--- title: "Vince Girdhari Chhabria | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/vince-girdhari-chhabria" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-08" --- # Vince Girdhari Chhabria 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: active - Last verified: 2026-08-16 ## Summary Official judge-specific and circuitwide procedural guidance has been located for this profile. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, N.D. California, 2014-present - Law clerk, Hon. Stephen G. Breyer, Supreme Court of the United States, 2001-2002 - Law clerk, Hon. James R. Browning, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 1999-2000 - Law clerk, Hon. Charles R. Breyer, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, 1998-1999 ### Education - University of California, Berkeley School of Law - University of California, Santa Cruz ### Additional information - Private practice, San Francisco, CA, 2001-present - legislative assistant, Washington, D.C., 1995-present - deputy campaign manager, Petaluma, CA, 1994-present - campaign field coordinator, Petaluma, CA, 1992-present - co-chief of appellate litigation, 2011-2014 - Deputy city attorney for government litigation, San Francisco, CA, 2005-2014 - Private practice, San Francisco, CA, 2002-2004 - Lynn C. Woolsey, CA, 1992-1995 - legislative assistant, Washington, D.C., 1993-1994 - Date of birth: 1969-01-01 - Tamalpais High School - Staff member, U.S. Rep. - 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 ### filing format Scope: judge specific Judge Chhabria requires each PDF document to be text-searchable, may require digital courtesy copies on portable media, and requires proposed orders to be sent in Microsoft Word format. Evidence excerpt: Each PDF document must be text-searchable... The Court may at times order the parties to provide digital courtesy copies... on portable media... All proposed orders should be sent in Microsoft Word format [Judge Chhabria's Civil Standing Order](https://cand.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/standing-orders/VC-Civil-Standing-Order-2025-06-27.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/604/vince-girdhari-chhabria/) - [Courtroom Technology](https://cand.uscourts.gov/attorneys/courtroom-technology) - [Judge Chhabria's Civil Standing Order](https://cand.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/standing-orders/VC-Civil-Standing-Order-2025-06-27.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) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/604/vince-girdhari-chhabria/) - [Wikidata: Vince Girdhari Chhabria](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16198099) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/604/vince-girdhari-chhabria/) - [Wikidata: Vince Girdhari Chhabria](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16198099) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/vince-girdhari-chhabria", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/vince-girdhari-chhabria", "name": "Vince Girdhari Chhabria | KnowJudges", "description": "Vince Girdhari Chhabria, U.S. District Court for the Northern 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.