United States District Court for the Central District of California

"CDCA" redirects here. For the Commission on Dental Competency Assessments, see Commission on Dental Competency Assessments.

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.^[1] 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 (except for patent claims and claims against the United States government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal 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".

United States District Court for the Central District of California
(C.D. Cal.)
Divisions of the Central District of California : Eastern (yellow), Southern (red), and Western (blue)
Location	Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse (Los Angeles) More locations New United States Courthouse (Los Angeles) Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Courthouse (Santa Ana) Riverside / San Bernardino
Appeals to	Ninth Circuit
Established	September 18, 1966
Judges	28
Chief Judge	Dolly Gee
Officers of the court
U.S. Attorney	Bill Essayli (interim)
U.S. Marshal	David M. Singer
www.cacd.uscourts.gov

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.^[2] The boundary was at the 37th parallel.^[3] The two districts were merged as the United States District Court for the District of California on July 27, 1866, by 14 Stat. 300.^[2][3] On August 5, 1886, Congress re-created the Southern District by 24 Stat. 308,^[3] 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.^[2]

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. Since April 2, 2025, the interim U.S. Attorney for the district is Bill Essayli.

Current judges

As of June 1, 2025^[update]:

#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Term of service			Appointed by
					Active	Chief	Senior
76	Chief Judge	Dolly Gee	Los Angeles	1959	2010–present	2024–present	—	Obama
37	District Judge	Stephen Victor Wilson	Los Angeles	1941	1985–present	—	—	Reagan
56	District Judge	David O. Carter	Santa Ana	1944	1998–present	—	—	Clinton
61	District Judge	Percy Anderson	Los Angeles	1948	2002–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
62	District Judge	John F. Walter	Los Angeles	1944	2002–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
63	District Judge	R. Gary Klausner	Los Angeles	1941	2002–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
73	District Judge	Otis D. Wright II	Los Angeles	1944	2007–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
77	District Judge	Josephine Staton	Los Angeles	1961	2010–present	—	—	Obama
79	District Judge	Michael W. Fitzgerald	Los Angeles	1959	2012–present	—	—	Obama
80	District Judge	Jesus Bernal	Riverside	1963	2012–present	—	—	Obama
81	District Judge	Fernando M. Olguin	Los Angeles	1961	2013–present	—	—	Obama
83	District Judge	André Birotte Jr.	Los Angeles	1966	2014–present	—	—	Obama
84	District Judge	Stanley Blumenfeld	Los Angeles	1962	2020–present	—	—	Trump
85	District Judge	John W. Holcomb	Santa Ana	1963	2020–present	—	—	Trump
86	District Judge	Mark C. Scarsi	Los Angeles	1964	2020–present	—	—	Trump
87	District Judge	Fernando Aenlle-Rocha	Los Angeles	1961	2020–present	—	—	Trump
88	District Judge	Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong	Los Angeles	1976	2022–present	—	—	Biden
89	District Judge	Fred W. Slaughter	Santa Ana	1973	2022–present	—	—	Biden
90	District Judge	Sunshine Sykes	Riverside	1974	2022–present	—	—	Biden
91	District Judge	Sherilyn Peace Garnett	Los Angeles	1969	2022–present	—	—	Biden
92	District Judge	Wesley Hsu	Los Angeles	1971	2023–present	—	—	Biden
93	District Judge	Hernán D. Vera	Los Angeles	1970	2023–present	—	—	Biden
94	District Judge	Kenly Kiya Kato	Riverside	1972	2023–present	—	—	Biden
95	District Judge	Mónica Ramírez Almadani	Santa Ana	1979	2023–present	—	—	Biden
96	District Judge	Michelle Williams Court	Los Angeles	1966	2024–present	—	—	Biden
97	District Judge	Anne Hwang	Los Angeles	1975	2024–present	—	—	Biden
98	District Judge	Cynthia Valenzuela Dixon	Los Angeles	1969	2024–present	—	—	Biden
99	District Judge	Serena Murillo	Los Angeles	1970	2025–present	—	—	Biden
23	Senior Judge	Terry J. Hatter Jr.	Los Angeles	1933	1979–2005	1998–2001	2005–present	Carter
26	Senior Judge	Consuelo Bland Marshall	Los Angeles	1936	1980–2005	2001–2005	2005–present	Carter
35	Senior Judge	William Duffy Keller	Los Angeles	1934	1984–1999	—	1999–present	Reagan
52	Senior Judge	Christina A. Snyder	Los Angeles	1947	1997–2016	—	2016–present	Clinton
60	Senior Judge	Virginia A. Phillips	inactive	1957	1999–2022	2016–2020	2022–present	Clinton
65	Senior Judge	James V. Selna	Santa Ana	1945	2003–2020	—	2020–present	G.W. Bush
66	Senior Judge	Cormac J. Carney	inactive	1959	2003–2024	2020	2024–present	G.W. Bush
67	Senior Judge	Dale S. Fischer	Los Angeles	1951	2003–2024	—	2024–present	G.W. Bush
71	Senior Judge	Valerie Baker Fairbank	Los Angeles	1949	2007–2012	—	2012–present	G.W. Bush
74	Senior Judge	George H. Wu	Los Angeles	1950	2007–2023	—	2023–present	G.W. Bush
78	Senior Judge	John Kronstadt	Los Angeles	1951	2011–2022	—	2022–present	Obama

