SENATE CONFIRMS EX-PROSECUTOR AS FEDERAL JUDGE FOR SOUTHERN DISTRICT
Huie gets nod; court serves San Diego, Imperial counties
The Senate on Thursday confirmed another of President Joe Biden’s picks for federal judge in San Diego: Robert Huie, a former prosecutor now in private practice.
Confirmed by a vote of 5146, Huie is the fourth judge to be named by Biden to the Southern District of California court, a busy jurisdiction that serves both San Diego and Imperial counties.
He replaces U.S. District Judge Michael Anello, who took senior status — a partially retired position — in 2018. Federal judges are appointed for life.
“Rob Huie is an exceptional choice,” Chief District Judge Dana Sabraw said in a statement Thursday. “He’s an exceptionally kind, gracious and warm person. He has both sterling credentials and a well-rounded criminal and civil practice background, as a former federal prosecutor and white collar defense attorney at Jones Day. He is well known in our District and highly respected.”
Huie worked as an assistant U.S. attorney in San Diego from 2008 to 2020, specializing in major fraud and public corruption cases.
He helped lead the early prosecution against Leonard Glenn Francis — the military contractor better known as “Fat Leonard,” who was at the center of a massive bribery scandal within the Navy. Twenty-nine people, including Francis and several naval officers, and his corporation have pleaded guilty since the prosecution began in 2013. Five former officers indicted late in the case, in 2017, are currently on trial.
Huie went on a special assignment in North Africa and Eastern Europe for the Department of Justice from 2015 to 2018. He worked at U.S. embassies on counterterrorism and money-laundering cases, as well as public policy and international agreements. He also trained foreign officials working in justice and finance in various countries.
Huie joined Jones Day, a prominent private firm, in 2020. There, he was a member of the firm’s Investigations and White Collar Defense Practice Group and also the chair of the San Diego office’s Diversity, Inclusion and Advancement Committee.
Huie received his bachelor’s degree from Calvin College and graduated from Yale Law School in 2002. He began his legal career at two firms, Latham & Watkins and Wiggin and Dana. He also clerked for Judge José A. Cabranes on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Biden’s three other confirmed nominees — Linda Lopez, Jinsook Ohta and Ruth Montenegro — already had judicial experience, working either as federal magistrate or Superior Court judges before joining the district bench. The president has yet to name three additional nominees to bring the court up to its full complement of 13 judges.