Ben Wagner was confirmed Friday as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California. At the EDCA conference this weekend, Wagner stressed an increased emphasis on the prosecution of mortgage fraud and other financial crimes.
Civil AUSA Ken Newman was selected this past week to be the new U.S. Magistrate Judge in Sacramento, pending the required FBI background check. The selection process continues for the new Fresno and Yosemite magistrate judges.
Chief Judge Ishii's op-ed in today's Sacramento Bee calls for Congress to create more EDCA district judge slots to help meet the district's crushing caseloads, which at 1095 weighted case filings per authorized district judge is the highest in the nation.
And court calendars for this upcoming week show civil trials starting up before Judges Burrell and O'Neill and trials continuing from last week before Judges Shubb (criminal--drugs) and Wanger (civil).