Serena R. Murillo
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2025 - Present
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Serena R. Murillo is a judge on the United States District Court for the Central District of California. She was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D) on November 18, 2024, and confirmed by the United States Senate on December 20, 2024, by a vote of 49-47.[1][2][3] To see a full list of judges appointed by Joe Biden, click here.
The United States District Court for the Central District of California is one of 94 U.S. District Courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.
Prior to joining the court, Murillo was a judge of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County in California. She assumed office on January 5, 2015. Murillo won re-election for judge of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County in California outright in the primary on March 3, 2020, after the primary and general election were canceled.
Judicial nominations and appointments
United States District Court for the Central District of California (2025-present)
- See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden
On November 18, 2024, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Murillo to the United States District Court for the Central District of California.[3] Murillo received commission on January 9, 2025.[2] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.
 |
| Nominee Information |
| Name: Serena Murillo |
| Court: United States District Court for the Central District of California |
| Progress |
| Confirmed 32 days after nomination. |
| Questionnaire: Questionnaire |
| Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript |
| QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
Confirmation vote
The U.S. Senate confirmed Murillo by a vote of 49-47 on December 20, 2024.[1] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.
| Murillo confirmation vote (December 20, 2024) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Yea | Nay | No vote | ||||||
| 46 | 0 | 1 | |||||||
| 0 | 47 | 2 | |||||||
| 3 | 0 | 1 | |||||||
| Total | 49[4] | 47 | 4 | ||||||
Senate Judiciary Committee hearing
The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Murillo's nomination on November 20, 2024. Murillo was reported to the full Senate on December 12, 2024, after an 11-10 committee vote.[5] Click here for a list of other nominees awaiting a committee vote.
Nomination
On October 23, 2024, President Joe Biden (D) announced his intent to nominate Serena Murillo to the United States District Court for the Central District of California.[3] The president officially nominated Murillo on November 18, 2024.[6]
Murillo was nominated to replace Judge Cormac Carney, who retired on May 31, 2024.[7][8]
The American Bar Association (ABA) rated Murillo well qualified.[9] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.
Biography
Early life and education
Murillo was born 1970 in Pomona, California. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of California at San Diego in 1993 and her J.D. at Loyola Law School in 1996.[10][2]
Career
- 2025-present: Judge, United States District Court for the Central District of California
- 2022-2025: Lecturer, University of California Gould School of Law
- 2015-2024: Judge, Los Angeles County
- 2022: Lecturer, University of California, Irvine School of Law
- 2018-2019: Associate justice pro tem, California Court of Appeal, Second District
- 1997-2014: Deputy district attorney, Los Angeles, California
- 1997: Private practice, Los Angeles, California[10][2]
Elections
2020
Incumbent Serena R. Murillo was the only candidate to file and won the position by default when the election was canceled.
2014
See also: California judicial elections, 2014
Murillo ran for election to the Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Primary: She was elected without opposition in the primary on June 3, 2014.[11][12]
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Serena R. Murillo did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
About the court
The United States District Court for the Central District of California is one of 94 United States district courts. The court serves about seventeen million people in southern and central California, making it the largest federal judicial district by population. The district operates out of courthouses in Santa Ana, Riverside and two locations in Los Angeles. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, based in downtown San Francisco at the James R. Browning Federal Courthouse. Initial appeals are heard in Pasadena at the Richard Chambers Courthouse.
The Central District of California has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.
There are three court divisions, each covering the following counties:
The Eastern Division, covering Riverside and San Bernardino counties.[13]
The Southern Division, covering Orange County.[13]
The Western Division, covering Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties.[13]
To read opinions published by this court, click here.
The federal nomination process
Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:
- The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
- The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
- The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.
- As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.
- After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.
- If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
- If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.
- The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.
- If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
- If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.
See also
- United States District Court for the Central District of California
- United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
External links
- United States District Court for the Central District of California
- Biography from the Federal Judicial Center
- Biography from the United States District Court for the Central District of California
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Congress.gov, "PN2245 — Serena Raquel Murillo — The Judiciary," accessed December 20, 2024
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 The Federal Judicial Center, "Murillo, Serena Raquel," accessed December 20, 2024
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 The White House, "President Biden Names Fifty-Fifth Round of Judicial Nominees," October 23, 2024
- ↑ Note: The bolded number reflects the largest number.
- ↑ Senate Judiciary Committee, "Results of Executive Business Meeting – December 12, 2024," accessed December 12, 2024
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namednom - ↑ Federal Judicial Center, "Biography of Cormac J. Carney," accessed July 23, 2014
- ↑ United States Courts, "Future Judicial Vacancies," accessed April 5, 2024
- ↑ American Bar Association, "STANDING COMMITTEE ON THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY," accessed November 19, 2024
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Murillo for Judge, "About the Candidate," accessed August 12, 2014
- ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/Clerk, "Superior Court Primary Election Results," June 4, 2014
- ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Candidate list - Superior Court Office No. 090," accessed March 19, 2014
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 United States District Court for the Central District of California, Jurisdiction
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Cormac Carney |
United States District Court for the Central District of California 2025-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Superior Court of Los Angeles County 2015-2025 |
Succeeded by - |
{Judges of the United States District Court for the Central District of California}}
Federal courts:
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Central District of California, Eastern District of California, Northern District of California, Southern District of California • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Central District of California, Eastern District of California, Northern District of California, Southern District of California
State courts:
California Supreme Court • California Courts of Appeal • California Superior Courts
State resources:
Courts in California • California judicial elections • Judicial selection in California