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David O. Carter

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The Honorable
David O. Carter
Judge for the United States District Court for the Central District of California
Incumbent
Assumed office
October 22, 1998
Nominated byBill Clinton
Preceded byWilliam J. Rea
Personal details
BornMarch 28, 1944
Providence, Rhode Island

David O. Carter (born 1944 in Providence, Rhode Island) is a United States District Court Judge for the Central District of California.

Biography

Carter is a "Double Bruin," having received both his bachelor's degree (B.A. 1967) and his law degree (J.D. 1972) from the University of California, Los Angeles. Carter graduated cum laude and was a candidate for the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship in 1967.

After graduating from college, Carter enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He was promptly dispatched into service in Vietnam during the Vietnam War where he fought in the Battle of Khe Sahn in 1968. Carter was released as a First Lieutenant following his service in Vietnam. His military awards and decorations include a Bronze Star Medal and a Purple Heart.

Carter began his legal career as an Assistant District Attorney with the Orange County District Attorney's Office in 1972 where he became the senior deputy district attorney in charge of the office's homicide division. As a prosecutor, Carter was the initial prosecutor and filed charges in the case of serial killer William Bonin, also known as "The Freeway Killer," who became the first person executed by lethal injection in California in 1996.

In addition to his judicial functions, Carter now performs a wide array of speaking engagements. He has lectured fellow judges through the California Judges College, the Judicial Criminal Law Institute, and the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference. He also speaks frequently with judges abroad, including past engagements in Brazil, Bosnia, China, The Philipines, and Malawi. Carter finally teaches an undergraduate course on the international narcotics trade at the University of California, Irvine, where he has three times received the school's Distinguished Professors Award, and has taught with the Whittier Law School's Summer Abroad Program.

Judicial Career

Orange County Superior Court

In 1981, Carter joined the bench as a Municipal Court Judge in Orange County, California. One year later, he became an Orange County Superior Judge, a position that he held until joining the federal judiciary in 1998. Carter initiated a variety of programs to assist in the rehabilitation of convicted felons, including a tattoo removal program for gang members, and was active in planning the county's Law Day festivities. He earned the nickname "King David" from attorneys while serving as the Supervising Judge of the court's Criminal Division.

United States District Court

Carter was nominated by President Bill Clinton on June 25, 1998 to fill a seat vacated by William J. Rea, and received confirmation from the United States Senate on October 21, 1998.[1] He now sits in the Southern Division of the Central District of Calfornia in Orange County, California. His courtroom deputy clerk is Kristee Hopkins.[2]

As a jurist, Carter is known for his acute intellect, courteous judicial demeanor, tireless work ethic, and expertise in complex criminal litigation.[3] Although he is assigned to the Central District of California, Carter also regularly sits by designation in the District of Idaho and on occasion with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and in the District of Guam.

Law Clerks

Since joining the federal bench, Carter has hired two term law clerks per year. Carter's clerks start on staggered dates, such that one starts in August and the other starts in October.

Term August October
1998-1999 Thomas J. Noguerola Robert W. Mockler
1999-2000 Lisa M. Greenwald Kevin Deeley
2000-2001 Rebecca S. Engrav Catherine D. Whiting
2001-2002 Lee K. Fink Wendy C. Houle
2002-2003 Matthew V. Johnson Michelle S. Mehta
2003-2004 James P. Fellers Bonita D. Moore
2004-2005 Marissa W. Grimes Khaldoun "Kal" Shobaki
2005-2006 Lisa Ells Darren S. Teshima
2006-2007 Douglas J. Brown Alyssa M.Q. Soares

Notable cases

Gay-Straight Alliance (Colin ex rel. Colin v. Orange Unified School District)

In the first ruling of its kind, Carter issued a preliminary injunction in 2000 ordering Orange County public school officials to allow a Gay-Straight Alliance club organized by students to meet on campus. In so doing, Carter held that the Equal Access Act, 20 U.S.C. §§ 4071-4074, requires a public high school that accepts federal funding and established a limited open forum for non-curriculum-related student groups must allow a student group promoting tolerance for homosexual persons to meet on campus.[4]

The case settled after Carter issued the injunction, with the school board agreeing to recognize the Gay-Straight Alliance organization. Although the case was politically controversial, Orange County School Board member Linda Davis later admitted at a board meeting on November 18, 2000 that Carter's legal ruling was correct when she stated, "We know the law is on their side, but our community members don't want it."[5]

Mexican Mafia Trials (United States v. Fernandez, et al.)

