
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 2, 2001 and January 28, 2002]
[CITE: 28USC84]

 
               TITLE 28--JUDICIARY AND JUDICIAL PROCEDURE
 
                     PART I--ORGANIZATION OF COURTS
 
                       CHAPTER 5--DISTRICT COURTS
 
Sec. 84. California

    California is divided into four judicial districts to be known as 
the Northern, Eastern, Central, and Southern Districts of California.

                            Northern District

    (a) The Northern District comprises the counties of Alameda, Contra 
Costa, Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake Marin, Mendocino, Monterey, Napa, San 
Benito, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Sonoma.

            Court for the Northern District shall be held at Eureka, 
                          Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose.

                            Eastern District

    (b) The Eastern District comprises the counties of Alpine, Amador, 
Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Inyo, Kern, Kings, 
Lassen, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, 
Sacramento, San Joaquin, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Stanislaus, 
Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Yolo, and Yuba.

        Court for the Eastern District shall be held at Fresno, Redding, 
                                     and Sacramento.

                            Central District

    (c) The Central District comprises 3 divisions.

        (1) The Eastern Division comprises the counties of Riverside and 
                                     San Bernardino.

        Court for the Eastern Division shall be held at a suitable site 
                in the city of Riverside, the city of San Bernardino, or 
                 not more than 5 miles from the boundary of either such 
                                          city.

        (2) The Western Division comprises the counties of Los Angeles, 
                      San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura.

          Court for the Western Division shall be held at Los Angeles.

               (3) The Southern Division comprises Orange County.

           Court for the Southern Division shall be held at Santa Ana.

                            Southern District

    (d) The Southern District comprises the counties of Imperial and San 
Diego.

           Court for the Southern District shall be held at San Diego.

(June 25, 1948, ch. 646, 62 Stat. 875; Pub. L. 89-372, Sec. 3(a), Mar. 
18, 1966, 80 Stat. 75; Pub. L. 96-462, Sec. 2, Oct. 15, 1980, 94 Stat. 
2053; Pub. L. 102-357, Sec. 2, Aug. 26, 1992, 106 Stat. 958.)


                      Historical and Revision Notes

    Based on title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Sec. 145 and section 76 of 
title 16, Conservation (Mar. 3, 1911, ch. 231, Sec. 72, 36 Stat. 1107; 
May 16, 1916, ch. 122, 39 Stat. 122; June 2, 1920, ch. 218, Sec. 2, 41 
Stat. 731; Mar. 1, 1929, ch. 421, 45 Stat. 1424).
    A provision relating to the place for maintenance of a clerk's 
office, and requiring such office to be kept open at all times, was 
omitted as covered by sections 452 and 751 of this title.
    Changes in arrangement and phraseology were made.


                               Amendments

    1992--Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 102-357 amended subsec. (c) generally. 
Prior to amendment, subsec. (c) read as follows: ``The Central District 
comprises the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San 
Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura.
    ``Court for the Central District shall be held at Los Angeles and 
                Santa Ana.''
    1980--Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 96-462 inserted ``and Santa Ana'' after 
``at Los Angeles''.
    1966--Pub. L. 89-372 expanded the number of judicial districts in 
California from two to four by creating an Eastern and a Central 
District in addition to the existing Northern and Southern Districts, 
removed the provisions separating the Northern and Southern Districts 
into divisions, transferred to the newly created Eastern Division the 
counties of Alpine, Almador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, 
Lassen, Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Joaquin, 
Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, 
Tuolumne, Yolo, and Yuba from the Northern District and Fresno, Inyo 
Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, and Tulare from the Southern 
District, transferred to the newly created Central District the counties 
of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Louis Obispo, 
Santa Barbara, and Ventura from the Southern District, substituted 
Eureka, Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose for Eureka, Sacramento, and 
San Francisco as places for holding court for the Northern District, 
removed Fresno and Los Angeles from the list of places for holding court 
for the Southern District leaving San Diego as the only place for 
holding of court in the Southern District, and provided for the holding 
of court in Los Angeles for the Central District and in Fresno, Redding, 
and Sacramento for the Eastern District.


                    Effective Date of 1992 Amendment

    Section 3 of Pub. L. 102-357 provided that:
    ``(a) In General.--This Act [amending this section and enacting 
provisions set out below] and the amendments made by this Act shall take 
effect 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act [Aug. 26, 
1992].
    ``(b) Pending Cases Not Affected.--This Act and the amendments made 
by this Act shall not affect any action commenced before the effective 
date of this Act and pending in the United States District Court for the 
Central District of California on such date.
    ``(c) Juries Not Affected.--This Act and the amendments made by this 
Act shall not affect the composition, or preclude the service, of any 
grand or petit jury summoned, empaneled, or actually serving in the 
Central Judicial District of California on the effective date of this 
Act.''


