Fred W. Slaughter

Central District of California
	Ninth Circuit
Judgeships
	Posts: 28
	Judges: 25
	Vacancies: 3
Judges
	Chief: Dolly Gee
	Active judges: Fernando Aenlle-Rocha, Mónica Ramírez Almadani, Percy Anderson, Jesus Bernal, André Birotte Jr., Stanley Blumenfeld, David Carter, Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong, Michael Fitzgerald, Sherilyn P. Garnett, Dolly Gee, Philip Gutierrez, John William Holcomb, Wesley L. Hsu, Kenly Kiya Kato, Robert Klausner, Fernando Olguin, Mark C. Scarsi, Fred W. Slaughter, Josephine Staton, Sunshine S. Sykes, Hernán D. Vera, John Walter, Stephen Wilson, Otis Wright; Senior judges:; Valerie Baker Fairbank, Dale Fischer, Terry Hatter, Aaron Kampfe, William Duffy Keller, John A. Kronstadt, Ronald Lew, Consuelo Marshall, Virginia Phillips, Dean Pregerson, James Selna, Christina Snyder, George Wu

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Fred W. Slaughter
	Court: United States District Court for the Central District of California
Progress
	Confirmed 92 days after nomination.
	Nominated: December 15, 2021
	ABA Rating: Well Qualified
	Questionnaire: Questionnaire
	Hearing: January 12, 2022
	Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
	QFRs: QFRs (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: February 10, 2022
	Confirmed: March 17, 2022
	Vote: 57-41

Fred W. Slaughter is a judge on the United States District Court for the Central District of California. He was nominated on December 15, 2021, by President Joe Biden (D). The U.S. Senate confirmed Slaughter on March 17, 2022, by a vote of 57-41.^[1] 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.

Slaughter was previously a judge of the Superior Court of Orange County in California from 2014 to 2022. He was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown (D) on December 27, 2013, effective January 31, 2014. He replaced retired judge Gregory Munoz.^[2]

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States District Court for the Central District of California (2022-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On December 15, 2021, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Slaughter to the United States District Court for the Central District of California.^[3] He was confirmed by a 57-41 vote of the U.S. Senate on March 17, 2022, and received commission on April 19, 2022.^[1]^[4] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Slaughter by a vote of 57-41 on March 17, 2022.^[1] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, SENATE.GOV click here.

Slaughter confirmation vote (March 17, 2022)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	47	0	1
Republican	8	41	1
Independent	2	0	0
Total	57	41	2

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Slaughter's nomination on January 12, 2022. The committee voted 15-7 to advance Slaughter's nomination to the full Senate on February 10, 2022.^[5]

Nomination

On December 15, 2021, President Joe Biden (D) announced his intent to nominate Slaughter to the United States District Court for the Central District of California. The president officially nominated Slaughter on the same day.^[3]^[1]

Slaughter was nominated to replace Judge Andrew Guilford, who assumed senior status on July 5, 2019. Guilford officially ended his service on January 31, 2020.^[1]

The American Bar Association rated Slaughter Well Qualified.^[6] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Superior Court of Orange County (2014-2022)

Slaughter was appointed to the Superior Court of Orange County by Governor Jerry Brown (D) on December 27, 2013, effective January 31, 2014. He replaced retired judge Gregory Munoz.^[2] Slaughter left his position on this court after he was confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Biography

Education

Slaughter earned a B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1996 and a J.D. from UCLA Law School in 1999.^[3]

Professional career

2022-present: Judge, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
2014-2022: Judge, Superior Court of Orange County
2012-2013: Deputy chief of the Santa Ana Branch Office, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of California
2010-2012: Assistant U.S. attorney, Santa Ana Branch Office
2008-2010: Assistant U.S. attorney, District of Oregon
2004-2008: Assistant U.S. attorney, Central District of California
2002-2004: Assistant U.S. attorney, District of Arizona
2000-2002: Deputy city attorney, Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office^[3]

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.^[7]

The Southern Division, covering Orange County.^[7]

The Western Division, covering Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties.^[7]

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.

External links

Suggest a link

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Andrew Guilford	United States District Court for the Central District of California 2022-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by Gregory Munoz	Superior Court of Orange County 2014-2022	Succeeded by Alma Hernandez