--- title: "Autumn D. Spaeth | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/autumn-d-spaeth-california-us-magistrate" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-08" --- # Autumn D. Spaeth U.S. District Court for the Central District of California · U.S. Magistrate Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Central District of California - State: California - Role: U.S. Magistrate Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-29 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## 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. ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### civil remote testimony Scope: 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. Evidence excerpt: 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](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### criminal recording and broadcasting Scope: 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. Evidence excerpt: 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](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=93) - [Official roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=93) - [U.S. Courts judicial profile or roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=93) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9066/autumn-d-spaeth/) - [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) - [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9066/autumn-d-spaeth/) - [BR/MAG Judge Database: Autumn Dawn Spaeth](https://legaldatalab.law.virginia.edu/brmag-judges/brmag-judges.json) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9066/autumn-d-spaeth/) - [BR/MAG Judge Database: Autumn Dawn Spaeth](https://legaldatalab.law.virginia.edu/brmag-judges/brmag-judges.json) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/autumn-d-spaeth-california-us-magistrate", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/autumn-d-spaeth-california-us-magistrate", "name": "Autumn D. 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Spaeth", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/autumn-d-spaeth-california-us-magistrate" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 76 | 26 | 1.4 | 26 | | 2y | 160 | 82 | 2.6 | 82 | | 5y | 341 | 261 | 3.6 | 261 | | 10y | 471 | 391 | 6.6 | 391 | Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/ ## Published courtroom rules ### Shared court rules - [Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-651872d6e45e0d82319ecccc) — 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](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27. - [Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-8721a344fececced2257fe1d) — 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](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.