           Effective Date of 1980 Amendment; Savings Provision

    Section 7 of Pub. L. 96-462 provided that:
    ``(a) This Act and the amendments made by this Act [amending this 
section and sections 95, 105, 113, and 124 of this title and enacting 
provisions set out as notes under this section and sections 95, 105, and 
113 of this title] shall take effect on October 1, 1981.
    ``(b) Nothing in this Act shall affect the composition or preclude 
the service of any grand or petit juror summoned, empaneled, or actually 
serving in any judicial district on the effective date of this Act [Oct. 
1, 1981].''


                    Effective Date of 1966 Amendment

    Section 3(i) of Pub. L. 89-372 provided that: ``The provisions of 
this section [amending this section and enacting provisions set out as a 
note under this section and section 133 of this title] shall become 
effective six months after the date of enactment of this Act [Mar. 18, 
1966].''


Congressional Findings Concerning Creation of Three Divisions in Central 
                                District

    Section 1 of Pub. L. 102-357 provided that: ``The Congress makes the 
following findings:
        ``(1) The Federal Government has the responsibility to provide 
    quality services which are readily accessible to the people it 
    serves.
        ``(2) The court facilities in the Central Judicial District of 
    California are presently inadequate, and current and projected 
    growth exacerbates the problem.
        ``(3) The population demographics of southern California have 
    changed dramatically over the last decade, as the center of 
    population shifts inland. Between 1980 and 1990, the population of 
    Riverside County increased 76.5 percent, and San Bernardino County's 
    population increased 58.5 percent, to a combined population of 
    2,600,000.
        ``(4) In the next 15 years, the population in Riverside and San 
    Bernardino Counties is expected to increase again by 70 percent, and 
    67 percent, respectively. By the year 2005, Riverside and San 
    Bernardino Counties will have 4,400,000 residents.
        ``(5) As a result of the population growth, the freeways 
    connecting the Pacific coast and the inland areas are tremendously 
    overburdened, and Federal offices along the coast are no longer 
    accessible to the residents of Riverside and San Bernardino 
    Counties.
        ``(6) The creation of 3 divisions in the Central Judicial 
    District of California is urgently needed to provide for the 
    delivery of judicial services to all areas and all residents of the 
    Central Judicial District of California.''


 Study of Judicial Business in Central District, California and Eastern 
  District, New York and Recommendations for Creation of New Judicial 
                                Districts

    Pub. L. 95-573, Sec. 5, Nov. 2, 1978, 92 Stat. 2458, required the 
Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts to 
conduct a study of the judicial business of the Central District of 
California and the Eastern District of New York, within one year of Nov. 
2, 1978, and to make recommendations to Congress with respect to the 
need for creation of new judicial districts.


Creation of Eastern and Central Districts: Transfer of District Judges; 
 Transfer and Appointment of United States Attorneys and United States 
                                Marshals

    Section 3(b)-(g) of Pub. L. 89-372 provided that:
    ``(b) The two district judges for the northern district of 
California holding office on the day before the effective date of this 
section [see Effective Date of 1966 Amendment note above] and whose 
official station is Sacramento shall, on and after such date, be 
district judges for the eastern district of California. All other 
district judges for the northern district of California holding office 
on the day before the effective date of this section shall, on and after 
such date, be district judges for the northern district of California.
    ``(c) The district judge for the southern district of California, 
residing in the northern division thereof and holding office on the day 
before the effective date of this section [see Effective Date of 1966 
Amendment note above], shall, on and after such date, be a district 
judge for the eastern district of California. The two district judges 
for the southern district of California holding office on the day before 
the effective date of this section [see Effective Date of 1966 Amendment 
note above], and whose official station is San Diego shall, on and after 
such date, be the district judges for the southern district of 
California. All other district judges for the southern district of 
California holding office on the day before the effective date of this 
section shall, on and after such date, be district judges for the 
central district of California.
    ``(d) Nothing in this Act [amending this section and sections 44 and 
133 of this title and enacting provisions set out as notes under this 
section and sections 44 and 133 of this title] shall in any manner 
affect the tenure of office of the United States attorney and the United 
States marshal for the northern district of California who are in office 
on the effective date of this section [see Effective Date of 1966 
Amendment note above], and who shall be during the remainder of their 
present terms of office the United States attorney and marshal for such 
district as constituted by this Act.
    ``(e) Nothing in this Act [amending this section and sections 44 and 
133 of this title and enacting provisions set out as notes under this 
section and sections 44 and 133 of this title] shall in any manner 
affect the tenure of office of the United States attorney and the United 
States marshal for the southern district of California who are in office 
on the effective date of this section, and who shall be during the 
remainder of their present terms of office the United States attorney 
and marshal for the central district of California.
    ``(f) The President shall appoint, by and with the advice and 
consent of the Senate, a United States attorney and a United States 
marshal for the southern district of California.
    ``(g) The President shall appoint, by and with the advice and 
consent of the Senate, a United States attorney and a United States 
marshal for the eastern district of California.''
