--- title: "Cormac J. Carney | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/cormac-j-carney" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Cormac J. Carney U.S. District Court for the Central District of California · U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Central District of California - State: California - Role: U.S. District Judge - Service status: senior - Last verified: 2026-08-16 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - American judge, currently a Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California, having assumed senior status on May 31, 2024 - Judge, District Court, C.D. California, 2003-present ### Education - B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1983, followed by a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1987. - United States Air Force Academy ### Additional information - Chief Judge: held the role of Chief Judge from June to July 2020. - On January 7, 2003, President George W. Bush nominated Carney to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, a seat vacated by Carlos R. Moreno Federal Judicial Center. - He was confirmed by the Senate on April 7, 2003, and began service on April 9, 2003. - In 2001, California Governor Gray Davis appointed him to the Orange County Superior Court, serving until 2003. - Private practice, California, 1987-2001 - Carney was born May 6, 1959, in Detroit, Michigan, to Irish immigrant parents, both physicians. - Date of birth: 1959-01-01 - Practiced law in Los Angeles for four years at Latham & Watkins and for eleven years at O’Melveny &. - He also attended the U.S. Air Force Academy for one year before transferring to UCLA. - Birth place: Detroit, MI ## 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.fjc.gov/node/1391806) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1391806) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1391806) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/541/cormac-j-carney/) - [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/541/cormac-j-carney/) - [Wikidata: Cormac J. Carney](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5170934) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/cormac-j-carney", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/cormac-j-carney", "name": "Cormac J. Carney | KnowJudges", "description": "Cormac J. Carney, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-09", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/cormac-j-carney#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/cormac-j-carney#judge", "name": "Cormac J. 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Carney", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/cormac-j-carney" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 0 | 0 | Not available | 0 | | 2y | 0 | 0 | Not available | 0 | | 5y | 1099 | 1097 | 3 | 1097 | | 10y | 4042 | 4039 | 3.1 | 4039 | 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.