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William Orrick III

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William Orrick III
Orrick in robe
Senior Judgeof theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of California
Assumed office
May 17, 2023
Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of California
In office
May 16, 2013 – May 17, 2023
Appointed byBarack Obama
Preceded byCharles Breyer
Succeeded byEumi K. Lee
Personal details
Born
William Horsley Orrick III

(1953-05-15)May 15, 1953(age 71)
San Francisco,California, U.S.
Parent
RelativesHoward Christian Naffziger(grandfather)
Andrew Downey Orrick(uncle)
EducationYale University(BA)
Boston College(JD)

William Horsley Orrick III(born May 15, 1953) is an American lawyer who serves as aseniorUnited States district judgeof theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of California.[1]He had a long career as a lawyer in private practice in San Francisco, and served as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in theCivil Divisionof theUnited States Department of Justiceduring theObama administration.

Early life and education[edit]

Orrick was born inSan Franciscoon May 15, 1953.[2][3]His father,William H. Orrick Jr.(1915–2003), was a United States District Judge for the Northern District of California and served as Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division in theJohn F. Kennedy administration.[4][5]His mother, Marion Naffziger Orrick (d.1995), was active in San Francisco civic life.[6]Orrick's uncle,Andrew Downey Orrick,was acting chairman of theU.S. Securities and Exchange Commissionin San Francisco.[7]

Orrick received hisBachelor of Arts,cum laude,fromYale Universityin 1976. He received hisJuris Doctor,cum laude,fromBoston College Law Schoolin 1979.[8]

Career[edit]

From 1977 to 1979 he was a student attorney for the Boston College Legal Assistance Bureau.[2]After graduating, Orrick worked from 1979 to 1984 at theGeorgia Legal Services PrograminSavannah,[9]providinglegal aidservices to low-income Georgians.[4]Upon returning toSan Francisco,he chose to joinWilliam Coblentz's Coblentz, Patch, Duffy & Bass LLP, rather than the law firm co-founded by his grandfather William Orrick Sr.,Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.[4]Orrick practiced at the Coblentz firm for about 25 years, from 1984 to 2009.[9][4][8]He joined as an associate in 1984 and was promoted to partner in 1988.[8]Orrick then served in theCivil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice,first as counselor (June 2009 – June 2010) and then as deputy assistant attorney general (June 2010 – 2013),[9][8]heading theOffice of Immigration Litigation.[10]Orrick returned to Coblentz, Patch, Duffy & Bass for ten months while his nomination to the district court was pending in the Senate.[4]

Federal judicial service[edit]

On June 11, 2012, PresidentBarack Obamanominated Orrick to be a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, to the seat vacated by JudgeCharles Breyer,who assumedsenior statuson December 31, 2011.[8]TheAmerican Bar Association'sStanding Committee on the Federal Judiciary,which rates the qualifications of federal judicial nominees, unanimously rated Orrick "well qualified" for the judgeship (the committee's highest rating).[11]TheSenate Judiciary Committeeheld a hearing on Orrick's nomination on July 11, 2012.[12]His nomination was reported out of committee on August 2, 2012, by a 12–6 vote.[13]However, his nomination was blocked by SenateRepublicans,[4]and on January 2, 2013, his nomination was returned to the President, due to theadjournmentsine dieof the Senate at the end of the112th Congress.[14]The next day, January 3, 2013, he was renominated to the same office.[15]His nomination was reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee on February 28, 2013, by a 11–7 vote.[16]The U.S. Senate confirmed his nomination on May 15, 2013, by a 56–41 vote, with three senators not voting.[17]The confirmation vote was mostly on party lines, with all Democrats and three Republican Senators (Jeff Flake,Susan Collins,andLisa Murkowski) voting to confirm Orrick and all other Republicans voting against confirmation.[18]He received his commission the following day. He assumedsenior statuson May 17, 2023.[9]

As a federal judge, Orrick established chambers in thePhillip Burton Federal Buildingin San Francisco.[4]

Notable cases[edit]

In 2014, Orrick upheld California state legislation that banned the possession and sale ofshark fin,a prohibition aimed at stopping the practice ofshark finning.[19]Orrick rejected the claim of a group ofSan Francisco Bay AreaChinese Americanbusinesses and shark fin suppliers that the ban was unconstitutionally discriminatory. Orrick wrote that although "people of Chinese origin or culture undoubtedly overwhelmingly comprise the market for shark fin,... a law is not unconstitutional simply because it has a racially disparate impact. "[19][20]Orrick's dismissal of the case was affirmed on appeal.[21]

