Senate Confirms Superior Court Judge Wesley L. Hsu as United States District Judge for the Central District of California

On May 3, 2023, the United States Senate confirmed President Joe Biden’s nomination of Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Wesley L. Hsu to serve as a federal district judge for the United States District Court for the Central District of California.  Judge Hsu will preside over matters in Los Angeles in the Court’s Western Division.

Judge Hsu has served as a Superior Court Judge for Los Angeles County since his appointment by Governor Jerry Brown in 2017.  Judge Hsu has presided over civil, criminal, and family law matters, including over 200 trials.  He also served as the Assistant Site Judge of the El Monte Courthouse from 2021 to 2022, assisting with the administration of the courthouse.  Judge Hsu has also served on the Los Angeles County Superior Court’s Constitutional Rights Foundation Programs, Technology, Community Outreach, and Diversity Committees.  

Prior to his appointment as a Superior Court Judge, from 2000 to 2017, Judge Hsu served in multiple roles at the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.  From 2000 to 2005, he served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the General Crimes, Major Frauds, and Criminal Appeals Sections, investigating and prosecuting a broad range of federal offenses and handling appeals before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.  During that time, he also helped establish and eventually served full-time in the office’s Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section.  It was one of the first departments of its kind in the nation.  He served as Deputy Chief of the section from 2005 to 2008 and as Chief from 2008 to 2015.  In that role, he supervised the section’s investigation and prosecution of many high-profile and notable computer hacking and intellectual property crimes, in addition to working closely with other law enforcement agencies to prevent, investigate, and prosecute such crimes.  He also developed an expertise in the Violence Against Women Act and prosecuted numerous individuals under that statute.

Following his time in the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section, Judge Hsu served as part of the office’s executive leadership team.  From 2015 to 2017, he served as the Executive Assistant United States Attorney, supervising non-attorney staff and managing the administrative side of the office.  Then, in 2017, before his appointment as a Superior Court Judge, he served in the role of the First Assistant United States Attorney, supervising the trial and appellate litigation of the office’s five divisions.  Additionally, in 2014, 2015, and from 2017 to 2022, Judge Hsu served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles where he co-taught a seminar on cyber and intellectual property crimes.

Before joining the United States Attorney’s Office, Judge Hsu worked at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, from 1998 to 2000, where he primarily focused on intellectual property litigation, including patent infringement and copyright infringement, as well as breach of contract and qui tam matters. 

Throughout his career, Judge Hsu has devoted time to legal education, outreach, and mentorship.  He has been active in several bar and judges associations, including serving as president of the Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association from 2011 to 2012.

Judge Hsu received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University in 1993 and his Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School in 1996.  Following law school, he clerked for the Honorable Mariana R. Pfaelzer of the Central District of California.

Judge Hsu fills the vacancy that arose when District Judge Virginia A. Phillips assumed senior status in February 2022.  Including the appointment of Judge Hsu, the Central District of California has 28 authorized Article III judgeships, three of which are currently unfilled.  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.

*******************

KIRY K. GRAY
DISTRICT COURT EXECUTIVE / CLERK OF COURT