voluntarily consent; Consent Form; A Case for Consent - from the Chief District Judge; Fresno Division Magistrate Judge Biographies

=== voluntarily consent ===

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT Plaintiff(s)/Petitioner(s), vs. CASE NO. Defendant(s)/Respondents(s). IMPORTANT IF YOU CHOOSE TO CONSENT OR DECLINE TO CONSENT TO JURISDICTION OF A UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE, CHECK AND SIGN THE APPROPRIATE SECTION OF THIS FORM AND RETURN IT TO THE CLERK'S OFFICE. CONSENT TO JURISDICTION OF UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE In accordance with the provisions of Title 28, U.S.C Sec. 636(c)(1), the undersigned hereby voluntarily consents to have a United States Magistrate Judge conduct all further proceedings in this case, including trial and entry of final judgment, with direct review by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in the event an appeal is filed. Date: ___________________ Signature: _______________________________ Print Name: ______________________________ ( ) Plaintiff/Petitioner ( ) Defendant/Respondent ( ) Counsel for *___________________________ DECLINE OF JURISDICTION OF UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE Pursuant to Title 28, U.S.C. Sec 636(c)(2), the undersigned acknowledges the availability of a United States Magistrate Judge but hereby declines to consent. Date: ___________________ Signature: _______________________________ Print Name: ______________________________ ( ) Plaintiff/Petitioner ( ) Defendant/Respondent ( ) Counsel for *___________________________ *If representing more than one party, counsel must indicate name of each party responding.

=== Consent Form ===

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA _______________________________________ Plaintiff(s)/Petitioner(s), vs. _______________________________________ Defendant(s)/Respondent(s). CASE NO. __________________________ IMPORTANT IF YOU CHOOSE TO CONSENT OR DECLINE TO CONSENT TO JURISDICTION OF A UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE, CHECK AND SIGN THE APPROPRIATE SECTION OF THIS FORM AND RETURN IT TO THE CLERK'S OFFICE. CONSENT TO JURISDICTION OF UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE In accordance with the provisions of Title 28, U.S.C Sec. 636(c)(1), the undersigned hereby voluntarily consents to have a United States Magistrate Judge conduct all further proceedings in this case, including trial and entry of final judgment, with direct review by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in the event an appeal is filed. Date: ___________________ Signature: _______________________________ Print Name: ______________________________ ( ) Plaintiff/Petitioner ( ) Defendant/Respondent Counsel for_________________________* DECLINE OF JURISDICTION OF UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE Pursuant to Title 28, U.S.C. Sec 636(c)(2), the undersigned acknowledges the availability of a United States Magistrate Judge but hereby declines to consent. Date: ___________________ Signature: _______________________________ Print Name: ______________________________ ( ) Plaintiff/Petitioner ( ) Defendant/Respondent Counsel for__________________________* *If representing more than one party, counsel must indicate the name of each party responding.

