Longtime San Diego defense attorney Brian Jude White has been sworn in as the newest U.S. magistrate judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.<\/p>\n
White has operated a private practice specializing in criminal defense in both state and federal courts for more than 30 years. He was sworn into office Friday by Chief U.S. District Judge Cynthia Bashant.<\/p>\n
White fills a vacancy left by Benjamin Cheeks, who served about five months as a magistrate judge<\/a> last year before President Joe Biden appointed him to be a district judge<\/a>.<\/p>\n Magistrate judges are appointed by district judges and serve eight-year terms, while district judges are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate for life terms. Magistrate judges have authority to issue warrants and conduct most preliminary proceedings \u2014 such as initial appearances, arraignments and guilty pleas \u2014 in criminal cases. They also handle pretrial motions and hearings in civil and criminal cases, and can preside over civil trials. They do not preside over felony criminal trials.<\/p>\n White was named 2013 trial lawyer of the year by the San Diego County Criminal Defense Bar Association and is a past president<\/a> of the Criminal Defense Lawyers Club. He also previously held a leadership role with California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, according to a statement from the court.<\/p>\n White earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in philosophy from San Diego State University in 1987 and graduated from Pepperdine School of Law in 1991. He returned to his hometown of San Diego shortly after graduating law school to launch his legal career.<\/p>\n In addition to representing paying clients, White was on the Criminal Justice Act defense panel in San Diego federal court, meaning he took on indigent federal defendants who, for one reason or another, could not be represented by Federal Defenders of San Diego.<\/p>\n