Senate Confirms Superior Court Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett as United States District Judge for the Central District of California

On April 27, 2022, the United States Senate confirmed President Joe Biden’s nomination of Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett to serve as a federal district judge for the United States District Court for the Central District of California.  Judge Garnett will preside over matters in Los Angeles in the Court’s Western Division.

Judge Garnett has served as a Superior Court Judge for Los Angeles County since her appointment by Governor Jerry Brown in 2014.  Judge Garnett has presided over misdemeanor and felony criminal matters, including over 30 trials.  Additionally, from June to October 2016, she served as a Justice Pro Term on the California Court of Appeal for the Second District, Division 7.  She has also served on the Los Angeles County Superior Court’s Community Outreach and Diversity Committees. 

Prior to her appointment as a Superior Court Judge, from 2001 to 2014, Judge Garnett served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Central District of California.  As an Assistant United States Attorney, she investigated, charged, and prosecuted hundreds of matters, including cases involving drug trafficking, violent and organized crime, child exploitation, arson, fraud, money laundering, explosives and destructive devices, aviation security, false bomb and anthrax threats, and threats made against the President and protected dignitaries.  She regularly appeared in court and handled all aspects of criminal proceedings, including arguing pretrial motions, conducting trials, and handling appeals before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.  From 2008 to 2011, she worked in the National Security Section, where she served as the Domestic Terrorism Coordinator for the Central District of California.  In 2011, she moved to the General Crimes Section, where she served as Deputy Chief and then Chief of the section.  Additionally, while she served as an Assistant United States Attorney, she taught a Legal Writing and Oral Advocacy course at USC Gould School of Law from 2008 to 2010.

Before joining the United States Attorney’s Office, Judge Garnett worked as an associate at Arnold & Porter, LLC from 1999 to 2000.  There she litigated various civil matters involving, among other issues, insurance law, contract disputes, and product liability.  From 1998 to 1999, Judge Garnett served as a law clerk to the Honorable Barry Ted Moskowitz on the United State District Court for the Southern District of California.  Following law school, from 1995 to 1998, Judge Garnett worked as an associate at Altheimer & Gray, LLP, where she specialized in civil litigation.

Throughout her career, Judge Garnett has been involved in several bar and judges associations.  She has also dedicated time to educating and empowering young people by speaking on panels, teaching, and serving as a mentor to students and new attorneys.  Judge Garnett received her Bachelor of Arts degree, with honors, from University of California, Riverside in 1991, and her Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School in 1995.

Judge Garnett fills the vacancy that arose when the late District Judge Manuel L. Real assumed senior status in November 2018.  Including the appointment of Judge Garnett, the Central District of California has 28 authorized Article III judgeships, five of which are currently unfilled.  The Central District of California is comprised of the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo.  It serves more than 19.3 million people, nearly half the population of the State of California.

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KIRY K. GRAY
DISTRICT COURT EXECUTIVE / CLERK OF COURT