The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California (in case citations, E.D. Cal.) is a federal court in the Ninth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).

The District was created on March 18, 1966, with the division of the Northern and Southern districts, leading to the creation of the Central and Eastern districts.^[1]

The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. As of June 23, 2022^[update] the United States attorney is Phillip Talbert.

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California is one of four federal judicial districts in California.^[2] Court for the District is held at the Robert E. Coyle U.S. Courthouse in Fresno and Robert T. Matsui U.S. Courthouse in Sacramento.

• Fresno Division comprises the following counties: Calaveras, Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Stanislaus, Tulare, and Tuolumne.
• Sacramento Division comprises the following counties: Alpine, Amador, Butte, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo, and Yuba.
• Bakersfield Office hears misdemeanor and petty criminal offenses on federal lands and National Parks in Inyo and Kern counties. Court is held at Bakersfield, Edwards Air Force Base, and Ridgecrest.
• Redding Office hears misdemeanor and petty criminal offenses on federal lands and National Parks in Northern California. Court is held at Sierra Army Depot, Redding, and Susanville.
• Yosemite Office hears misdemeanor and petty criminal offenses in Yosemite National Park. National parks are under federal jurisdiction. The perennially large crowds of tourists at Yosemite create a unique situation justifying the presence of a courthouse inside the park itself.

As of February 7, 2024^[update]:

Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their district court. Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the district court judges. To be chief, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge.

A vacancy is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years, or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position.

When the office was created in 1948, the chief judge was the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire, on what has since 1958 been known as senior status, or declined to serve as chief judge. After August 6, 1959, judges could not become or remain chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982.

The six sitting judges and three senior judges have submitted a draft letter^[4] to the members of the Senate and House of Representatives from the Eastern District in which they argue that population growth in the district has necessitated an increase in the number of district judges.

• John P. Hyland 1966-7190
• Duane D. Keyes 1970-1977
• Herman Sillas, Jr. 1977-1980
• William B. Shubb 1980-1981
• Francis M. Goldsberry II 1981
• Donald B. Ayer 1981-1986
• Peter A. Nowinski 1986-1987
• David F. Levi 1987-1990
• Richard Jenkins 1990-1991
• George L. O'Connell 1991-93
• Robert M. Twiss 1993
• Charles J. Stevens 1993-1997
• Paul Seave 1997-2001
• McGregor W. Scott 2003-2009
• Lawrence G Brown 2009
• Benjamin B. Wagner 2009-2016
• Phillip Talbert 2016-2017
• McGregor W. Scott 2017-2021
• Phillip Talbert 2021-present

• Courts of California
• List of current United States district judges
• List of United States federal courthouses in California