=== A Case for Consent - from the Chief District Judge ===

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 501 I STREET, SUITE 15-220 SACRAMENTO, CA 95814 Chambers of TROY L. NUNLEY Chief United States District Judge Magistrate Judge Consent in Civil Cases: Know Your Rights! Delay, congestion, uncertainty, and expense are concerns often expressed by civil litigants. These concerns have reached a crisis level in the Eastern District of California. Despite the population of our District nearly doubling since 1979 and a corresponding tremendous increase in case filings, for the past 40 years our court has only 6 authorized District Judgeship positions. The U.S. Judicial Conference, the policy-making arm of the federal courts, has recommended for decades that Congress authorize between 5 and 11 new judgeships for this court. While the court is doing what it can to ensure Congress is fully informed regarding our current proposed allocation of 5 new judgeships, we cannot at this point say there is a realistic hope of new District Judgeships in the foreseeable future. As a result, the Eastern District has been significantly congested for many years, consistently carrying average weighted caseloads equal or close to twice the national average for federal trial courts. Given our current more dire circumstances, civil litigants are having to vie for less and less District Judge time and attention. Civil litigants therefore may wish to consider consenting to Magistrate Judge jurisdiction, given that the court has a full complement of experienced Magistrate Judges available to preside to the full extent allowed by law. The Magistrate Judge consent process can help bring about the “just, speedy, and inexpensive determination” of federal cases. Fed. R. Civ. P. 1. Although their title has changed periodically, Magistrate Judges, as they currently are known, have had a role in the federal courts since passage of the Judiciary Act of 1789. Over time, Congress has expanded and enhanced the position in the interests of maximizing judicial efficiency. Specifically, Magistrate Judges are authorized “to conduct any or all proceedings in a jury or non-jury civil matter and order the entry of judgment in the case” with the consent of the parties. 28 U.S.C. § 636(c). Consent can maximize access to the courts and ease court congestion through effective use of judicial resources. It can provide numerous benefits to litigants including the prospect of an early and firm trial date, when District Judges may not be available to try a civil case given the need to prioritize felony criminal cases. In civil cases, the assigned Magistrate Judge already is responsible for resolving discovery disputes, deciding other non-dispositive motions and in some instances handling pre-trial proceedings; as a result that judge may be intimately familiar with the case history. Consenting in any civil case allows the Magistrate Judge to decide dispositive motions and preside over trial, and so can avoid the uncertainty parties may face while waiting for the District Judge to identify time on his or her calendar for trial. Just as with a judgment issued by a District Judge, a judgment issued by a Magistrate Judge to whom the parties in a civil case have consented is appealable directly to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. As their professional biographies posted on our court’s website show, our Magistrate Judges are well-qualified to preside over the cases assigned them. They are experienced, high-caliber judges with diverse experiences in civil and criminal litigation who have been selected on the merits, taking into account their education, experience, knowledge of the court system, personal attributes and other criteria. Our Magistrate Judges are well-qualified to preside over the civil cases brought in our court. To consent to magistrate judge jurisdiction, a party simply signs and files a consent form. The form is available on the court’s website, at this link: http://www.caed.uscourts.gov/caednew/index.cfm/forms/civil/. Parties may consent or withhold consent without any adverse consequences. Once all parties to a case consent, then the assigned District Judge is notified and considers whether to approve the consent. Once the District Judge accepts, then the Magistrate Judge determines whether to accept consent jurisdiction, taking the opportunity to consider any conflicts or bases for recusal. All litigants before the federal courts deserve justice delivered in a fair, prompt, and efficient manner. Our Magistrate Judges play a critical role in providing essential access to justice, particularly in our overburdened court. Consenting to Magistrate Judge jurisdiction in civil cases may represent one of the best ways to secure “just, speedy, and inexpensive determination” of your case, which is why we want to be sure you are fully aware of your right and ability to consent, and the means of doing so.

=== Fresno Division Magistrate Judge Biographies ===