Former judges

#	Judge	State	Born–died	Active service	Chief Judge	Senior status	Appointed by	Reason for termination
—	Leon Rene Yankwich	CA	1888–1975	—	—	1966–1975[Note 1]	F. Roosevelt/Operation of law	death
—	William Matthew Byrne Sr.	CA	1896–1974	—	—	1966–1974[Note 1]	Truman/Operation of law	death
1	Peirson Mitchell Hall	CA	1894–1979	1966–1968[Note 1]	—	1968–1979	F. Roosevelt/Operation of law	death
2	Thurmond Clarke	CA	1902–1971	1966–1970[Note 1]	1966–1970	1970–1971	Eisenhower/Operation of law	death
3	Albert Lee Stephens Jr.	CA	1913–2001	1966–1979[Note 1]	1970–1979	1979–2001	Kennedy/Operation of law	death
4	Charles Hardy Carr	CA	1903–1976	1966–1973[Note 1]	—	1973–1976	Kennedy/Operation of law	death
5	Jesse William Curtis Jr.	CA	1905–2008	1966–1975[Note 1]	—	1975–1990	Kennedy/Operation of law	retirement
6	Elisha Avery Crary	CA	1905–1978	1966–1975[Note 1]	—	1975–1978	Kennedy/Operation of law	death
7	Francis C. Whelan	CA	1907–1991	1966–1978[Note 1]	—	1978–1991	L. Johnson/Operation of law	death
8	Irving Hill	CA	1915–1998	1966–1980[Note 1]	1979–1980	1980–1998	L. Johnson/Operation of law	death
9	A. Andrew Hauk	CA	1912–2004	1966–1982[Note 1]	1980–1982	1982–2004	L. Johnson/Operation of law	death
10	William Percival Gray	CA	1912–1992	1966–1982[Note 1]	—	1982–1992	L. Johnson/Operation of law	death
11	Warren J. Ferguson	CA	1920–2008	1966–1979	—	—	L. Johnson	elevation to 9th Cir.
12	Manuel Real	CA	1924–2019	1966–2018	1982–1993	2018–2019	L. Johnson	death
13	Harry Pregerson	CA	1923–2017	1967–1979	—	—	L. Johnson	elevation to 9th Cir.
14	David W. Williams	CA	1910–2000	1969–1981	—	1981–2000	Nixon	death
15	Robert J. Kelleher	CA	1913–2012	1970–1983	—	1983–2012	Nixon	death
16	William Matthew Byrne Jr.	CA	1930–2006	1971–1998	1994–1998	1998–2006	Nixon	death
17	Malcolm Lucas	CA	1927–2016	1971–1984	—	—	Nixon	resignation
18	Lawrence Tupper Lydick	CA	1916–1995	1971–1984	—	1984–1995	Nixon	death
19	Robert Firth	CA	1918–1984	1974–1979	—	1979–1984	Nixon	death
20	Robert Mitsuhiro Takasugi	CA	1930–2009	1976–1996	—	1996–2009	Ford	death
21	Laughlin Edward Waters Sr.	CA	1914–2002	1976–1986	—	1986–2002	Ford	death
22	Mariana Pfaelzer	CA	1926–2015	1978–1997	—	1997–2015	Carter	death
24	A. Wallace Tashima	CA	1934–present	1980–1996	—	—	Carter	elevation to 9th Cir.
25	David Vreeland Kenyon	CA	1930–2015	1980–1995	—	1995–1997	Carter	retirement
27	Cynthia Holcomb Hall	CA	1929–2011	1981–1984	—	—	Reagan	elevation to 9th Cir.
28	Richard Arthur Gadbois Jr.	CA	1932–1996	1982–1996	—	1996	Reagan	death
29	Edward Rafeedie	CA	1929–2008	1982–1996	—	1996–2008	Reagan	death
30	Pamela Ann Rymer	CA	1941–2011	1983–1989	—	—	Reagan	elevation to 9th Cir.
31	Harry Lindley Hupp	CA	1929–2004	1984–1997	—	1997–2004	Reagan	death
32	Alicemarie Huber Stotler	CA	1942–2014	1984–2009	2005–2009	2009–2014	Reagan	death
33	James M. Ideman	CA	1931–present	1984–1998	—	1998	Reagan	retirement
