The Court has grown from its original three judges in 1966 to its current thirteen active and four senior judges. The court has a total of thirtheen authorized judgeships, with one seat remaining
vacant since the passing of Judge Judith N. Keep in 2004. Under Article III of the United States Constitution, the President appoints United States district judges, with the advice and consent of the Senate.
Judgeship 1 & 2 were created by 80 Stat. 75 on September 18, 1966 when the Southern District of California, consisting of San Diego and Imperial Counties, became its own judicial district.
Hon. James M. Carter
Commission: 10/18/1949
Nominated: Harry S. Truman
Chief Judge: 1966 - 1967
Elevated to 9th Circuit: 11/16/1967
Deceased: 11/18/1979
JUDGESHIP: 1
Hon. Edward J. Schwartz
Commission: 3/28/1968
Nominated: Lyndon B. Johnson
Chief Judge: 1969 - 1982
Senior Status: 3/26/1982
Deceased: 11/18/1979
JUDGESHIP: 1
Hon. Irma E. Gonzalez
Commission: 8/12/1992
Nominated: George H. W. Bush
Chief Judge: 2005 - 2012
Senior Status: 3/29/2013
Retired: 10/25/2013
JUDGESHIP: 1
Hon. Fred Kunzel
Commission: 9/10/1959
Nominated: Dwight D. Eisenhower
Chief Judge: 1967 - 1969
Deceased: 11/19/1969
JUDGESHIP: 2
Hon. Howard B. Turrentine
Commission: 4/24/1970
Nominated: Richard M. Nixon
Chief Judge: 1982 - 1984
Senior Status: 1/22/1984
Deceased: 10/20/2010
JUDGESHIP: 2
Hon. Rudi M. Brewster
Commission: 6/15/1984
Nominated: Ronald Reagan
Chief Judge: 1982 - 1984
Senior Status: 7/1/1998
Deceased: 9/7/2012
JUDGESHIP: 2
Hon. M. James Lorenz
Commission: 10/5/1999
Nominated: William J. Clinton
Senior Status: 10/25/2009
JUDGESHIP: 2
Judgeship 3, 4 & 5 were created on June 2, 1970, by 84 Stat. 294.
Hon. Gordon Thompson Jr.
Commission: 10/16/1970
Nominated: Richard M. Nixon
Chief Judge: 1984 - 1981
Senior Status: 12/28/1994
Deceased: 7/5/2015
JUDGESHIP: 3
Hon. Jeffrey T. Miller
Commission: 5/27/1997
Nominated: William J. Clinton
Senior Status: 6/6/2010
JUDGESHIP: 3
Hon. J. Clifford Wallace
Commission: 10/16/1970
Nominated: Richard M. Nixon
Senior Status: 4/8/1996
Elevated to 9th Circuit: 6/28/1972
JUDGESHIP: 4
Hon. William B. Enright
Commission: 6/30/1972
Nominated: Richard M. Nixon
Senior Status: 7/12/1990
Deceased: 3/7/2020
JUDGESHIP: 4
Hon. Marilyn L. Huff
Commission: 5/14/1991
Nominated: George H.W. Bush
Chief Judge: 1998 - 2005
Senior Status: 9/30/2016
JUDGESHIP: 4
Hon. Leland C. Nielsen
Commission: 5/20/1971
Nominated: Richard M. Nixon
Senior Status: 6/14/1985
Deceased: 9/23/1999
JUDGESHIP: 5
Hon. John S. Rhoades
Commission: 10/29/1985
Nominated: Ronald Reagan
Senior Status: 11/4/1995
Deceased: 9/3/2007
JUDGESHIP: 5
Hon. Thomas J. Whelan
Commission: 10/22/1988
Nominated: William J. Clinton
Senior Status: 8/15/2010
JUDGESHIP: 5
Judgeship 6 & 7 were created on October 20, 1978, by 92 Stat. 1629.
Hon. Earl B. Gilliam
Commission: 8/20/1980
Nominated: Jimmy Carter
Senior Status: 4/2/1993
Deceased: 1/28/2001
JUDGESHIP: 6
Hon. Napoleon A. Jones Jr.