United States District Court Eastern District of California Fresno Division CONSENTING TO MAGISTRATE JUDGE JURISDICTION UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT Eastern District of California Sacramento 501 I Street Sacramento, California 95814 Phone: (916) 930-4000 Fax: (916) 930-4015 Fresno 2500 Tulare Street Fresno, California 95501 Phone: (559) 499-5600 Fax: (559) 499-5992 Redding 2986 Bechelli Lane Redding, California 96002 Phone: (530) 246-5416 Fax: (530) 246-5419 Bakersfield 510 19th Street Bakersfield, California 93301 Phone: (661) 326-6620 Fax: (661) 327-4921 Yosemite National Park 9004 Castle Cliffs Court Yosemite, California 95389 Phone: (209) 372-0320 Fax: (209) 372-0324 Clerk of Court Keith Holland 916-930-4000 MAGISTRATE JUDGES Sacramento Magistrate Judge Deborah Barnes Magistrate Judge Edmund F. Brennan Magistrate Judge Allison Claire Magistrate Judge Carolyn K. Delaney Magistrate Judge Gregory G. Hollows Magistrate Judge Kendall J. Newman Magistrate Judge Jeremy D. Peterson Fresno Magistrate Judge Gary S. Austin Magistrate Judge Stanley A. Boone Magistrate Judge Erica P. Grosjean Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe Magistrate Judge Sheila K. Oberto Redding Magistrate Judge Dennis M. Cota Bakersfield Yosemite National Park Magistrate Judge Helena M. Barch-Kutcha MAGISTRATE JUDGE ERICA P. GROSJEAN (Fresno) Erica P. Grosjean was appointed as a Magistrate Judge in the Fresno division in the Eastern District of California in October 2015. Judge Grosjean presides over a large variety of federal matters including cases involving employment discrimination, civil rights, ADA, social security, habeas corpus, and prisoner civil rights among others. She handles the scheduling and discovery matters for numerous cases assigned to District Judges, and also acts as presiding judge on numerous cases with the parties’ consent. She regularly conducts settlement conferences in all types of cases. Judge Grosjean also handles the initial phases of federal criminal cases, including arraignments, detention hearings, and search warrants. Prior to taking the bench, Judge Grosjean was a partner at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart and Sullivan LLP, a litigation-only law firm specializing in trial work. Judge Grosjean worked out of Quinn Emanuel’s New York and Los Angeles offices. Her practice specialized in civil litigation across a wide range of areas of law, including structured finance, patent infringement, contract, antitrust, misappropriation, insurance, securities, unfair competition, constitutional law, and fraudulent transfer. Judge Grosjean is a 2000 graduate of Harvard Law School, where she was an editor of the Harvard Law Review and graduated with honors, cum laude. After law school, she clerked for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, under the Honorable Herbert Y.C. Choy. Judge Grosjean is also an adjunct faculty member at San Joaquin School of Law. MAGISTRATE JUDGE GARY S. AUSTIN (Fresno) Magistrate Judge Gary S. Austin was appointed in 2007. Before joining the Federal Court, he served over 21 years on the California State Court bench. He began his judicial career in 1986 when he was appointed to the Fresno County Municipal Court. Approximately two years later in 1988, he was elevated to the Fresno County Superior Court and remained there until his appointment to the Federal bench. While on the State Court bench Magistrate Judge Austin presided over a wide range of civil and criminal trials, including death penalty cases. He also served in both the Family Law and Juvenile Court assignments. During his almost three year tenure with the Juvenile Court he was the presiding Judge of that division. Magistrate Judge Austin began his legal career as a law clerk/crier to Federal District Court Judge Myron Donovan Crocker of the Eastern District of California. He then served as a staff attorney for the Federal Defender’s Office in the Eastern District. Thereafter, he joined the District Attorney’s Office and remained there until his appointment to the State Court bench. Prior to his appointment to Municipal Court, Magistrate Judge Austin was the Lead attorney on the Career Criminal Unit of the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office and had attained the rank of senior prosecutor. He is a 1972 graduate of California State University, Fresno and a 1976 graduate of San Joaquin College of Law where he served as Student Body President in his final year. He is currently serving as Chair of the 9th Circuit Magistrate Judge’s Education Committee. While on the State Court bench he served a term as Chair of Continuing Judicial Studies (CJS), a California Judicial Education and Research program of the State Administrative Office of the Courts. The mission of CJS was to provide educational programs for experienced California State Court judges. MAGISTRATE JUDGE SHEILA K. OBERTO (Fresno) Magistrate Judge Sheila K. Oberto was appointed in 2010. Judge Oberto has extensive federal court litigation experience and has handled over 20 federal jury trials in civil and criminal cases. She has also briefed and argued numerous appeals before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Prior to her appointment, Judge Oberto served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of California from 1990 until her appointment in 2010. From 1990 to 1999, she litigated a wide range of civil cases on behalf of the United States and federal parties, representing both plaintiffs