--- title: "Michelle M Pettit | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/michelle-m-pettit-california-us-magistrate" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-08" --- # Michelle M Pettit U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California · U.S. Magistrate Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern 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. ## 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=96) - [Official roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=96) - [U.S. Courts judicial profile or roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=96) - [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) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/michelle-m-pettit-california-us-magistrate", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/michelle-m-pettit-california-us-magistrate", "name": "Michelle M Pettit | KnowJudges", "description": "Michelle M Pettit, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. 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Pettit is a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of California, appointed on July 24, 2023 to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of Judge Mitchell Dembin - From 2008 to 2023, Pettit was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of California, primarily in the National Security and Cybercrimes Section - Senior Trial Counsel and head of Command Services Department (2004–2007) - Served in the U.S. Navy — 1994–2007 as a Surface Warfare Officer, including two Persian Gulf deployments on Navy destroyers - Reserve appellate defense counsel, Reserve Executive Officer, and Chief Trial Judge ### Education - Vanderbilt University Law School, inducted into the Order of the Coif and serving as Managing Editor of the Vanderbilt Law Review — J.D. (2001) - with distinction — United States Naval Academy — B.S. (1994) ### Additional information - Deputy Chief of Intake, coordinating initial processing of new reactive cases (2019–2022) - Assistant Legal Counsel (2001–2004) - Based in San Diego and has extensive legal, prosecutorial, and military service - Honorably discharged as Lieutenant Commander and later achieved the rank of Captain in the Navy Reserve - As a Magistrate Judge, Pettit presides over federal cases in the Southern District of California, including preliminary hearings, motions, and certain trials - She was selected through the merit selection process of the Judicial Conference of the United States, meeting bar membership and vetting requirements - San Diego County Bar Association ## 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.