34	William J. Rea	CA	1920–2005	1984–1998	—	1998–2005	Reagan	death
36	Ferdinand Fernandez	CA	1937–present	1985–1989	—	—	Reagan	elevation to 9th Cir.
38	John Spencer Letts	CA	1934–2014	1985–2000	—	2000–2014	Reagan	death
39	Dickran Tevrizian	CA	1940–present	1985–2005	—	2005–2007	Reagan	retirement
40	John Davies	CA	1929–2020	1986–1998	—	—	Reagan	retirement
41	Ronald S. W. Lew	CA	1941–2023	1987–2006	—	2006–2023	Reagan	death
42	Robert C. Bonner	CA	1942–present	1989–1990	—	—	G.H.W. Bush	resignation
43	Gary L. Taylor	CA	1938–present	1990–2004	—	2004–2005	G.H.W. Bush	retirement
44	Lourdes Baird	CA	1935–present	1992–2004	—	2004–2005	G.H.W. Bush	retirement
45	Linda Hodge McLaughlin	CA	1942–1999	1992–1999	—	—	G.H.W. Bush	death
46	Audrey B. Collins	CA	1945–present	1994–2014	2009–2012	—	Clinton	retirement
47	Richard Paez	CA	1947–present	1994–2000	—	—	Clinton	elevation to 9th Cir.
48	Robert Timlin	CA	1932–2017	1994–2005	—	2005–2017	Clinton	death
49	George H. King	CA	1951–present	1995–2017	2012–2016	—	Clinton	retirement
50	Kim McLane Wardlaw	CA	1954–present	1995–1998	—	—	Clinton	elevation to 9th Cir.
51	Dean Pregerson	CA	1951–present	1996–2016	—	2016–2025	Clinton	retirement
53	Carlos R. Moreno	CA	1948–present	1998–2001	—	—	Clinton	resignation
54	Margaret M. Morrow	CA	1950–present	1998–2015	—	2015–2016	Clinton	retirement
55	Howard Matz	CA	1943–present	1998–2011	—	2011–2013	Clinton	retirement
57	Nora Margaret Manella	CA	1951–present	1998–2006	—	—	Clinton	resignation
58	Gary Allen Feess	CA	1948–present	1999–2014	—	2014–2015	Clinton	retirement
59	Florence-Marie Cooper	CA	1940–2010	1999–2010	—	—	Clinton	death
64	S. James Otero	CA	1951–present	2003–2018	—	2018–2020	G.W. Bush	retirement
68	George P. Schiavelli	CA	1948–2019	2004–2008	—	—	G.W. Bush	resignation
69	Stephen G. Larson	CA	1964–present	2006–2009	—	—	G.W. Bush	resignation
70	Andrew J. Guilford	CA	1950–present	2006–2019	—	2019–2020	G.W. Bush	retirement
72	Philip S. Gutierrez	CA	1959–present	2007–2024	2020–2024	—	G.W. Bush	retirement
75	Jacqueline Nguyen	CA	1965–present	2009–2012	—	—	Obama	elevation to 9th Cir.
82	Beverly Reid O'Connell	CA	1965–2017	2013–2017	—	—	Obama	death

1. Reassigned from the Southern District of California.

Chief judges

Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their district court. Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the district court judges. To be chief, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge.

A vacancy is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years, or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position.

When the office was created in 1948, the chief judge was the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire, on what has since 1958 been known as senior status, or declined to serve as chief judge. After August 6, 1959, judges could not become or remain chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982.

