--- title: "Sherilyn Peace Garnett | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sherilyn-peace-garnett" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-08" --- # Sherilyn Peace Garnett U.S. District Court for the Central District of California · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Central 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 Los Angeles, 2014-present - Judge, Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, 2014-2022 - On December 15, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Garnett to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, filling the vacancy left by Judge Manuel L. Real - Justice pro tem, California Court of Appeal, Second District, 2016 - She primarily handled criminal cases, presiding over 30 trials and hundreds of motions, and also held the role of Justice Pro Tem on the California Court of Appeal in 2016. - Assistant U.S. attorney, Central District of California, 2001-2014; domestic terrorism coordinator, National Security Section, 2008-2011; deputy chief, General Crimes Section, 2011-2014; chief, General Crimes Section, 2014 - Assistant United States Attorney in the Central District of California, advancing to Domestic Terrorism Coordinator (2008–2011), Deputy Chief (2011–2014), and Chief of the General Crimes Section (2014) (2001–2014) - She then worked as a litigation associate at Arnold & Porter in Los Angeles (1999–2000) - Law clerk, Hon. Barry Ted Moskowitz, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, 1998-1999 - Began her career in private practice as a litigation associate at Altheimer & Gray in Chicago (1995–1998), followed by a law clerkship for Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California (1998–1999) ### Education - Harvard Law School in — J.D. (1995) - She obtained a Bachelor of Arts with honors from the University of California, Riverside in 1991 ### Additional information - She was confirmed by the Senate on April 27, 2022, by a 62-33 vote - received her commission on June 24, 2022. - In 2014, Garnett was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown to the Los Angeles County Superior Court, where she served until 2022. - Lecturer in law, University of Southern California Gould School of Law, 2008-2010 - Private practice, Los Angeles, California, 1999-2000 - Private practice, Chicago, Illinois, 1995-1998 - Sherilyn Rosa Lee Peace Garnett was born in 1969 in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. - Date of birth: 1969 - Judge Garnett emphasizes fairness, civility, and clarity in the courtroom. - Judge Garnett maintains detailed standing orders and procedural rules for her courtroom (Courtroom 5C, First Street Courthouse, Los Angeles). - During this period, she prosecuted complex federal cases, including national security and environmental extremism matters. - Judge Garnett has presided over high-profile federal cases, including sentencing a Thousand Oaks tax preparer to 27 months in federal prison for filing over 1,700 false tax returns. - She draws on her experience as a federal prosecutor and state judge to ensure impartial adjudication, clear communication with jurors and self-represented parties, and respect for all litigants. - She has also ruled on complex civil matters, such as dismissing lawsuits alleging tax-avoidance schemes. - She presides over cases in the Western Division in Los Angeles and handles a wide range of civil and criminal federal matters. - Birth place: Grand Cayman ## 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://apps.cacd.uscourts.gov/Jps/) - [Official roster](https://apps.cacd.uscourts.gov/Jps/) - [apps.cacd.uscourts.gov judicial profile or roster](https://apps.cacd.uscourts.gov/Jps/) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/13963/sherilyn-p-garnett/) - [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/13963/sherilyn-p-garnett/) - [Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett](https://www.fjc.gov/node/11871476) - [Wikidata: Sherilyn Peace Garnett](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110136838) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/13963/sherilyn-p-garnett/) - [Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett](https://www.fjc.gov/node/11871476) - [Wikidata: Sherilyn Peace Garnett](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110136838) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sherilyn-peace-garnett", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sherilyn-peace-garnett", "name": "Sherilyn Peace Garnett | KnowJudges", "description": "Sherilyn Peace Garnett, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. 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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.