# United States District Court for the Eastern District of California

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California (in case citations, E.D. Cal.) is a federal court in the Ninth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).
The District was created on March 18, 1966, with the division of the Northern and Southern districts, leading to the creation of the Central and Eastern districts.
The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. As of January 11, 2025 the acting United States attorney is Michelle M. Beckwith.

## Organization of the court

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California is one of four federal judicial districts in California. Court for the District is held at the Robert E. Coyle U.S. Courthouse in Fresno and Robert T. Matsui U.S. Courthouse in Sacramento.
* Fresno Division comprises the following counties: Calaveras, Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Stanislaus, Tulare, and Tuolumne.
* Sacramento Division comprises the following counties: Alpine, Amador, Butte, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo, and Yuba.
* Bakersfield Office hears misdemeanor and petty criminal offenses on federal lands and National Parks in Inyo and Kern counties. Court is held at Bakersfield, Edwards Air Force Base, and Ridgecrest.
* Redding Office hears misdemeanor and petty criminal offenses on federal lands and National Parks in Northern California. Court is held at Sierra Army Depot, Redding, and Susanville.
* Yosemite Office hears misdemeanor and petty criminal offenses in Yosemite National Park. National parks are under federal jurisdiction. The perennially large crowds of tourists at Yosemite create a unique situation justifying the presence of a courthouse inside the park itself.

## Current judges

As of October 4, 2024:
| # | Title | Judge | Duty station | Born | Term of service | Term of service | Term of service | Appointed by |
| # | Title | Judge | Duty station | Born | Active | Chief | Senior | Appointed by |
| 21 | Chief Judge | Troy L. Nunley | Sacramento | 1964 | 2013–present | 2024–present | — | Obama |
| 22 | District Judge | Dale A. Drozd | Sacramento | 1955 | 2015–present | — | — | Obama |
| 23 | District Judge | Jennifer L. Thurston | Fresno | 1967 | 2021–present | — | — | Biden |
| 25 | District Judge | Daniel Calabretta | Sacramento | 1978 | 2023–present | — | — | Biden |
| 26 | District Judge | Kirk E. Sherriff | Fresno | 1968 | 2024–present | — | — | Biden |
| 27 | District Judge | Dena M. Coggins | Sacramento | 1979 | 2024–present | — | — | Biden |
| 11 | Senior Judge | William B. Shubb | Sacramento | 1938 | 1990–2004 | 1996–2003 | 2004–present | G.H.W. Bush |
| 14 | Senior Judge | Garland E. Burrell Jr. | inactive | 1947 | 1992–2012 | 2007–2008 | 2012–present | G.H.W. Bush |
| 15 | Senior Judge | Anthony W. Ishii | inactive | 1946 | 1997–2012 | 2008–2012 | 2012–present | Clinton |
| 18 | Senior Judge | Lawrence Joseph O'Neill | inactive | 1952 | 2007–2020 | 2016–2019 | 2020–present | G.W. Bush |
| 19 | Senior Judge | John Mendez | Sacramento | 1955 | 2008–2022 | — | 2022–present | G.W. Bush |
| 20 | Senior Judge | Kimberly J. Mueller | Sacramento | 1957 | 2010–2024 | 2020–2024 | 2024–present | Obama |

