United States District Court, Central District of California
Notices from the Clerk
Subject: Contact: Last Updated:
Notice from the Clerk Chief Probation OfficerClerk of Court09/11/2009


UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

PRESS RELEASE



Release Date: September 10, 2009

Contact: Lydia A. Yurtchuk, Staff Attorney, Legal Services Unit (213) 894-8249

FEDERAL COURT APPOINTS NEW CHIEF PROBATION OFFICER

The Honorable Audrey B. Collins, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for
the Central District of California, announces the appointment of Michelle A.
Carey as Chief United States Probation Officer. The Court voted to approve Ms.
Carey’s appointment at their court meeting on Wednesday. The appointment will
be effective November 1, upon the retirement of incumbent Loretta S. Martin.
Chief Judge Collins notes that “Ms. Carey was the unanimous choice of the Court
from a field of outstanding candidates. Judges on the interview panel commended
her strong academic credentials, and her enthusiasm for the position and the goals
of probation.”

Ms. Carey currently serves as the Deputy Chief U.S. Probation Officer in
the District, a position she has held since 2006. Ms. Carey held a number of
supervisory and line probation officer positions in the District since her original
appointment in 1997. She is currently leading a probation office team to develop a
re-entry program for drug offenders with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Federal
Public Defender, and the Court.

Ms. Carey received her undergraduate degree in political science from
Columbia College, graduating cum laude. She received her Juris Doctor from
Harvard Law School. She practiced law in New York before moving to California
to join the Probation Office, making what she describes as “one of the most
rewarding career decisions of my life.”

The United States Probation Office in the Central District of California is
one of the largest probation offices in the federal system with over 278 officers
and support staff serving 34 senior and active Article III judges and 23 magistrate
judges. The Probation Office’s jurisdiction includes seven counties in the
metropolitan Los Angeles area in 13 branch offices.


TERRY NAFISI
DISTRICT COURT EXECUTIVE