In 2015, Orrick denied a motion filed byPacific Gas and Electric Co.(PG&E) to dismiss the case against it arising from pollution discharges intoSan Francisco Bayby PG&E'smanufactured fuel gas(oil and coal) power plants decades earlier. Orrick held that PG&E's refusal to test forgroundwater contaminationat the former plants gave rise to a continuing "imminent and substantial endangerment" to the environment and human health, particularly in theMarina DistrictandFisherman's Wharfneighborhoods.[22][23]In 2018, Orrick approved a settlement of the case, in which PG&E agreed to monitor and potentially clean up pollution from its old sites and agreed to make payments to a conservation organization and habitat restoration efforts.[22]

Orrick is the judge assigned to oversee the reforms of theOakland Police Departmentmandated by the department's 2003 settlement ofAllen v. City of Oakland,a long-running case involving systemicpolice misconduct.[24]In hearings, Orrick has pushed the department to make more progress on reforms.[24]Robert Warshawis the court-appointed monitor of the Oakland Police Department reforms.[25]In March 2019, Orrick appointed an attorney to serve as an independent investigator to probe the killing of a homeless man with mental health problems who was shot by Oakland police in 2018.[25]At an August 2019 court conference, Orrick criticized the city for not making sufficient progress in eliminating racial disparities in policing.[26]

In 2015, Orrick issued atemporary restraining order(TRO) blocking theCenter for Medical Progress(CMP), an anti-abortion group, from releasingsecretly recorded videosof theNational Abortion Federation(NAF). CMP had earlier releasedheavily edited videos,which purported to show thatPlanned Parenthoodhad been inappropriately selling fetal tissue. In his decision granting a restraining order, Orrick wrote that a TRO was necessary to prevent irreparable harm to NAF "in the form of harassment, intimidation, violence, invasion of privacy, and injury to reputation, and the requested relief is in the public interest."[27]In subsequent proceedings, Orrick reviewed hundreds of hours of videos and found no evidence of wrongdoing on NAF's behalf, and concluded that the CMP, led by anti-abortion activistDavid Daleiden,had "misleadingly edited videos to make it appear as though abortion providers were breaking the law."[28]In 2016, Orrick subsequently issued apreliminary injunctionagainst CMP blocking the release of their videos; after Daleiden violated the injunction, Orrick found Daleiden and his two attorneys incivil contemptand fined them $195,000.[28]The contempt finding was upheld on appeal.[28]

In April 2017, Orrick stayed the implementation of theTrump administration'sExecutive Order 13768to withhold funding fromsanctuary citiesthat limit cooperation withU.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcementauthorities, saying Trump had no authority to attach new conditions tofederal spending.[29][30]In November 2017, Orrick ruled in favor of theCity and County of San FranciscoandCounty of Santa Clara(who challenged the order), finding that Section 9(a) of the Executive Order wasunconstitutional on its faceas a violation of theseparation of powers doctrineand the counties'TenthandFifth Amendmentrights and issuing a nationwidepermanent injunctionagainst its implementation.[31][32]In 2018, Orrick's ruling was upheld on appeal, but the scope of the injunction was narrowed to San Francisco and Santa Clara.[33]

In February 2018, Orrick issued apreliminary injunctionordering the Trump administration to enforce limits onmethane emissionsfrom oil and gas wells on federal and tribal land. Orrick's order directed theU.S. Bureau of Land Managementto halt the Trump administration's suspension of an Obama administration-era regulations that required fossil-fuel extractors on federal lands to take steps to reduceflaringandventing,and thus preventmethane leakage.[34][35]

In April 2022, Orrick cut the jury award for a former Black contractor in a racial discrimination lawsuit against Tesla from $137 million to $15 million. Diaz' lawyer told NPR that "it wasn't because [Orrick] found anything wrong with what Mr. Diaz said or that Mr. Diaz wasn't injured", suggesting that the decision was "just based on a comparison."[36]

