District Court · Ninth Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
The federal trial court. Juries sit here, evidence is heard here, and almost every federal case begins here.
The bench
Who sits on this court?
Judges in active service, when they were confirmed, and who nominated each.
| Judge | Since | Nominated by | Seat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marilyn L. Huff Senior | 1991 | George H.W. Bush | CASD1803 |
| Barry Ted Moskowitz Senior | 1995 | William J. Clinton | CASD2201 |
| Jeffrey T. Miller Senior | 1997 | William J. Clinton | CASD1702 |
| Thomas J. Whelan Senior | 1998 | William J. Clinton | CASD1903 |
| M. James Lorenz Senior | 1999 | William J. Clinton | CASD0706 |
| Dana Makoto Sabraw | 2003 | George W. Bush | CASD2401 |
| William Q. Hayes Senior | 2003 | George W. Bush | CASD2501 |
| John A. Houston Senior | 2003 | George W. Bush | CASD2601 |
| Janis Lynn Sammartino | 2007 | George W. Bush | CASD2002 |
| Michael M. Anello Senior | 2008 | George W. Bush | CASD2103 |
| Anthony Joseph Battaglia Senior | 2011 | Barack Obama | CASD0707 |
| Cathy Ann Bencivengo | 2012 | Barack Obama | CASD1703 |
| Gonzalo Paul Curiel Senior | 2012 | Barack Obama | CASD1904 |
| Cynthia Ann Bashant | 2014 | Barack Obama | CASD1205 |
| Todd Wallace Robinson | 2020 | Donald J. Trump | CASD1804 |
| Linda Lopez | 2021 | Joseph R. Biden | CASD2702 |
| Jinsook Ohta | 2021 | Joseph R. Biden | CASD2202 |
| Ruth Bermudez Montenegro | 2022 | Joseph R. Biden | CASD2602 |
| Robert Steven Huie | 2022 | Joseph R. Biden | CASD2104 |
| Andrew George Schopler | 2023 | Joseph R. Biden | CASD2302 |
| James Edward Simmons Jr. | 2023 | Joseph R. Biden | CASD0708 |
| Benjamin Jerome Cheeks | 2024 | Joseph R. Biden | CASD1905 |
Source · Federal Judicial Center, Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges, 1789–present (public domain)
What seats does this court have?
Each seat on this court, who holds it, and how many judges have held it before.
- Judges seated now
- 22
- Seat numbers on record
- 75
| Seat | Held by | Since | Holders to date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CASD0706 | M. James Lorenz | 1999 | 1 |
| CASD0707 | Anthony Joseph Battaglia | 2011 | 1 |
| CASD0708 | James Edward Simmons Jr. | 2023 | 1 |
| CASD1205 | Cynthia Ann Bashant | 2014 | 1 |
| CASD1702 | Jeffrey T. Miller | 1997 | 1 |
| CASD1703 | Cathy Ann Bencivengo | 2012 | 1 |
| CASD1803 | Marilyn L. Huff | 1991 | 1 |
| CASD1804 | Todd Wallace Robinson | 2020 | 1 |
| CASD1903 | Thomas J. Whelan | 1998 | 1 |
| CASD1904 | Gonzalo Paul Curiel | 2012 | 1 |
| CASD1905 | Benjamin Jerome Cheeks | 2025 | 1 |
| CASD2002 | Janis Lynn Sammartino | 2007 | 1 |
| CASD2103 | Michael M. Anello | 2008 | 1 |
| CASD2104 | Robert Steven Huie | 2022 | 1 |
| CASD2201 | Barry Ted Moskowitz | 1995 | 1 |
| CASD2202 | Jinsook Ohta | 2021 | 1 |
| CASD2302 | Andrew George Schopler | 2023 | 1 |
| CASD2401 | Dana Makoto Sabraw | 2003 | 1 |
| CASD2501 | William Q. Hayes | 2003 | 1 |
| CASD2601 | John A. Houston | 2003 | 1 |
| CASD2602 | Ruth Bermudez Montenegro | 2022 | 1 |
| CASD2702 | Linda Lopez | 2021 | 1 |
53 seat numbers with no sitting judge
These are seat numbers in the historical record with nobody currently in them. That usually means the seat was abolished or renumbered, not that it is open today — Congress has changed the size of federal courts many times. Do not read this as a vacancy list.
