--- title: "Charles R. Breyer | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/charles-r-breyer" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-08" --- # Charles R. Breyer U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California · U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California - State: California - Role: U.S. District Judge - Service status: senior - Last verified: 2026-08-16 ## Summary Official judge-specific and circuitwide procedural guidance has been located for this profile. ## Biography ### Professional career - Assistant district attorney, City and County of San Francisco, CA, 1979-present - Judge, District Court, N.D. California, 1997-2011 - Charles Roberts Breyer is a senior United States district judge for the Northern District of California, appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1997 and former chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission - Assistant district attorney, City and County of San Francisco, CA, 1967-1973 - Law clerk, Hon. Oliver Carter, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, 1966-1967 - The younger brother of former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer - Charles Roberts Breyer is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California - Federal Judicial Service: Judge, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ### Education - University of California, Berkeley — J.D. (1966) - Harvard University — B.A. (1963) - Harvard College ### Additional information - Vice chair, U.S. Sentencing Commission, 2013-present - chief assistant, 1979-present - Counsel, Legal Aid Society of San Francisco California, 1967-present - Private practice, San Francisco, CA, 1980-1997 - Private practice, San Francisco, CA, 1974-1979 - Assistant special prosecutor, Watergate Special Prosecution Force, 1973-1974 - Born November 3, 1941. - Born 1941 in San Francisco, CA. - Date of birth: 1941-01-01 - A former San Francisco prosecutor and Watergate Special Prosecution Force attorney, he is known for high-profile cases including the Volkswagen emissions settlement and rulings on California National Guard federalization. - Birth place: San Francisco, CA ## 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 ### trial exhibits Scope: judge specific For civil bench trials, Judge Breyer requires a joint final-pretrial order with a numerical joint exhibit list, including a description, offered-and-received columns, and use limitations; counsel must meet in person on exhibit numbers and objections before the conference. Evidence excerpt: the parties shall meet and confer and prepare a joint proposed final pretrial order that contains ... a joint exhibit list in numerical order, including a brief description of the exhibit, a column for when it is offered in evidence, a column for when it is received in evidence, and a column for any limitations on its use ... Prior to the final pretrial conference, counsel must meet and confer in person over all exhibit numbers and objections. [Guidelines for Civil Bench Trials Before the Honorable Charles R. Breyer](https://cand.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/standing-orders/CRB-Civil-BenchTrial-StandingOrder-7-29-2025.pdf) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### courtroom technology Scope: judge specific Judge Breyer publishes that the courtroom supports evidence presentation; additional equipment requires a court order for courthouse entry and coordination with the courtroom deputy on layout. Evidence excerpt: The Courtroom is set up with equipment that allows evidence presentation. If additional equipment is necessary, the United States Marshal requires a court order to allow equipment into the courthouse. Please work with Lashanda Scott ... on courtroom-layout issues. [Guidelines for Civil Bench Trials Before the Honorable Charles R. Breyer](https://cand.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/standing-orders/CRB-Civil-BenchTrial-StandingOrder-7-29-2025.pdf) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### technology walkthrough Scope: courtwide The Northern District of California publishes guidance advising counsel to fully test their equipment and schedule a courtroom visit to test it before the proceeding. Evidence excerpt: The court highly recommends that counsel be familiar their equipment and fully test prior to using anything in the courtroom. ... schedule a visit in the courtroom to test everything before the proceeding. [Courtroom Technology](https://cand.uscourts.gov/attorneys/courtroom-technology) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### specialized evidence software Scope: courtwide For e-evidence requiring specialized software, the Northern District of California publishes a process for at least two business days' advance notice through the Courtroom Deputy and approval by the judge and Court IT. Evidence excerpt: at least two (2) business days advance notice, counsel may request via the Courtroom Deputy that the specialized software be loaded by counsel prior to use of the system. If the judge and the court’s IT Department approve... [Courtroom Technology](https://cand.uscourts.gov/attorneys/courtroom-technology) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### 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.cand.uscourts.gov/judges/) - [Official roster](https://www.cand.uscourts.gov/judges/) - [cand.uscourts.gov judicial profile or roster](https://www.cand.uscourts.gov/judges/) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/383/charles-r-breyer/) - [Courtroom Technology](https://cand.uscourts.gov/attorneys/courtroom-technology) - [Guidelines for Civil Bench Trials Before the Honorable Charles R. Breyer](https://cand.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/standing-orders/CRB-Civil-BenchTrial-StandingOrder-7-29-2025.pdf) - [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) - [Federal Judicial Center — Biographical Directory of Federal Judges](https://www.fjc.gov/sites/default/files/history/judges.csv) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/383/charles-r-breyer/) - [Wikidata: Charles R. Breyer](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5081816) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/383/charles-r-breyer/) - [Wikidata: Charles R. Breyer](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5081816) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/charles-r-breyer", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/charles-r-breyer", "name": "Charles R. Breyer | KnowJudges", "description": "Charles R. Breyer, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-08", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/charles-r-breyer#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/charles-r-breyer#judge", "name": "Charles R. 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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.