Rozella Oliver Appointed as United States Magistrate Judge for the Central District of California

The United States District Court for the Central District of California announces the appointment of Rozella Oliver as United States Magistrate Judge.  Judge Oliver, who was sworn in on May 1, 2015, will sit in Los Angeles in the Court’s Western Division.  Judge Oliver succeeds retired Magistrate Judge Ralph Zarefsky.

Before her appointment as a Magistrate Judge, Judge Oliver served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division of the Central District of California for ten years and in the District of Columbia for three years prior to moving to Los Angeles.  As a federal prosecutor, Judge Oliver initially concentrated on cyber and intellectual property crimes and then moved to the National Security Section, where she prosecuted anti-proliferation and technology-export cases, among others.   She then served as Deputy Chief and Chief of the General Crimes Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.  Judge Oliver started her legal career with the United States Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., joining the Tax Division through the Honors Program.  During her time at the Tax Division, Judge Oliver worked on civil tax matters, including corporate tax shelter litigation.  During her career, she took approximately 50 cases to jury or bench trial.

In 1999, Judge Oliver graduated from Stanford Law School with distinction and received her Bachelor’s Degree from Harvard College, with honors.  Immediately after law school, Judge Oliver clerked for Judge Douglas P. Woodlock in the District of Massachusetts.  Between college and law school, Judge Oliver attended Cambridge University in England, where she was the Harvard Scholar at Trinity College, and the Universidad de Barcelona, where she received a Diploma in Hispanic Studies. 

Including the position now occupied by Judge Oliver, the Central District of California has 24 authorized full-time and one part-time Magistrate Judge positions.  

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 approximately 19.6 million people – nearly half the population of the state of California.

Terry Nafisi

District Court Executive