Succession of seats

Seat 1 Seat reassigned from Southern District on September 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75 P. Hall 1966–1968 Williams 1969–1981 Rafeedie 1982–1996 Snyder 1997–2016 Frimpong 2022–present

Seat 2 Seat reassigned from Southern District on September 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75 Clarke 1966–1970 Lydick 1971–1984 Ideman 1984–1998 Feess 1999–2014 Birotte, Jr. 2014–present

Seat 3 Seat reassigned from Southern District on September 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75 Stephens, Jr. 1966–1979 Kenyon 1980–1995 Wardlaw 1995–1998 Anderson 2002–present

Seat 4 Seat reassigned from Southern District on September 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75 Carr 1966–1973 Firth 1974–1979 Marshall 1980–2005 Fairbank 2007–2012 O'Connell 2013–2017 Kato 2023–present

Seat 5 Seat reassigned from Southern District on September 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75 Curtis, Jr. 1966–1975 Waters, Sr. 1976–1986 Lew 1987–2006 Wu 2007–2023 Hwang 2024–present

Seat 6 Seat reassigned from Southern District on September 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75 Crary 1966–1975 Takasugi 1976–1996 Moreno 1998–2001 Carney 2003–2024 Murillo 2025–present

Seat 7 Seat reassigned from Southern District on September 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75 Whelan 1966–1978 Pfaelzer 1978–1997 Manella 1998–2006 Nguyen 2009–2012 Olguin 2013–present

Seat 8 Seat reassigned from Southern District on September 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75 Hill 1966–1980 Gadbois, Jr. 1982–1996 Morrow 1998–2015 Vera 2023–present

Seat 9 Seat reassigned from Southern District on September 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75 Hauk 1966–1982 Hupp 1984–1997 Matz 1998–2011 Fitzgerald 2012–present

Seat 10 Seat reassigned from Southern District on September 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75 Gray 1966–1982 Rymer 1983–1989 Bonner 1989–1990 Collins 1994–2014 Blumenfeld 2020–present

Seat 11 Seat established on September 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75 Ferguson 1966–1979 Tashima 1980–1996 D. Pregerson 1996–2016 Holcomb 2020–present

Seat 12 Seat established on September 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75 Real 1966–2018 Garnett 2022–present

Seat 13 Seat established on September 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75 H. Pregerson 1967–1979 C. Hall 1981–1984 Davies 1986–1998 Walter 2002–present

Seat 14 Seat established on June 2, 1970 by 84 Stat. 294 Kelleher 1970–1983 Stotler 1984–2009 Staton 2010–present

Seat 15 Seat established on June 2, 1970 by 84 Stat. 294 Byrne, Jr. 1971–1998 Phillips 1999–2022 Hsu 2023–present

Seat 16 Seat established on June 2, 1970 by 84 Stat. 294 Lucas 1971–1984 Rea 1984–1998 Carter 1998–present

Seat 17 Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 Hatter, Jr. 1979–2005 Gutierrez 2007–2024 Valenzuela Dixon 2024–present

Seat 18 Seat established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333 Keller 1984–1999 Klausner 2002–present

Seat 19 Seat established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333 Fernandez 1985–1989 Taylor 1990–2004 Wright II 2007–present

Seat 20 Seat established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333 Wilson 1985–present

Seat 21 Seat established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333 Letts 1985–2000 Selna 2003–2020 Sykes 2022–present

Seat 22 Seat established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333 Tevrizian, Jr. 1985–2005 Guilford 2006–2019 Slaughter 2022–present

Seat 23 Seat established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089 Baird 1992–2004 Schiavelli 2004–2008 Gee 2010–present

Seat 24 Seat established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089 McLaughlin 1992–1999 Cooper 1999–2010 Kronstadt 2011–2022 Ramírez Almadani 2023–present

Seat 25 Seat established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089 Paez 1994–2000 Otero 2003–2018 Aenlle-Rocha 2020–present

Seat 26 Seat established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089 Timlin 1994–2005 Larson 2006–2009 Bernal 2012–present

Seat 27 Seat established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089 King 1995–2017 Scarsi 2020–present

Seat 28 Seat established on November 2, 2002 by 116 Stat. 1758 (temporary) Fischer 2003–2024 Seat made permanent on December 23, 2024 by 138 Stat. 2693 Court 2024–present

List of U.S. attorneys

• George J. Denis (1888–1889)^[4]
• 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 (1942–1943)
• 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)^[5]
• 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 (1984–1989)
• Gary Allen Feess (1989)
• Robert L. Brosio (1989–1990)
• Lourdes Baird (1990–1992)
• Terree Bowers (1992–1994)
• Nora Margaret Manella (1994–1998)
• Alejandro Mayorkas (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)
• Tracy L. Wilkison (2021–2022) (Acting)
• E. Martin Estrada (2022–2025)
• Joseph T. McNally (2025) (Acting)
• Bill Essayli (2025–present) (Interim)

See also

• Courts of California
• List of current United States district judges
• List of United States federal courthouses in California