Senate Confirms Superior Court Judge Serena R. Murillo as United States District Judge for the Central District of California

On December 20, 2024, the United States Senate confirmed President Joe Biden’s nomination of Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Serena R. Murillo to serve as a federal district judge in the United States District Court for the Central District of California.  Judge Murillo will preside over matters in Santa Ana in the Court’s Southern Division. 

Judge Murillo has served as a Superior Court Judge for Los Angeles County since 2015, presiding over civil and criminal matters.  She was also appointed to serve as an Associate Justice pro tem on the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Three from December 2018 to May 2019 and to serve as a Judge in the Los Angeles Superior Court Appellate Division from September to December 2020. 

While on the bench, Judge Murillo has served on the Los Angeles County Superior Court’s Bail, Community Outreach, Domestic Violence, Executive, Judicial Mentor, and Research Attorney Committees as well as the Judicial Education Governing Committee where she served as Chair since 2022.  Additionally, she has served on the Judicial Council of California’s Criminal Law Advisory Committee since 2017 and currently serves as its Vice-Chair.  She has devoted significant time to planning and leading judicial education courses.  Judge Murillo has also taught law school courses, serving as a Lecturer in Law at University of California, Irvine School of Law in 2022 and at USC Gould School of Law since 2022.

From 1997 to 2014, Judge Murillo served as a Deputy District Attorney for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.  In her early years at the office, she handled misdemeanor criminal trials and juvenile criminal matters.  She then handled felony criminal matters from 1999 to 2005, which included an assignment as a Domestic Violence Coordinator in which she litigated all aspects of cases involving intimate partner violence.  From 2005 to 2010, she worked in what is now known as the Major Fraud Division investigating and prosecuting theft, embezzlement, tax, and securities fraud.  From 2010 to 2014, Judge Murillo worked in the Appellate Division where she led officewide trainings and handled criminal appeals, felony writs for prohibition or mandate, and federal petitions for writ of habeas corpus.

From 1996 to 1997, Judge Murillo worked in private practice.  First, as a temporary post-bar clerk at Shemoff, Bidart, and Darras and then as an associate attorney at McNicholas & McNicholas where she represented plaintiffs in personal injury cases.

In furtherance of her dedication to improving the legal community, Judge Murillo has been involved with many bar and judges associations, including the California Judges Association, California Latino Judges Association, California Women Judges, Latino Judicial Officers Association, and Mexican American Bar Association.  She has also encouraged interest in the legal field among young people by creating a mock trial program for elementary students, presiding over numerous moot court and mock trial programs, and participating in youth mentorship programs.

Judge Murillo received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, San Diego in 1993 and her Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles in 1996.

Judge Murillo fills the vacancy that arose when District Judge Cormac J. Carney assumed inactive senior status in May 2024.  The Central District of California has 28 authorized Article III judgeships.  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 more than 19.3 million people, nearly half the population of the State of California.

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BRIAN D. KARTH
DISTRICT COURT EXECUTIVE / CLERK OF COURT