Between 2000 and 2001, Carter presided over the longest criminal trial in the history of the Central District of California.[6] This case involved the prosecution of more than forty alleged members of the Mexican Mafia on charges of murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to murder, extortion, robbery, and various drug trafficking and firearms crimes. Much of the case involved a triple homicide that occurred in 1998.[7]

The case was severed into three trials, with Carter presiding over each, and lasted for a combined 18 months. Following the conviction of Mariano "Chuy" Martinez on murder charges, the prosecution sough the death penalty, making it the first capital case to be tried in Los Angeles federal court since 1950.[8] A jury ultimately spared Martinez, sentencing him instead to life imprisonment.

Anna Nicole Smith (In re Marshall)

In 2002, Carter awarded over $88 million in damages to former Playmate Vickie Lynn Marshall, better known as Anna Nicole Smith, in the battle over the estate of her late husband, billionaire J. Howard Marshall. The case came to Carter on appeal following a federal bankruptcy court ruling that awarded Smith $475 million of her late husband's $1.6 billion fortune.

Carter ultimately concluded that Howard's son, E. Pierce Marshall, interfered with Smith's attempts to collect her inheritance. "The evidence of willfulness, maliciousness, and fraud is overwhelming," Carter wrote in his 54-page opinion.[9] Upon finding that Smith had a reasonable expectation that she would receive a portion of her husband's estate without interference, Carter held that Smith was entitled to collect $44.3 million in punitive damages and $44.3 million in compensatory damages against Pierce Marshall.[10]

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated Carter's order on the grounds that he lacked jurisdiction to hear the case because federal jurisdiction interfered with Texas probate court proceedings.[11] The Supreme Court of the United States reversed the Ninth Circuit, concluding in a unanimous opinion that Carter properly exercised jurisdiction over Smith's claim and remanded the case for further proceedings.[12] With this jurisdictional issue resolved, the case is now currently pending before the Ninth Circuit on substantive issues.

Aryan Brotherhood Trials (United States v. Mills, et al.)

Carter has been heavily involved in the proceedings arising from the 2002 indictment on racketeering charges of forty alleged members of the Aryan Brotherhood ("AB"), a notorious prison gang.[13] This indictment alleges that the AB ordered thirty-two murders over a twenty-three year period and charges forty-one AB gang members and associates with violations of the federal RICO Act.[14] Twenty-six defendants were eligible for the death penalty, making this the largest capital indictment in federal history.[15]

Twenty of the defendants charged in the indictment were assigned to Carter, including two of the three commissioners of the AB's federal faction, Barry "The Baron" Mills and Tyler "The Hulk" Bingham. Following a six-month trial, a jury convicted both Mills and Bingham of committing Violent Crimes in Aid of Racketeering (VICAR) and murder. The jury deadlocked on the death penalty,[16] and both have been sentenced and are now serving life terms at ADX Florence, the federal system's sole supermax facility.

The trials of several remaining defendants are currently ongoing before Carter and other judges in the Central District of California.

References

  1. ^ Federal Judicial Center, David O. Carter, retrieved 2007-06-22
  2. ^ Judges' Procedures and Schedules: Hon. David O. Carter, FJC, retrieved 2007-06-22
  3. ^ Almanac of the Federal Judiciary, New York: Aspen Law & Business, 2006
  4. ^ Colin ex rel. Colin v. Orange Unified School District, 83 F. Supp. 2d 1135 (C.D. Cal. 2000).
  5. ^ Dowling-Sendor, Benjamin (July 2000), "Equal Access Means Equal", American School Board Journal{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  6. ^ United States v. Fernandez, et al., 172 F. Supp. 2d 1252 (C.D. Cal. 2001).
  7. ^ Rosenzweig, David (November 10, 2001), "Jury Convicts 3, Clears 2 in Mexican Mafia Case", Los Angeles Times{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  8. ^ Rosenzweig, David (February 15, 2001), "Mexican Mafia Figure Convicted of 3 Murders", Los Angeles Times{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  9. ^ In re Marshall, 275 B.R. 5, 57 (C.D. Cal. 2002).
  10. ^ Hylton, Hilary (February 16, 2007), "Anna Nicole Smith's Legal Afterlife", Time{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  11. ^ In re Marshall, 392 F.3d 1118 (9th Cir. 2004).
  12. ^ Marshall v. Marshall, 547 U.S. 293 (U.S. 2006).
  13. ^ McDonald, John (March 13, 2006), "Members of Prison Gang Go on Trial", Orange County Register{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  14. ^ United States v. Barry Byron Mills, et al., CR 02-0938 (C.D. Cal. 2002).
  15. ^ Duersten, Matthew (February 3, 2005), "Who'll Stop the Reign?", LA Weekly{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  16. ^ Associated Press (September 15, 2006), "2 Aryan Inmates Spared Death Penalty", CBS News{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
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