---
title: "Daniel Joe Powell Calabretta | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/daniel-joe-powell-calabretta"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-08"
---

# Daniel Joe Powell Calabretta

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California · Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
- State: California
- Role: Judge
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-08-16

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Biography

### Professional career

- Judge, Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento, 2019-present
- United States district judge for the Eastern District of California, appointed by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on February 16, 2023
- Judge, Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento, 2019-2023; presiding judge, Juvenile Court, 2022-2023
- State Court Service: Judge, Sacramento County Superior Court (2019–2023)
- Government Service: Deputy Attorney General, California Department of Justice (2008–2013) Deputy Legal Affairs Secretary, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr.’s office (2013–2019)
- Deputy attorney general, State of California, 2008-2013
- Private Practice: Associate at Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, San Francisco (2005–2008)
- Law clerk, Hon. John Paul Stevens, Supreme Court of the United States, 2004-2005
- Law clerk, Hon. William A. Fletcher, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 2003-2004

### Education

- University of Chicago Law School — J.D. (2003)
- Princeton University — B.A. (2000)

### Additional information

- Commission: Issued February 21, 2023
- Confirmation: Senate vote 51–45 on February 16, 2023
- Appointment: Nominated August 1, 2022, to replace John A. Mendez, who assumed senior status in April 2022
- Private practice, San Francisco, California, 2005-2008
- Law Clerkships: Hon. William A. Fletcher, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (2003–2004) Hon. John Paul Stevens, U.S. Supreme Court (2004–2005)
- Born 1978 in Union City, Tennessee.
- Date of birth: 1978
- Deputy legal affairs secretary, Gov.
- Birth place: Union City

## 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.caed.uscourts.gov/caednew/index.cfm/judges/all-judges/)
- [Official roster](https://www.caed.uscourts.gov/caednew/index.cfm/judges/all-judges/)
- [caed.uscourts.gov judicial profile or roster](https://www.caed.uscourts.gov/caednew/index.cfm/judges/all-judges/)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/14336/daniel-joe-powell-calabretta/)
- [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/14336/daniel-joe-powell-calabretta/)
- [Judge Daniel Joe Powell Calabretta](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13268821)
- [Wikidata: Daniel Calabretta](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q113337077)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/14336/daniel-joe-powell-calabretta/)
- [Judge Daniel Joe Powell Calabretta](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13268821)
- [Wikidata: Daniel Calabretta](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q113337077)

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## Federal civil docket activity

Dataset updated through 2026-06-30.

| Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| 1y | 1003 | 276 | 0.2 | 276 |
| 2y | 1408 | 444 | 0.5 | 444 |
| 5y | 1959 | 853 | 3.6 | 853 |
| 10y | 1959 | 853 | 3.6 | 853 |

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.