In July 2023, he deniedSarah Andersen,Kelly McKernan,and Karla Ortiz'scopyright infringementlawsuit againstStability AI,Midjourney,andDeviantArt.Orrick stated would dismiss most of the case, requesting they elaborate on issues and "provide more facts".[37]

San Francisco Public Works corruption scandal[edit]

Since 2020, Orrick has been involved in the plea deals, trials and sentencing of people guilty of fraud and bribery in the ongoingSan Francisco Department of Public Works corruption scandal.The sentences that Orrick has handed down include:

  • Restaurateur Nick Bovis was sentenced to nine months in prison after Bovis pleaded guilty to honest services wire fraud.[40][41]
  • Sandra Zuniga, head of San Francisco's "Fix-It Team" and of the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Service and Nuru's one-time girlfriend was sentenced to three years probation for money laundering.[42]
  • FormerRecologyexecutive Paul Giusti was sentenced to three years probation for bribing Nuru.[42]
  • John Porter, another former Recology executive was sentenced to 6 months house arrest and three years probation for bribing Nuru[43]
  • Ken Hong Wong, a former California parole officer, was sentenced to six months in prison for bribing Nuru.[44]
  • A Chinese billionaire,Zhang Liwas sentenced to a $50,000 fine and three years probation for bribing Nuru. One of Zhang's companies, Z&L properties, pleaded guilty to federal fraud and conspiracy charges and was fined $1 million.[45]
  • Balmore Hernandez, the formerCEOof aSan Francisco Bay Areabased construction firm, Azul Works Inc., admitted to conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and was sentenced to six months in prison.[46]

References[edit]