## Former judges

| # | Judge | State | Born–died | Active service | Chief Judge | Senior status | Appointed by | Reason for termination |
| 1 | Myron Donovan Crocker | CA | 1915–2010 | 1966–1981 | 1966–1967 | 1981–2010 | Eisenhower/Operation of law | death |
| 2 | Sherrill Halbert | CA | 1901–1991 | 1966–1969 | — | 1969–1991 | Eisenhower/Operation of law | death |
| 3 | Thomas Jamison MacBride | CA | 1914–2000 | 1966–1979 | 1967–1979 | 1979–2000 | Kennedy/Operation of law | death |
| 4 | Philip Charles Wilkins | CA | 1913–1998 | 1969–1983 | 1979–1983 | 1983–1998 | Nixon | death |
| 5 | Lawrence K. Karlton | CA | 1935–2015 | 1979–2000 | 1983–1990 | 2000–2015 | Carter | death |
| 6 | Milton Lewis Schwartz | CA | 1920–2005 | 1979–1990 | — | 1990–2005 | Carter | death |
| 7 | Edward Dean Price | CA | 1919–1997 | 1979–1989 | — | 1989–1997 | Carter | death |
| 8 | Raul Anthony Ramirez | CA | 1944–present | 1980–1989 | — | — | Carter | resignation |
| 9 | Robert Everett Coyle | CA | 1930–2012 | 1982–1996 | 1990–1996 | 1996–2012 | Reagan | death |
| 10 | Edward J. Garcia | CA | 1928–2023 | 1984–1996 | — | 1996–2023 | Reagan | death |
| 12 | David F. Levi | CA | 1951–present | 1990–2007 | 2003–2007 | — | G.H.W. Bush | resignation |
| 13 | Oliver Winston Wanger | CA | 1940–present | 1991–2006 | — | 2006–2011 | G.H.W. Bush | retirement |
| 16 | Frank C. Damrell Jr. | CA | 1938–present | 1997–2008 | — | 2008–2011 | Clinton | retirement |
| 17 | Morrison C. England Jr. | CA | 1954–present | 2002–2019 | 2012–2016 | 2019–2024 | G.W. Bush | retirement |
| 24 | Ana de Alba | CA | 1979–present | 2022–2023 | — | — | Biden | elevation to 9th Cir. |
* 1 2 Reassigned from the Southern District of California.
* ↑ Reassigned from the Northern 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 ||||
| Crocker | 1966–1981 |
| Coyle | 1982–1996 |
| Ishii | 1997–2012 |
| Drozd | 2015–present |
Seat 2 :
| Seat reassigned from Northern District on September 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75 ||||
| Halbert | 1966–1969 |
| Wilkins | 1969–1983 |
| Garcia | 1984–1996 |
| Damrell, Jr. | 1997–2008 |
| Mueller | 2010–2024 |
| Coggins | 2024–present |
Seat 3 :
| Seat reassigned from Northern District on September 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75 ||||
| MacBride | 1966–1979 |
| Karlton | 1979–2000 |
| England, Jr. | 2002–2019 |
| de Alba | 2022–2023 |
| Sherriff | 2024–present |
Seat 4 :
| Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 ||||
| Schwartz | 1979–1990 |
| Wanger | 1991–2006 |
| O'Neill | 2007–2020 |
| Thurston | 2021–present |
Seat 5 :
| Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 ||||
| Price | 1979–1989 |
| Levi | 1990–2007 |
| Mendez | 2008–2022 |
| Calabretta | 2023–present |
Seat 6 :
| Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 ||
| Ramirez | 1980–1989 |
| Shubb | 1990–2004 |
| Seat abolished on November 1, 2004 (temporary judgeship expired) ||
Seat 7 :
| Seat established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089 (temporary) ||||
| Seat became permanent upon the abolition of Seat 6 on November 1, 2004 ||||
| Burrell, Jr. | 1992–2012 |
| Nunley | 2013–present |

## Request for expansion

The six sitting judges and three senior judges have submitted a draft letter to the members of the Senate and House of Representatives from the Eastern District in which they argue that population growth in the district has necessitated an increase in the number of district judges.

## U.S. Attorney

* John P. Hyland 1966–7190
* Duane D. Keyes 1970–1977
* Herman Sillas, Jr. 1977–1980
* William B. Shubb 1980–1981
* Francis M. Goldsberry II 1981
* Donald B. Ayer 1981–1986
* Peter A. Nowinski 1986–1987
* David F. Levi 1987–1990
* Richard Jenkins 1990–1991
* George L. O'Connell 1991–93
* Robert M. Twiss 1993
* Charles J. Stevens 1993–1997
* Paul Seave 1997–2001
* McGregor W. Scott 2003–2009
* Lawrence G Brown 2009
* Benjamin B. Wagner 2009–2016
* Phillip Talbert 2016–2017
* McGregor W. Scott 2017–2021
* Phillip Talbert 2021–2025