Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Laphonza Butler and Alex Padilla (both D-Calif.) released the following statement after the White House announced President Biden’s nomination of Judge Michelle Williams Court, Judge Anne Hwang, and Judge Cynthia Valenzuela Dixon to fill vacancies on the U.S. District Court for Central California.
“We applaud President Biden’s selection of three exceptional women to serve on the Central District of California. Each nominee has a wealth of experience and will bring her distinguished career and expertise to the federal bench.
“Judge Court boasts a remarkable 12-year tenure on the Los Angeles Superior Court where she currently serves as the supervising judge. Judge Hwang will bring 12 years of service as a federal public defender for the Central District of California, in addition to her recent tenure on the Los Angeles Superior Court. Judge Valenzuela has 17 years of litigation experience and promises to enrich the Federal District Court with her experience serving on the California State Bar Court since 2016.
“These three nominations reflect the Biden administration’s steadfast commitment to justice, fairness, and equality for the Central District of California. We eagerly await the approval of these nominations so that they may continue the important work of upholding justice for the people of California.”
Judge Michelle Williams Court:
Judge Michelle Williams Court has been a judge on the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles County since 2012, and supervising judge in the Court’s civil division since 2023. Previously, Judge Court worked as an attorney and later vice president and general counsel at Bet Tzedek Legal Services from 2002 to 2011. Before that, Judge Court worked as a senior associate at Milberg, Weiss, Bershad, Hynes & Lerach from 2000 to 2002; as a fellow and civil rights specialist at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development from 1999 to 2000; as a litigation associate at Litt & Marquez from 1995 to 1999; as a project attorney at the ACLU of Southern California from 1994 to 1995; and as an associate at Gilbert Kelly Crowley & Jennett from 1993 to 1994. Judge Court received her J.D. from Loyola Law School in 1993 and her B.A. from Pomona College in 1988.
Judge Anne Hwang:
Judge Anne Hwang has been a judge on the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles County since 2019. Prior to taking the bench, Judge Hwang served as a Deputy Federal Public Defender in the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Central District of California from 2006 to 2018, becoming Chief Deputy Federal Public Defender in 2018. Before that, Judge Hwang worked as a litigation associate at Irell & Manella LLP from 2002 to 2006. She received her J.D. from the University of Southern California Law School in 2002 and her B.A. from Cornell University in 1997.
Judge Cynthia Valenzuela Dixon:
Judge Cynthia Valenzuela Dixon has been a judge on the California State Bar Court in Los Angeles since her appointment by the California Supreme Court in 2016. Previously, Judge Valenzuela worked as the Criminal Justice Act Supervising Attorney for the Central District of California in Los Angeles from 2011 to 2016 and as the head of national litigation at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund in Los Angeles from 2006 to 2011. Before that, Judge Valenzuela served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California from 2000 to 2006; as a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division in Washington, D.C. from 1998 to 2000; and as a Special Assistant at the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights in Los Angeles from 1995 to 1998. She received her J.D. from the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law in 1995 and her B.A. from the University of Arizona in 1991.
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