  1. ^"District Judge William H. Orrick",U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California website,archivedfrom the original on February 20, 2023,retrievedMarch 8,2023,Nominated by Barack Obama on June 11, 2012 and renominated on January 3, 2013, to a seat vacated by Charles Breyer. Confirmed by the Senate on May 15, 2013, and received commission on May 16, 2013.
  2. ^ab"Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees: William Horsley Orrick, III"(PDF).United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
  3. ^Julia Cheever,"SF Lawyer Follows Father's Footsteps in Federal Judgeship,Bay City News(May 15, 2013).
  4. ^abcdefgGavin Broady."The Scion of San Francisco: Judge William H. Orrick III".Law360.
  5. ^Reynolds Holding,William Orrick – U.S. district judge,San Francisco Chronicle(August 16, 2003).
  6. ^Marion Naffziger Orrick,San Francisco Chronicle(February 25, 1995).
  7. ^Bob Egelko,S.F. lawyer Andrew Downey Orrick dies,San Francisco Chronicle(February 2, 2008).
  8. ^abcde"President Obama Nominates Two to Serve on the US District Court"(Press release). White House Press Office. June 11, 2012.
  9. ^abcdWilliam Orrick IIIat theBiographical Directory of Federal Judges,a publication of theFederal Judicial Center.
  10. ^Ryan J. Reilly,New Office of Immigration Litigation Chief Named,Main Justice(June 9, 2010).
  11. ^Ratings of Article III Judicial Nominees, 112th Congress,American Bar AssociationStanding Committee on the Federal Judiciary.
  12. ^Nominations: Full Committee(July 11, 2012), United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
  13. ^"Results of Executive Business Meeting – August 2, 2012"(PDF).United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
  14. ^PN1729 — William H. Orrick III — The Judiciary, 112th Congress (2011–2012),Congress.gov.
  15. ^"President Obama Re-nominates Thirty-Three to Federal Judgeships"(Press release). White House Press Office. January 3, 2013.
  16. ^Results of Executive Business Meeting – February 28, 2013,United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
  17. ^"On the Nomination (Confirmation William H. Orrick, III, of the District of Columbia, to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of California)".United States Senate.
  18. ^Bob Egelko (May 15, 2013)."Senate confirms Orrick as federal judge".
  19. ^abBob Egelko,California shark fin ban upheld by federal judge,San Francisco Chronicle(March 26, 2014).
  20. ^Chinatown Neighborhood Ass'n v. Harris,33 F. Supp. 3d 1085 (N.D. Cal. 2014).
  21. ^Chinatown Neighborhood Ass'n v. Harris,794 F.3d 1136 (9th Cir. 2015).
  22. ^abBob Egelko,PG&E settles lawsuit over pollution from old power plants in San Francisco,San Francisco Chronicle(September 28, 2018).
  23. ^San Francisco Herring Ass'n v. Pacific Gas & Electric Co.,81 F. Supp. 3d 847 (N.D. Cal. 2015).
  24. ^abMayor Says She Shares Judge's Concerns About Police Department,Bay City News Service (August 22, 2019).
  25. ^abJudge Appoints Attorney To Investigate Fatal Shooting By Officers,Bay City News Service (March 5, 2019).
  26. ^Bob Egelko & Megan Cassidy,Federal judge criticizes Oakland for losing ground in court-ordered policing reforms,San Francisco Chronicle(August 22, 2019).
  27. ^Scott, Eugene (August 15, 2015)."Judge issues restraining order against anti-abortion group".CNN.
  28. ^abcNicholas Iovino (June 5, 2019)."Ninth Circuit Lets Contempt Sanctions of Abortion Foe Stand".Courthouse News Service.
  29. ^Kopan, Tal (April 25, 2017)."Judge blocks part of Trump's sanctuary cities executive order".CNN.RetrievedApril 25,2017.
  30. ^Yee, Vivian (April 25, 2017)."Judge Blocks Trump Effort to Withhold Money From Sanctuary Cities".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedApril 25,2017.
  31. ^Visser, Nick (November 21, 2017)."Judge Permanently Blocks Trump's Executive Order On Sanctuary Cities".Huffington Post.Archivedfrom the original on November 24, 2017.RetrievedNovember 24,2017.
  32. ^County of Santa Clara v. Trump,F. Supp. 3d 1196(N.D. Cal.2017).
  33. ^City and County of San Francisco v. Trump,F.3d 1225(9th Cir. 2018).
  34. ^Bob Egelko,Trump administration ordered to enforce limits on methane gas emissions,San Francisco Chronicle(February 23, 2018).
  35. ^State of California v. Bureau of Land Management,286 F. Supp. 3d 1054 (N.D. 2018).
  36. ^Torchinsky, Rina (April 14, 2022)."Judge cuts the payout in a Black former Tesla contractor's racial discrimination suit".NPR.
  37. ^Brittain, Blake (July 19, 2023)."US judge finds flaws in artists' lawsuit against AI companies".Reuters.
  38. ^Swan, Rachel (August 26, 2022)."Judge likens Mohammed Nuru to a gang murderer and drug dealer in handing down 7-year sentence for corruption".San Francisco Chronicle.RetrievedMarch 20,2024.
  39. ^Eskenazi, Joe; Stein, Carolyn (August 25, 2022)."The strange and terrible saga of Mohammed Nuru turns the page: Judge hands down 7-year sentence".Mission Local.RetrievedMarch 20,2024.
  40. ^Barba, Michael (March 7, 2024)."Restaurateur Nick Bovis gets prison over City Hall corruption scandal".The San Francisco Standard.RetrievedMarch 20,2024.
  41. ^Barned-Smith, St. John (March 8, 2024)."S.F. corruption scandal: Mohammed Nuru's partner in bribery scheme sentenced to prison".San Francisco Chronicle.RetrievedMarch 20,2024.
  42. ^abBarned-Smith, St. John (December 14, 2023)."S.F. corruption scandal: Mohammed Nuru's ex-girlfriend, former Recology exec both get probation".San Francisco Chronicle.RetrievedMarch 20,2024.
  43. ^Baustin, Noah; Barba, Michael (September 21, 2023)."SF Corruption: Ex-Waste Hauler Executive Avoids Prison Time".The San Francisco Standard.RetrievedMarch 20,2024.
  44. ^Barned-Smith, St. John (November 30, 2023)."S.F. corruption scandal: Ex-parole officer going to prison for bribes to Mohammed Nuru".San Francisco Chronicle.RetrievedMarch 20,2024.
  45. ^Baustin, Noah (October 5, 2023)."Billionaire's San Francisco Company Gets $1M Fine for Bribery".The San Francisco Standard.RetrievedMarch 20,2024.
  46. ^Baustin, Noah (November 9, 2023)."San Francisco Corruption: Bribing Businessman Prison-Bound".The San Francisco Standard.RetrievedMarch 20,2024.

External links[edit]

Legal offices
Preceded by Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of California
2013–2023 		Succeeded by
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