Autumn D. Spaeth at a glance
- Current role
- U.S. Magistrate Judge
- Jurisdiction
- California · Federal
- Judicial service
- Active
Autumn D. Spaeth
U.S. Magistrate Judge · U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
Service record and verification
Judicial service and assignments
- U.S. District Court for the Central District of California · U.S. Magistrate Judge · Active · Assignment source ↗
Appointment and verification
- Source authority
- Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
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Biography
Professional career
- Partner at Weiland, Golden, Smiley, Wang Ekvall & Strok LLP
- Previously a founding partner at Smiley Wang‐Ekvall LLP, specializing in business litigation and bankruptcy
Education
Additional information
- Magistrate, District Court, C.D. California, 2018-present
- Appointed June 15, 2018, succeeding Magistrate Judge Vijay C. Gandhi.
- Practitioner, Smiley Wang-Ekvall, LLP, 2014–2018-06
- J.D. — Univ. of Southern California — 2000
- M.A. — Univ. of Southern California — 2000 — Communications
- B.A. — Univ. of California, Los Angeles — 1996 — Political Science
- Practitioner, Weiland, Golden, Smiley, Wang, Ekvall & Strok, LLP
- Practitioner, McDermott, Will & Emery
- Recognized as a Southern California Rising Star and later a Super Lawyer.
- Serves in the Southern Division, Santa Ana.
- Early career at McDermott, Will & Emery focusing on business and IP litigation.
- focusing on insolvency and bankruptcy litigation.
- Board member of the Federal Bar Association (Orange County Chapter) and Association of Business Trial Lawyers.
- Judge Spaeth continues to serve as a magistrate judge with a background deeply rooted in business litigation, bankruptcy, and federal judicial service.
- held the role of Chair of the Ninth Circuit Conference Executive Committee and the Ninth Circuit Lawyer Representatives Coordinating Committee.
Applicable Court Rules & Procedures
Remote appearances
Courtwide
In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards.
For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location.Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court ↗
Recording and broadcasting
Courtwide
Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception.
Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom.Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited ↗
Published courtroom rules
Shared court rules
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, December 1, 2025
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
Civil actions in United States District Courts; Rule 81 exceptions apply. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule.
Official source ↗ · Collected 2026-10-27Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
Criminal proceedings in United States District Courts; this conservative mapping does not distribute appellate-specific provisions to appellate judges. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule.
Official source ↗ · Collected 2026-10-27Sources
Identity source checked July 29, 2026.
Biography sources checked August 2, 2026.
U.S. Courts judicial profile or roster
Identity source · HTML · Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts · Source checked July 29, 2026
View U.S. Courts judicial profile or roster ↗CourtListener judicial biographical directory
Identity source · HTML · CourtListener / Free Law Project · Source checked August 2, 2026
View CourtListener judicial biographical directory ↗Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court
Courtwide source · HTML · Supreme Court of the United States and Judicial Conference of the United States · Source checked July 26, 2026
View Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court ↗Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited
Courtwide source · HTML · Supreme Court of the United States and Judicial Conference of the United States · Source checked July 26, 2026
View Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited ↗CourtListener judicial biographical directory
Identity source · HTML · CourtListener / Free Law Project · Source checked August 2, 2026
View CourtListener judicial biographical directory ↗BR/MAG Judge Database: Autumn Dawn Spaeth
Identity source · HTML · University of Virginia School of Law Legal Data Lab · Source checked August 2, 2026
View BR/MAG Judge Database: Autumn Dawn Spaeth ↗