Percy Anderson (judge)

Percy Anderson
Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California
Incumbent
Assumed office May 1, 2002
Appointed by	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Kim McLane Wardlaw
Personal details
Born	(1948-07-31) July 31, 1948 Long Beach, California
Alma mater	University of California, Los Angeles (B.A, J.D)

Percy Anderson (born July 31, 1948) is a California federal judge. Anderson currently sits on the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

Early life and education

Anderson was born in Long Beach, California, and received an A.B. from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1970, followed by a J.D. from the same institution in 1975.

Career

Anderson was a directing attorney for San Fernando Valley Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc., from 1975 to 1978, and was a lecturer at UCLA in 1977 and 1978. From 1979 to 1985, he was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Central District of California. From 1985 to 1996, Anderson was a partner at Bryan Cave. Until his appointment to the District Court, Anderson worked at Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal.

Judicial service

Anderson was nominated by President George W. Bush on January 23, 2002, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Central District of California vacated by Kim McLane Wardlaw. Anderson was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 25, 2002, and received his commission on May 1, 2002.

Controversy

In 2006, Anderson was removed from a wrongful conviction lawsuit case by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Lawyers for the plaintiff, a man who had spent twelve years in prison on a rape conviction but was later cleared by DNA evidence, had complained that Anderson was biased against the plaintiff. On the day Anderson declared a mistrial (due to a deadlocked jury), a three judge panel from the Ninth Circuit ruled that due to Anderson's actions during the case his "impartiality might be questioned" and that the case should be expediently retried before another judge.

In 2008, the Ninth Circuit overturned a trial Anderson presided over, ruling that Anderson should have disqualified himself due to his stock holdings in a corporation alleged to be a part of fraudulent business activities in the case.

In a 2011 Los Angeles Times article, Anderson was criticized for extensive delays in reviewing writs of habeas corpus. In particular, Anderson is alleged to refuse to rule upon writs in which junior judicial officials have found merit to a finding in favor of prisoner release; three cases have "languished unattended" in "years-long inaction"—these three cases waiting five years or more for rulings from Anderson. Legal experts have said that the delays are "highly unusual" and critics have asserted that Anderson's handling of these cases is concerning and may warrant a misconduct inquiry.

Sources

• Percy Anderson at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.