Commission: 9/15/1994
Nominated: William J. Clinton
Senior Status: 9/19/2007
Deceased: 12/12/2009
JUDGESHIP: 6
Hon. Michael M. Anello
Commission: 10/31/2018
Nominated: George W. Bush
Senior Status: 10/31/2018
JUDGESHIP: 6
Hon. Judith N. Keep
Commission: 6/30/1980
Nominated: Jimmy Carter
Chief Judge: 1991 - 1998
Deceased: 9/14/2004
JUDGESHIP: 7
Judgeship 8 were created on December 1, 1990, by 104 Stat. 5089.
Hon. Barry Ted Moskowitz
Commission: 12/26/1995
Nominated: William J. Clinton
Chief Judge: 2012 - 2019
Senior Status: 01/23/2019
JUDGESHIP: 8
Judgeship 9, 10, 11, 12 & 13 were created on November 2, 2002, by 116 Stat. 1758.
Hon. Larry Alan Burns
Commission: 9/25/2003
Nominated: George W. Bush
Chief Judge: 2019 - 2021
Senior Status: 1/22/2021
JUDGESHIP: 9
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Hon. Dana M. Sabraw
Commission: 9/26/2003
Nominated: George W. Bush
Chief Judge: 2021 - Present
JUDGESHIP: 10
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Hon. William Q. Hayes
Commission: 10/6/2003
Nominated: George W. Bush
Senior Status: 8/1/2021
JUDGESHIP: 11
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Hon. John A. Houston
Commission: 10/7/2003
Nominated: George W. Bush
Senior Status: 2/6/2018
JUDGESHIP: 12
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Hon. Roger T. Benitez
Commission: 6/21/2004
Nominated: George W. Bush
Senior Status: 12/31/2017
JUDGESHIP: 13
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M
agistrate judges serve as judicial officers of the U.S. district courts and exercise the jurisdiction delegated to the
by law and assigned by the district judges. Magistrate judges may be authorized to preside in almost every type of federal trial proceeding except for felony cases. The position of magistrate was established by Congress in 1968 to replace
the position of commissioner, a position that had served the federal judiciary since the 1790s.
Hon. J. Edward Harris
Appointed On: 7/1/1969
Retired: 1/4/1984
JUDGESHIP: 1
Hon. Irma E. Gonzalez
Appointed On: 4/10/1984
Resigned: 1/4/1991
JUDGESHIP: 1
Hon. Louisa S Porter
Appointed On: 6/19/1991
Presiding Magistrate Judge: 1997-2002
Retired: 3/31/2012
JUDGESHIP: 1
Hon. David H. Bartick
Appointed On: 4/2/2012
Deceased: 2/18/2018
JUDGESHIP: 1
Hon. Michael S. Berg
Appointed On: 11/5/2018
JUDGESHIP: 1
Hon. Harry R. McCue
Appointed On: 9/15/1970
Presiding Magistrate Judge: 1984-1993
Retired: 12/1/93
Deceased: 7/3/2016
JUDGESHIP: 2
Hon. Cynthia G. Aaron
Appointed On: 5/24/1994
Resigned: 1/11/2003
JUDGESHIP: 2
Hon. Jan M. Adler
Appointed On: 7/8/2003
Presiding Magistrate Judge: 2017-2018
Retired: 9/28/2018
JUDGESHIP: 2
Hon. Linda Lopez
Appointed On: 10/26/2018
JUDGESHIP: 2
Hon. Edward Infante
Appointed On: 9/6/1972
Resigned: 4/17/1986
JUDGESHIP: 3
Hon. Barry Ted Moskowitz
Appointed On: 9/2/1986
Elevated to District Judge: 1/2/1996
JUDGESHIP: 3
Hon. James F. Stiven
Appointed On: 8/5/1996
Retired: 10/5/2005
JUDGESHIP: 3
Hon. Cathy Ann Bencivengo
Appointed On: 12/5/2005
Elevated to District Judge: 2/9/2012
JUDGESHIP: 3
Hon. Karen S. Crawford
Appointed On: 3/5/2012
JUDGESHIP: 3
Hon. Roger Curtis McKee
Appointed On: 3/30/1983
Presiding Magistrate Judge: 1993-1997
Retired: 3/31/1997
JUDGESHIP: 4
Hon. Larry Alan Burns
Appointed On: 6/6/1997
Elevated to District Judge: 9/29/2003
JUDGESHIP: 4
Hon. Barbara L. Major
Appointed On: 1/4/2004
Presiding Magistrate Judge: 2018-2020
JUDGESHIP: 4
Hon. Leo S. Papas
Appointed On: 6/26/1991
Presiding Magistrate Judge: 2002-2007
JUDGESHIP: 5
Hon. William V. Gallo
Appointed On: 10/15/2009
Presiding Magistrate Judge: 2020-Present