| Seat | Last held by | Until | Holders |
|---|---|---|---|
| CASD0101 | James McHall Jones | 1851 | 1 |
| CASD0201 | Ogden Hoffman Jr. | 1854 | 1 |
| CASD0301 | Isaac Stockton Keith Ogier | 1861 | 1 |
| CASD0302 | Fletcher Mathews Haight | 1866 | 1 |
| CASD0401 | Erskine Mayo Ross | 1895 | 1 |
| CASD0402 | Olin Wellborn | 1915 | 1 |
| CASD0403 | Oscar A. Trippet | 1923 | 1 |
| CASD0404 | Paul John McCormick | 1960 | 1 |
| CASD0405 | Ernest Allen Tolin | 1961 | 1 |
| CASD0406 | Elisha Avery Crary | 1966 | 1 |
| CASD0501 | Benjamin Franklin Bledsoe | 1925 | 1 |
| CASD0502 | Edward J. Henning | 1929 | 1 |
| CASD0503 | George Cosgrave | 1945 | 1 |
| CASD0504 | Peirson Mitchell Hall | 1966 | 1 |
| CASD0601 | William P. James | 1940 | 1 |
| CASD0602 | James Francis Thaddeus O'Connor | 1949 | 1 |
| CASD0603 | William Matthew Byrne Sr. | 1966 | 1 |
| CASD0604 | A. Andrew Hauk | 1966 | 1 |
| CASD0701 | Harry Aaron Hollzer | 1946 | 1 |
| CASD0702 | Jacob Weinberger | 1974 | 1 |
| CASD0703 | Fred Kunzel | 1969 | 1 |
| CASD0704 | Howard Boyd Turrentine | 2010 | 1 |
| CASD0705 | Rudi M. Brewster | 2012 | 1 |
| CASD0801 | Albert Lee Stephens Sr. | 1937 | 1 |
| CASD0802 | Ralph E. Jenney | 1945 | 1 |
| CASD0803 | William Carey Mathes | 1967 | 1 |
| CASD0804 | Irving Hill | 1966 | 1 |
| CASD0901 | Leon Rene Yankwich | 1966 | 1 |
| CASD0902 | Francis C. Whelan | 1966 | 1 |
| CASD1001 | Campbell Eben Beaumont | 1954 | 1 |
| CASD1002 | Gilbert H. Jertberg | 1958 | 1 |
| CASD1003 | Myron Donovan Crocker | 1966 | 1 |
| CASD1101 | Benjamin Harrison | 1960 | 1 |
| CASD1102 | Albert Lee Stephens Jr. | 1966 | 1 |
| CASD1201 | James Marshall Carter | 1967 | 1 |
| CASD1202 | Edward Joseph Schwartz | 2000 | 1 |
| CASD1203 | J. Lawrence Irving | 1990 | 1 |
| CASD1204 | Irma Elsa Gonzalez | 2013 | 1 |
| CASD1301 | Harry Clay Westover | 1983 | 1 |
| CASD1302 | William Percival Gray | 1966 | 1 |
| CASD1401 | Thurmond Clarke | 1966 | 1 |
| CASD1501 | Charles Hardy Carr | 1966 | 1 |
| CASD1601 | Jesse William Curtis Jr. | 1966 | 1 |
| CASD1701 | Gordon Thompson Jr. | 2015 | 1 |
| CASD1801 | John Clifford Wallace | 1972 | 1 |
| CASD1802 | William Benner Enright | 2020 | 1 |
| CASD1901 | Leland Chris Nielsen | 1999 | 1 |
| CASD1902 | John Skylstead Rhoades Sr. | 2007 | 1 |
| CASD2001 | Judith Nelsen Keep | 2004 | 1 |
| CASD2101 | Earl Ben Gilliam | 2001 | 1 |
| CASD2102 | Napoleon A. Jones Jr. | 2009 | 1 |
| CASD2301 | Larry Alan Burns | 2024 | 1 |
| CASD2701 | Roger T. Benitez | 2026 | 1 |
This site does not publish a vacancy count. Seat identifiers are not stable across court renamings and reorganisations, so a seat that was vacated and refilled can appear empty when it is not. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts publishes the authoritative list of current judicial vacancies: uscourts.gov.
Seats are created by Congress and filled by the President with the Senate's consent. For current vacancies, use the Administrative Office's published list rather than inferring them from this table.
Source · Federal Judicial Center, Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges, 1789–present (public domain)
How this bench was built
Who appointed them?
The tally of presidents who placed the sitting judges on this court.
- Democratic
- 15
- Republican
- 7
| President | Judges |
|---|---|
| Joseph R. Biden | 7 |
| George W. Bush | 5 |
| Barack Obama | 4 |
| William J. Clinton | 4 |
| George H.W. Bush | 1 |
| Donald J. Trump | 1 |
The party of the president who appointed a judge is a matter of record. How that judge will rule is not, and this site draws no inference from one to the other.
Source · Federal Judicial Center, Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges, 1789–present (public domain)