and defendants. She has substantial experience handling personal injury and other tort cases, contract actions, employment discrimination and civil rights cases, ADA litigation, environmental and land use actions, tax cases, asset forfeiture matters, bankruptcy actions, and civil enforcement and civil fraud cases. In 1999, Judge Oberto joined the criminal division as a federal prosecutor where she prosecuted complex white collar cases and served as Deputy Chief of the Fresno Office and Chief of the White Collar Crime Unit. Judge Oberto began her career as a law clerk for Justice Armand Arabian with the California Court of Appeals, Second Appellate District. She was in private practice at Irell & Manella in Los Angeles from 1985 to1987 and at Baker, Manock & Jensen in Fresno from 1988 to 1989. Judge Oberto received her B.S. from the University of Southern California, her M.S. from UCLA, and graduated from the University of Southern California School of Law in 1985. Through her twenty years of public service and her private practice experience, Judge Oberto brings to the bench a wealth of federal court litigation and trial experience, and is committed to the fair, efficient and economical resolution of all actions. MAGISTRATE JUDGE HELENA M. BARCH-KUTCHA (Yosemite/Fresno) On November 1, 2020, Helena M. Barch-Kuchta was appointed to be the U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Yosemite Division of the Eastern District of California. Judge Barch-Kuchta sits in the U.S. District Court in Yosemite Valley, though she also hears cases in Fresno. She presides over criminal matters arising on federal lands and civil matters arising in the Fresno Division of the Eastern District of California. She conducts settlement conferences in all types of cases. Judge Barch-Kuchta has practiced litigation in the private, public and international sectors. She began her legal career as a litigator with the commercial litigation and insurance coverage group of K&L Gates, LLP in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and continued in their Washington, D.C. office. She then joined the U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida as a staff attorney and assisted the court with handling civil cases that included prisoner rights cases, habeas corpus cases, and death penalty habeas petitions. After a decade of public service, she joined the U.S. Department of Justice as a trial attorney working in its Civil Division, Office of Foreign Litigation, European Office located in the United Kingdom where she represented the United States in affirmative and defensive litigation matters throughout Europe and Turkey. Judge Barch-Kuchta then returned to the U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida to again serve as a staff attorney before her appointment to the bench. Judge Barch-Kuchta received her B.A., with honors, from Pennsylvania State University, University Park, and her J.D. from Duquesne University School of Law, Pittsburgh, where she was a recipient of the Honorable Gerald K. Gibson Award. She also earned an Executive Certificate in International Human Rights Law & Practice from the London School of Economics and Political Science during her time in the United Kingdom. MAGISTRATE JUDGE BARBARA A. MCAULIFFE (Fresno) Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe was appointed in October 2011. Judge McAuliffe is a 1989 graduate of the University of San Diego School of Law, Magna Cum Laude, where she was the Executive Editor of the Law Review. Judge McAuliffe presides over various types of civil cases randomly assigned to her with the parties’ consent, including business litigation, employment, class actions, excessive force civil rights and other civil rights cases. She has also presided over numerous jury trials involving complex legal issues and factual disputes. Judge McAuliffe regularly speaks and participates in panels concerning ethics and professionalism and is a Member of the ABA Judicial Division Ethics and Professionalism Committee and is a former member of the California State Bar’s Standing Committee on Professional Responsibility. Over Judge McAuliffe’s 24-year legal career, she has worked on both sides of the bar. She is an experienced litigation partner from a prominent local law firm. An eleven-year private practice, from 1989 to 2000, involved complex civil litigation in employment, construction and business litigation. She has extensive experience in law and motion, settlement conferences, trial, post-trial and judgment enforcement matters in both federal and state courts. After eleven years of successful practice, Judge McAuliffe joined the chambers of then-Magistrate Judge, now District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill. As his elbow law clerk for eleven years, she was responsible for managing the high volume case load in the Eastern District. Judge McAuliffe is also an Adjunct Professor at local educational institutions teaching various legal courses, such as Legal Research and Writing, Business Law, Business Ethics, Administrative Law, and International Law. Through her years of public service, coupled with private practice and teaching experience, Judge McAuliffe brings to the bench a distinguished academic