JUDGESHIP: 5
Hon. Ruben B. Brooks
Appointed On: 9/2/1993
Presiding Magistrate Judge: 2007-2012
Retired: 8/12/2016
Recalled: 8/13/2016
JUDGESHIP: 6
Hon. Andrew G. Schopler
Appointed On: 9/30/2016
JUDGESHIP: 6
Hon. Anthony J. Battaglia
Appointed On: 11/15/1993
Elevated to District Judge: 3/10/2011
JUDGESHIP: 7
Hon. Mitchell D. Dembin
Appointed On: 3/18/2011
JUDGESHIP: 7
Hon. John A. Houston
Appointed On: 4/27/1998
Elevated to District Judge: 10/7/2003
JUDGESHIP: 8
Hon. William McCurine
Appointed On: 1/5/2004
Retired: 2/5/2014
JUDGESHIP: 8
Hon. Jill L. Burkhardt
Appointed On: 3/11/2014
JUDGESHIP: 8
Hon. Nita L. Stormes
Appointed On: 1/3/2000
Presiding Magistrate Judge: 2012-2017
JUDGESHIP: 9
Hon. Allison H. Goddard
Appointed On: 8/1/2019
JUDGESHIP: 9
Hon. Roger T. Benitez
Appointed On: 1/2/2001
Elevated to District Judge: 6/21/2004
Commissioned as District Judge: 6/28/2004
JUDGESHIP: 10
Hon. Peter C. Lewis
Appointed On: 6/28/2004
JUDGESHIP: 10
Hon. Ruth Bermudez Montenegro
Appointed On: 8/15/2018
JUDGESHIP: 10
Hon. Bernard G. Skomal
Appointed On: 4/28/2010
JUDGESHIP: 11
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Hon. Daniel E. Butcher
Appointed On: 5/26/2020
JUDGESHIP: 12
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I
n 1966, when the Southern District of California was created as its own
separate judicial district, the work of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court was part and
parcel of the duties of the U.S. District Court. Bankruptcy Referees Arline
Rossi and Louis Karp handled all aspects of bankruptcy case processing
including supervising the work of the trustees. In 1973, the U.S. Supreme
Court acknowledged the growing judicial nature of the referee’s work, and
the title “Bankruptcy Judge” began to find its way into the national rules.
The Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978 established United States Bankruptcy
Courts in each federal judicial district and made the new panels courts of record
with their own clerks and other staff. Herbert Katz, Ross Pyle, and James W.
Meyers became the district’s first bankruptcy judges, and Bill Parker became the
first Clerk of the Bankruptcy Court.
Hon. Arline Rossi
Appointed On: 11/17/1959
JUDGESHIP: 1
Hon. Charles Fox, Jr.
Appointed On: 10/1/1969
JUDGESHIP: 1
Hon. Keith McWilliams
Appointed On: 12/2/1974
JUDGESHIP: 1
Hon. James W. Meyers
Appointed On: 1/5/1976
Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge: 1985-1995
JUDGESHIP: 1
Hon. Margaret M. Mann
Appointed On: 4/2/2010
Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge: 2019-Present
JUDGESHIP: 1
Hon. Louis Karp
Appointed On: 11/21/1961
JUDGESHIP: 2
Hon. Herbert Katz
Appointed On: 5/8/1972
JUDGESHIP: 2
Hon. Louise DeCarl Adler
Appointed On: 3/6/1984
Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge: 1996-2000
JUDGESHIP: 2
Hon. Ross Pyle
Appointed On: 7/14/1975 to a new position
JUDGESHIP: 3
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Hon. John J. Hargrove
Appointed On: 9/30/1985
Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge: 2001-2006
JUDGESHIP: 3
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Hon. Laura S. Taylor
Appointed On: 1/11/2008
Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge: 2012-2019
JUDGESHIP: 3
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Hon. Peter W. Bowie
Appointed On: 3/2/1988
Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge: 2006-2012
JUDGESHIP: 4
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Hon. Christppher B. Latham
Appointed On: 10/1/2012
JUDGESHIP: 4
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