Larry Burns
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Larry Alan Burns was afederal judge on theUnited States District Court for the Southern District of California. He joined the court in 2003 after being nominated by PresidentGeorge W. Bush. Burns served as chief judge of the court from 2019 to 2021. He retired from the court on May 1, 2024.[1]
Early life and education
Born in Pasadena, CA, Burns graduated from Point Loma College with his bachelor's degree in 1976 and earned hisJ.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law in 1979.[1]
Professional career
Burns began his legal career as a deputy district attorney forSan Diego County, where he served from 1979 to 1985. In 1985 he joined theU.S. Attorney's Office as Assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California, and served there until 1997.[1]
Judicial career
Southern District of California
Burns began his federal judicial career as afederal magistrate judge for theUnited States District Court for the Southern District of California. Burns was appointed to a full eight-year term in1997. He served in that role until 2003 when he was elevated to an Article III judgeship.
Burns was nominated by PresidentGeorge W. Bush on May 1, 2003 to a new judgeship created by 116 Stat. 1758 which was approved by Congress. Burns was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on September 24, 2003 on a unopposed 91-0-9 vote and received commission onSeptember 25, 2003.[2] He served as chief judge from 2019 to 2021 and was onsenior status from 2021 to 2024.[1]
Noteworthy cases
San Diego hilltop cross must be removed
In December 2013, Judge Burns ruled that the large cross on the Mount Soledad hilltop cross violated the Establishment Clause of theFirst Amendment. The cross is on public land, as part of a National War Memorial in La Jolla.[3]
The cross was erected in 1954 and has been challenged in the courts since 1989. Since 2006, the cross has been federal property. Previously, theNinth Circuit decided that the cross does amount to government's establishment of religion. In 2012, theSupreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the ruling, sending it back to the district court.[4]
Tucson shooter (2011)
- See also:United States District Court for the Southern District of California (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. JARED LEE LOUGHNER, No. 4:11-cr-00187-LAB-1)
- See also:United States District Court for the Southern District of California (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. JARED LEE LOUGHNER, No. 4:11-cr-00187-LAB-1)
On January 13, 2011, Burns was assigned to hear the case of Tucson shooter Jared Lee Loughner after all of the federal judges in Arizona recused themselves from it.[5] Loughner was accused of a shooting outside of a grocery store in Tucson resulting in the death of six people, including a 9-year-old girl and federal judgeJohn Roll; and the injury of 12 others, including state RepresentativeGabrielle Giffords.[6]
On May 25, 2011, Judge Burns ruled that Loughner was not mentally competent to stand trial and suspended the court proceedings against him. Burns reviewed footage of interviews between Loughner and an expert psychologist and psychiatrist, both of whom diagnosed Loughner with schizophrenia, and agreed with their diagnoses. He ordered Loughner to undergo treatment for up to four months, during which time his mental competence was evaluated. On August 7, 2012, after it was determined that he was competent to stand trial, Loughner plead guilty all 19 charges he faced.[7]
Excessive police force lawsuit (2009)
- See also:United States District Court for the District of Idaho (CARTER v. CITY OF POST FALLS, IDAHO ET AL., No. CIV-0800488-EJL)
- See also:United States District Court for the District of Idaho (CARTER v. CITY OF POST FALLS, IDAHO ET AL., No. CIV-0800488-EJL)
On July 31, 2009, Judge Burns dismissed a lawsuit by a man who sued the city of Post Falls, Idaho over its police department's alleged use of excessive force. Scott Carter sued the police on claims that excessive force was used during a traffic stop in which an officer inflicted a head injury upon Carter in the process of removing him from the car. Burns issued a summary judgment ruling that Carter did not provide a "triable issue of material fact" to the question of "whether the police who stopped and arrested him acted in a manner that was objectively reasonable." Dismissing Carter's case, Burns wrote that Carter "failed to offer or point to meaningful evidence that any of several key allegations in his pleadings might be true, particularly the allegation that the police who stopped and arrested him threw him head-first into the ground in such a manner that he sustained serious and lasting injuries."[8]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑1.01.11.21.3Judge Burns Biography from theFederal Judicial Center
- ↑The Library of Congress, Nomination of Larry Burns, February 17, 2009
- ↑Reuters.com, "U.S. judge orders landmark California cross taken down," December 12, 2013
- ↑ABCNews, "Judge Orders Removal of San Diego War Cross," December 13, 2013
- ↑Jurist "Federal judge appointed to hear Arizona shooting case," January 13, 2011
- ↑CNN Wire "Police 'actively pursuing' second person in Tucson shooting," January 9, 2011
- ↑AZcentral.com, "Loughner found competent, pleads guilty in mass shooting," August 7, 2012
- ↑In the United States District Court in and for the District of Idaho, "CASE NO. CIV 08-00488-EJL Order on Cross-Motions for Summary Judgment," accessed June 23, 2020
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by - | United States District Court for the Southern District of California 2021-2024 | Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - | United States District Court for the Southern District of California 2003-2021 | Succeeded by - |
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- Appointed by George W. Bush
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- Former federal judge, Southern District of California
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