record, practical litigation experience, and applicable federal court knowledge. Having been in private practice for many years, Judge McAuliffe understands the importance of, and is committed to, the disposition of all cases as speedily and economically as possible. MAGISTRATE JUDGE STANLEY A. BOONE (Fresno) Judge Boone was appointed to the federal bench as a United States magistrate judge on December 31, 2012. Prior to his appointment, he served for almost twenty-three years in a variety of capacities, both civil and criminal, with the United States Department of Justice. In June 2010, Judge Boone became the Chief of the White Collar Crime unit in the Fresno United States Attorney’s office where he handled cases and supervised Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the areas of economic fraud, identity theft, intellectual property, money laundering, taxation, child pornography and immigration. From 2009 to 2010, Judge Boone was stationed in Washington, D.C. as the White Collar Crime Coordinator for the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, United States Department of Justice. In that role, he represented the United States Attorney’s community in reviewing and formulating policy and legislation involving white collar crime. From 1996 to 2009, Judge Boone was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division of the Fresno U.S. Attorney’s office handling a wide variety of cases, including white collar, national security, intellectual property, public corruption, identity theft, health care fraud and other federal crime cases. During this time, Judge Boone held positions as misdemeanor unit supervisor, Elections Officer, Bankruptcy Fraud Coordinator and International Coordinator. Throughout his tenure, Judge Boone wrote and argued a number of appeals before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, including an en banc argument. From 1989 to 1995, Judge Boone was employed by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Trustee, handling civil matters associated with financial audits and bankruptcy litigation. During a portion of that time, Judge Boone attended evening law school and, as a student certified attorney, handled civil law and motion, discovery litigation and civil bench trials. Judge Boone is co-author of a chapter entitled “Disaster-Related Federal Crimes” for the Crisis Response and Related Litigation (2009 ed.) book, which is part of the U.S. Justice Department “Blue Book” series (practical “how to” books for prosecutors) and co-author on an article in the U.S. Attorney’s Bulletin on financial fraud entitled “Mortgage Fraud Working Group.” Judge Boone has traveled to other countries, including Russia, Bulgaria and India, to help assess, train and lecture judges, prosecutors and law enforcement officials in criminal prosecution. He was a frequent lecturer at the Justice Department’s training facilities in South Carolina, Washington, D.C. and elsewhere, teaching trial advocacy and a variety of white collar crime subject matters (mortgage, bankruptcy and bank fraud, money laundering and identity theft). He has spoken for a variety of federal agencies, including the Federal Reserve, HUD, Secret Service and FBI, and was also a frequent lecturer for other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies on topics involving Fourth and Fifth Amendment jurisprudence and substantive law. For his work, Judge Boone received commendations from FBI Directors Louis J. Freeh and Robert S. Mueller, III, Secret Service Directors W. Ralph Basham and Mark J. Sullivan and others. Judge Boone received his undergraduate degree at the University of California, Berkeley, majoring in Legal Studies with an Asian Studies minor. His undergraduate studies also included a concentration in business administration and accounting. He received his law degree at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, California, where he received the Valedictorian Award for his evening class, Order of the Coif, the Roger J. Traynor Honor Society and American Jurisprudence awards in Constitutional Law and Criminal Procedure. Judge Boone was a judicial law clerk to U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter A. Nowinski in Sacramento. He served as Federal Bar Association, San Joaquin Valley Chapter, President for part of 2009 and all of 2012. Judge Boone is an adjunct professor at San Joaquin College of Law in Fresno, and has taught courses in appellate moot court, federal courts and evidence. He is presently chair of the Eastern District of California’s Local Rules committee and serves as a member of the court’s Technology User Group. Judge Boone has extensive trial experience both as a litigator and a judge in both the civil and criminal arenas. To see more detailed information regarding his courtroom procedures, including trial, see the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California’s website (http://www.caed.uscourts.gov) under Judges; United States Magistrate Judge Stanley A. Boone (SAB) in the area entitled “Case Management Procedures” with links to “Standard Information”, “Courtroom Technology”, “Pre-Trial and Trial Procedures/ Deadlines”, “Jury Selection” and “Trial Conduct and Decorum” as well as other areas.