomineeDate of nomination
10Audrey B. CollinsRetirementAugust 1, 2014Stanley BlumenfeldJanuary 9, 2020
8Margaret M. MorrowSenior statusOctober 29, 2015Jeremy B. RosenFebruary 13, 2020
11Dean PregersonSenior statusJanuary 28, 2016John W. HolcombFebruary 13, 2020
1Christina A. SnyderSenior statusNovember 23, 2016Sandy N. LealFebruary 13, 2020
27George H. KingRetirementJanuary 6, 2017Mark C. ScarsiJanuary 9, 2020
4Beverly Reid O'ConnellDeathOctober 8, 2017Steve KimFebruary 13, 2020
12Manuel RealSenior statusNovember 4, 2018Rick RichmondFebruary 13, 2020
25S. James OteroSenior statusDecember 30, 2018Fernando L. Aenlle-RochaJanuary 9, 2020
22Andrew J. GuilfordSenior statusJuly 5, 2019
21James V. SelnaSenior statusMarch 3, 2020

Former judges

Chief judges

Succession of seats