United States District Court for the Southern District of California

The United States District Court for the Southern District of California (in case citation

Case citation

Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported...

s, S.D. Cal.) is the federal district court

United States district court

The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...

whose jurisdiction comprises the following counties in California: Imperial

Imperial County, California

Imperial County is a county located in the Imperial Valley, in the far southeast of the U.S. state of California, bordering both Arizona and Mexico. It is part of the El Centro Metropolitan Area, which encompasses all of Imperial County. The population as of 2000 was 142,361. The county seat is the...

and San Diego

San Diego County, California

San Diego County is a large county located in the southwestern corner of the US state of California. Hence, San Diego County is also located in the southwestern corner of the 48 contiguous United States. Its county seat and largest city is San Diego. Its population was about 2,813,835 in the 2000...

. In terms of filed indictments, it is one of the busiest criminal districts in the United States. Cases from the Southern District of California are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Alaska* District of Arizona...

(except for patent

Patent

A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....

claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act

Tucker Act

Through the Tucker Act , the United States government has waived its sovereign immunity with respect to certain lawsuits....

, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

-Vacancies and pending nominations:-List of former judges:-Chief judges:Notwithstanding the foregoing, when the court was initially created, Congress had to resolve which chief judge of the predecessor courts would become the first chief judge...

History

California was admitted as a state on September 9, 1850, and was initially divided into two districts, the Northern

United States District Court for the Northern District of California

The United States District Court for the Northern District of California is the federal United States district court whose jurisdiction comprises following counties of California: Alameda, Contra Costa, Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Monterey, Napa, San Benito, San Francisco, San...

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 creating act provided that:

In addition to the ordinary jurisdiction and powers of a District Court of the United States, with which the Southern District Court of New York

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York

The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York is a federal district court. Appeals from the Southern District of New York are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case...

has been invested, the said Courts be and hereby are invested respectively within the limits of its district with the exercise of concurrent jurisdiction and power in all civil cases now exercised by the Circuit Courts of the United States; and that in all cases where said Courts shall exercise such jurisdiction, appeals may be taken from the judgments, orders or decrees of said Courts to the Supreme Court of the United States

Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...

The Act of August 31, 1852 made the Judge of the Northern District be Judge of the Southern District as well until otherwise provided, by 10 Stat. 76, 84, effectively creating a single District in all but name until an Act of January 18, 1854 provided for the appointment of a Judge for the Southern District. 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. Erskine M. Ross was appointed Judge of the new district and served until his promotion to the Circuit Judgeship, when he was succeeded by Olin Wellborn

Olin Wellborn

Olin Wellborn was an American politician. He served in the United States House of Representatives from Texas.-Early years:...

. On March 18, 1966, the Eastern

United States District Court for the Eastern District of California

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California is composed of six divisions.The Bakersfield division has jurisdiction over certain cases in Inyo and Kern counties and on federal lands and National Parks...

and Central

United States District Court for the Central District of California

The United States District Court for the Central District of California serves over 18 million people in southern and central California, making it the largest federal judicial district by population...

Districts were created from portions of the Northern and Southern Districts by 80 Stat. 75.

Future courthouse

On August 25, 2006, Judges of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California hosted a ceremonial ribbon-cutting to recognize elected officials who helped obtain funding for a new federal courthouse in downtown San Diego.

The event was held on the future site of the new courthouse, a 2¼ acre parcel of land west of the existing Jacob Weinberger U.S. Courthouse. The site was formerly occupied by an aging residential hotel, which was brought down by implosion earlier this year. The parcel has been cleared in preparation for construction, which is scheduled to begin next summer. If all goes as planned, the new courthouse will be completed in fall 2010.

The new courthouse will stand 16 stories tall with about 380000 square feet (35,303.2 m²) of space. It will house 14 courtrooms and judicial chambers for 20 judges, including resident judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The courthouse also will provide offices for the district clerk, U.S. Marshals Service and U.S. Pretrial Services. Also planned are a ground level community plaza and mural garden with a combined 36000 square feet (3,344.5 m²) of space.http://www.casd.uscourts.gov/index.php?page=new-federal-courthouse

Current judges

As of June 6, 2010, a vacancy exists in the District due to Judge Jeffrey T. Miller
Jeffrey T. Miller
-Early life and education:Born in New York, New York, Miller received a B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1964 and a J.D. from the UCLA School of Law in 1967.-Judicial service:...

's decision to assume senior status. On May 11, 2011, President Obama nominated Cathy Ann Bencivengo
Cathy Ann Bencivengo
Cathy Ann Bencivengo is a United States magistrate judge and a current federal judicial nominee to the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.- Early life and education :...

to the seat. Her nomination is pending before the U.S. Senate.

As of August 15, 2010, a second vacancy exists in the District due to Judge Thomas J. Whelan
Thomas J. Whelan (judge)
-Early life and education:Born in San Diego, California, Whelan received a B.A. from the University of San Diego in 1961 and a J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law in 1965.-Career:...

's decision to assume senior status. On November 10, 2011, President Obama nominated Gonzalo P. Curiel
Gonzalo P. Curiel
Gonzalo P. Curiel is currently a judge of the Superior Court of San Diego, California, and a current nominee for the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.-Biography:...

to the seat. His nomination is pending before the U.S. Senate.

History

Future courthouse

Current judges

Former judges

External links

See also