On March 7, 2023, the U.S. Senate confirmed U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew G. Schopler as a U.S. district judge for the Southern District of California. Judge Schopler fills the seat formerly held by Judge Larry Alan Burns, who took senior status in January 2021.
“We are thrilled to welcome Judge Schopler as a district judge. He is a dear friend and colleague to so many,” said Chief District Judge Dana M. Sabraw of the Southern District of California. “He has extensive experience as a civil and criminal trial lawyer in both state and federal courts. He is kind, respectful and thoughtful and exceptionally well qualified for the position,” he said.
Judge Schopler has been a magistrate judge for the Southern District of California since 2016. Prior to his appointment to the federal bench, he was deputy chief of the Major Frauds and Special Prosecutions Section at the Office of the U.S. Attorney in San Diego. He joined the office as an
assistant U.S. attorney in 2004.
Judge Schopler received his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 1997 and his Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, from Dartmouth College in 1994.
Judge Schopler joined the U.S. Army, California Army National Guard, in 2014 and holds the rank of major. In 2018, he deployed to Afghanistan and was awarded a Bronze Star. Since 2021, he has participated in Operation North Star helping evacuate U.S. citizens and endangered Afghan allies from Afghanistan. He was on the editorial board of Benchmarks: Newsletter for Veterans in the Third Branch of the U.S. Government, from 2019 to 2021.
Read more about Judge Schopler here.