James V. Selna | |
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| Senior Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Central District of California | |
| Assumed office March 3, 2020 | |
| Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Central District of California | |
| In office March 27, 2003 – March 3, 2020 | |
| Appointed by | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | John Spencer Letts |
| Succeeded by | Sunshine Sykes |
| Judge of the Superior Court of Orange County | |
| In office 1998–2003 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1945-02-22)February 22, 1945 (age 80) San Jose, California, U.S. |
| Education | Stanford University (AB,JD) |
James V. Selna (born February 22, 1945)[1] is aseniorUnited States district judge of theUnited States District Court for the Central District of California.
Selna was born inSan Jose,California, on February 22, 1945.[1] He received anA.B. degree fromStanford University in 1967.[2] He graduated with distinction andPhi Beta Kappa.[1] In 1970, Selna received aJ.D. fromStanford Law School,[2] where he served on theStanford Law Review.[1]
Selna was a captain in theU.S. Army Reserve from 1967 to 1978.[2]
Selna was in private practice inCalifornia from 1970 to 1998,[2] at the law firm ofO'Melveny & Myers, working first from the firm's Los Angeles office and then itsNewport Beach office.[1] While in private practice, Selna was involved in a number of significant cases, includingLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission v. National Football League, anantitrust case involving theOakland Raiders' move to Los Angeles,[1] in which Selna was one of the attorneys representing theNFL.[3]
He was a judge on theSuperior Court, Orange County, California from 1998 to 2003.[2]
Selna was nominated by PresidentGeorge W. Bush to be a Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Central District of California on January 29, 2003, to a seat vacated byJohn Spencer Letts.[2] A substantial majority of theAmerican Bar Association'sStanding Committee on the Federal Judiciary rated Selna "well qualified" for the position, with a minority abstaining.[4] Selna was confirmed by theUnited States Senate on March 27, 2003, by a unanimous vote of 97–0.[5] He received his commission the same day.[2] He assumedsenior status on March 3, 2020.
Selna was assigned the case ofFarnan v. Capistrano Unified School District, in which Chad Farnan, aMission Viejo, California high school student, alleged that hisAP European History teacher atCapistrano Valley High School had violated theEstablishment Clause of theFirst Amendment to theUnited States Constitution by making a number of classroom statements in 2007 that the student interpreted as disparaging religion.[6][7] In May 2009, Selna granted, in part, the by-then-former student's motion for summary judgment, ruling that one statement of the many cited by the student—a comment thatcreationism was "superstitious nonsense"—did violate the Establishment Clause. Selna ruled, however, that 20 other statements complained of by Farnar did not violate the Establishment Clause.[8] Selna also determined that the teacher was protected byqualified immunity and entered judgment denying the Farnan's request for declaratory, injunctive or monetary relief, and inviting the defendants to apply for recovery of attorney fees and costs.[6][9] In August 2011, theNinth Circuit affirmed Selna's finding of qualified immunity, but because it found the immunity issue to be dispositive, vacated that portion of the judgment that dealt with the constitutionality of the teacher's comments.[10][11]
In 2007, Selna ruled in favor ofBroadcom in a majorpatent infringement suit againstQualcomm.[12] The jury found that Qualcomm had infringed three of Broadcom's patents and returned a $19.64 million award to Qualcomm; Selna doubled that to $39.3 million in damages and legal fees, finding that the infringement was intentional.[12] The following year, Selna found Qualcomm incontempt for violating an injunction ordering it to stop using technology subject to the Broadcom patents.[13]
Selna presided over a complexclass actionmulti-district litigation againstToyota Motor Corp. involving the "sudden acceleration" issue (see2009–11 Toyota vehicle recalls).[14][15]
In 2015, Selna presided over a case brought by an operator of sober-living homes against the city ofCosta Mesa, California. The operator challenged the city's ordinance requiring "sober-living homes in single-family neighborhoods to obtain special permits and be at least 650 feet from one another." Selna rejected the operator's claim that the ordinance improperly discriminated against recoveringsubstance abusers and dismissed the suit.[16][17]
In 2016, Selna oversaw the case ofPeter "Sana" Ojeda, a leader of theMexican Mafia inOrange County, California. After Ojeda was convicted ofracketeering, Selna sentenced him to 15 years in federal prison, finding that Ojeda remained a danger to the community despite his advanced age.[18]
On August 16, 2023, he rejected a proposed$200 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit prompted bya rise in thefts of vehicles manufactured bySouth Korean automakersHyundai andKia.[19] On November 17, 2023, he rejected requests by Kia and Hyundai to halt lawsuits from American cities suing the automakers.[20]
Selna had previously served as a member of the board of trustees for theOrange County Museum of Art and Newport Harbor Art Museum, and as a member of the board of directors for the Orange County Business Committee for the Arts.[1]
| Legal offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Central District of California 2003–2020 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
